Since its foundation the IBAM has been very active in the application of airborne and spaceborne earth observation technologies in Archaeology.
Two laboratories, one in Lecce and the second in Potenza, focus on aerial archaeology and the development and validation of image processing algorithms for archaeological applications, respectively. The research is developed in cooperation with Laboratory of Ancient Topography and Photogrammetry of the University of Salento and the Laboratory of Remote sensing of the Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Research of the CNR. The investigated case studies are located in different regions of Italy, mainly in the Central and Southern Italy, the eastern part of the Mediterranean basin (Albania, Greece, Turkey, Syria), in the Middle East (Iraq and Iran), in North Africa (Tunisia and Libya) and in Southern America (Peru and Bolivia). In the archaeological investigations aimed to study ancient settlements (both abandoned and continuously occupied) and to reconstruct the ancient topography the interpretation of aerial photographs, both historical and recent, is fundamental. It allows the identification, documentation, location and mapping of ancient remains, buried archaeological structures and palaeoenviroenmatal features, which may be invisible or difficult to identify in a field survey (Guaitoli 2003).
Of fundamental importance to realizing these aims is the recovery and analysis of aerial pictures taken before the great transformations which began in the fifties of the twentieth century, due to the introduction of mechanized agriculture, the building of large infrastructures and the major expansion of urban areas. Such images portray the changes of the landscapes over time and permit the recording of information which would otherwise be lost.
In addition to the aerial photographs, the last decade has seen the increasing availability to archaeologists of satellite imagery, primarily optical but with high spatial, spectral and radiometric resolution. The high definition of these images along with the capability of exploiting more bands of the electromagnetic spectrum, including the near infrared, make such data complementary to the aerial photographs. Even in the study of satellite images it is fundamental to adopt a multi-scale and multi-temporal approach. The latter could be done by using pictures taken by American spy satellites in the 60s and 70s, which represent a valuable data source for the documentation of change in landscapes which have been radically transformed during the last forty years. Besides visual analysis of remotely sensed images and their use for the production of archaeological digital maps, the IBAM is also developing algorithms and procedures for the semi-automatic extraction of archaeological features by exploiting the spectral response of changes of soil, moisture content and vegetation typically caused by buried remains and deposits of cultural interest.
Moreover, in recent years, the Institute has also been developing applications with the use of LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), highresolution airborne scanning which is one of the most effective current remote sensing techniques in the identification and documentation of archaeological evidence and traces of micro-relief on bare soils and, in particular, in areas of woodland and dense vegetation.
Applications in some medieval and Etruscan sites in Basilicata and in Tuscany, respectively, have demonstrated the significant potential of the processing of LiDAR data for mapping and reconstructing the urban fabric of settlements, the study of cultural landscapes and monitoring of areas threatened by clandestine excavation.
Focus