A plea for satellite archaeology

The revolutionary work done by Sarah Parcak fascinated me right from the beginning. 

Her approach to archaeology is very unique since she uses NASA satellite images to find hitherto hidden cities, harbors, monuments, tombs and other constructions. I first saw her on TV as she disclosed how she was able to locate Portus, the extended port of Rome. It was real detective work as she peeled off of one layer of contrasting image after the other using technologies that accentuated shades and depth otherwise unnoticed. 

She has launched a new era of archaeology, called satellite archaeology. This method is particularly useful in finding ancient sites and buildings before looters do and destroy the precious remains.  

So far, Sarah Parcak has investigated a wide range of places like Machu Picchu in Peru and the Nazca lines. Her search also led her to Newfoundland to investigate the Vikings’ presence, although most of her attention goes to the buried pyramids and tombs in Egypt.

After being awarded the 2016 TEC Prize, she started building an online tool called GlobalXplorer. This is a user-friendly program to which we all can participate to locate our still hidden heritage and eventually protect it. Everybody can contribute to creating a platform for archaeology by analyzing the available satellite imagery. She is making her case in this YouTube presentation.

Exploring our world by satellite is far more efficient and productive than if we have to organize specialized crews to dig in so many remote and unsafe areas.

Just like with the GPR I discussed in my earlier blog From GPS to GPR. A new technology, who knows what surprises are still waiting for us to discover.