The value and significance of historical air photographs for archaeological research: Some examples from central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Because many countries of Eastern Europe were forced to join the communist totalitarianism of the Soviet Empire, when aerial reconnaissance was relegated to the category of military secrets, they were unable to follow the developments in archaeological aerial reconnaissance experienced in Western Europe in the period after the Second World War. This chapter outlines some of the difficulties archaeologists experienced in acquiring aerial photographs in Eastern Europe, traces the development of aerial archaeology there and provides examples of the value of historical imagery taken for purposes other than archaeology which could be accessed. Examples from Hungary, mainly from the Roman period, serve as a particular case study.