Uses of declassified corona photographs for archaeological survey in Armenia

Abstract

Photographs taken of Armenia on 20 September 1971 during corona KH-4B mission 1115 provided a 'first look' at the landscape of a small research area. The fortress of Amberd provided keys through which to guide on-screen interpretation of the corona photographs, and this led to the identification of more than 200 'sites' (objects that were not of natural origin) in a 400 km2 area. Selected sites were examined on the ground, and the area was further recorded on oblique aerial photographs taken at low altitude from a paramotor.