A spy in the sky: the potential of historical aerial and satellite photography for archaeological research

Aerial photography has facilitated recognition of the density, diversity and complexity of human settlement activity across the fertile lowlands of Europe over millennia, but application of the standard technique of observer-directed archaeological aerial reconnaissance is not universal for a variety of reasons. This introductory paper highlights the considerable and largely untapped potential of historical aerial and satellite photography for archaeological area survey and landscape analysis, contextualising the examples contained in the volume, which range widely both geographically and chronologically. It draws attention to the range of archival sources available and to the additional benefits of using them, including visualisation of the landscape as it was half a century or more ago before the destructive impact of later 20th century development; time-change analysis of the condition of known archaeological monuments; and the discovery of archaeological sites now destroyed