The application of LiDAR-based DEMs on WWII conflict sites in the Netherlands

Abstract

Airborne Laser Scanning or Light Detecting And Ranging (LiDAR) is quite a new technique for most archaeologists. Digital Elevation Models (DEMs), derived from the LiDAR-data, can be very useful to map archaeological sites in order to get a better overview of what is left and how these remains should be protected and researched further. LiDAR-based DEMs can be extremely useful to conflict archaeologists, especially in the Netherlands where excavation of the remains of World War II (WWII) is often problematic. Using DEMs it is possible to make both an indication of the archaeological and the heritage value of a conflict site. The use of DEMs will improve the prospection, mapping and monitoring of archaeological sites.