Examining the phenological cycle of barley (hordeum vulgare) using satellite and in situ spectroradiometer measurements for the detection of buried archaeological remains

Abstract

The detection of buried archaeological remains using satellite remote sensing is still an open question in archaeological research. This research investigates how the phenological stages of crops can be used support the detection of buried archaeological remains. Ground remote sensing data using the GER-1500 spectroradiometer were obtained from two sites. One site was the Neolithic settlements in central Greece and the other was in Alampra village in Cyprus. For the latter, an archaeological environment was simulated and ground spectroradiometric measurements were systematically acquired over the different phases of the phenological cycle of barley crops. The acquired in situ reflectance measurements have been converted to "in-band" reflectance values of the Landsat TM/ETM+ using the satellite relative spectral responses filters (RSR). Based on the proposed methodology, 97 Landsat MSS, TM, and ETM+ satellite images were acquired (covering a period from 1983 to 2011), for the Thessalian (Greek) site. It has been found that phenological-cycle observations can provide valuable information for identifying buried archaeological remains. Such observations may be used in cases where the spatial resolution of satellite imagery is not high and therefore cannot help support the detection of archaeological remains using standard interpretation techniques.