Integrating Aerial and Underwater Data for Archaeology: Digital Maritime Landscapes in 3D

Abstract

Archaeologists have aspired to a seamless integration of terrestrial and marine survey since maritime archaeology began to emerge as a distinct sub-discipline. This chapter will review and discuss how 3D technology is changing the way that archaeologists work, blurring the boundaries between different technologies and different environments. Special attention is paid to the integration of data obtained from aerial and underwater methods. Maritime archaeology is undergoing an explosion of site recording methods and techniques which improve survey, excavation and interpretation, as well as management and conservation of material culture, protected sites, and cultural landscapes. An appraisal of methods and interpretive tools is therefore necessary as well as a consideration of how theoretical concepts of maritime landscapes are finding new expressions in practice. A thematic focus is placed on integrating land and sea through case studies of maritime archaeological sites and material which range chronologically from the recent past to several thousand years before present.