Heritage monitoring and surveillance using Sentinel satellite data in the Lower Alentejo (Portugal)

Steffan Davies; Martino Correia; Ricardo  Cabral

doi:10.37558/gec.v17i1.755

Steffan Davies THEIA
Martino Correia THEIA
Ricardo Cabral THEIA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.37558/gec.v17i1.755

Keywords: sentinel, satellite remote sensing, heritage monitoring, archaeological site preservation, NDAI, amplitude index change detection, archaeology

Abstract

In this article, the potential of Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) for large-scale monitoring of archaeological sites is analysed. This analysis focuses on the Portuguese Lower Alentejo region, where multiple sites have been destroyed over the last years, mainly due to intensive agriculture. The development of a surveillance system based on data from the Sentinel 1 and Sentinel 2 satellite constellations, named SENSEOS, had its pilot application in this region during the first half of 2019. In a vast region where authorities lacked the proper resources to timely detect events endangering the integrity of heritage sites, this system tried to overcome these issues. By using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical data, it was possible to detect such events through a technique labelled Normalized Difference Amplitude Index (NDAI). The identification of these changes on the surface, associated with potentially destructive events, contributed to minimize the damage and destruction of archaeological sites.

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Author Biographies

Steffan Davies, THEIA

Steffan Davies holds a Licentiate degree in Archaeology and a Master’s degree in Archaeology and Territory, with a specialization in Archaeogeography, both by the University of Coimbra (Portugal). He is a researcher in the Centre of Studies in Archaeology, Arts and Heritage Sciences of the University of Coimbra (CEAACP), and is currently working at the Portuguese company THEIA in Research and Development, in fields such as Satellite Remote Sensing, Computer Programming., Virtual Reality and Digital Heritage.

Martino Correia, THEIA

Martino Correia has graduate in “Archaeology and History” by the University of Coimbra (Portugal), with a Master's degree in “Archaeology and Territory” by the same University and a post-graduation in “European Heritage, Digital Media and the Information Society” carried out at the Universities of Coimbra and Salento (Lecce, Italy). He is a researcher in the Centre of Studies in Archaeology, Arts and Heritage Sciences of the University of Coimbra and was an Invited Assistant Professor at the Higher School of Education of Coimbra. He is also co-founder and managing-partner of the company THEIA, which works on the application of digital and technological solution to Archaeology and Cultural Heritage.

Ricardo Cabral, THEIA

Ricardo Cabral holds a Licentiate Degree in Archaeology and History and is currently a PhD Candidate in Archaeology at the University of Coimbra. Between 2010 and 2019 he was an Invited Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Letters of the University of Coimbra. He is currently a researcher at the Centre of Studies in Archaeology, Arts and Heritage Sciences of the University of Coimbra, conducting research in Near Eastern Archaeology, where he coordinates the Kani Shaie Archaeological Project (Iraq) and participates in the Iraq Emergency Heritage Management Training Scheme, a British Museum project. He is also co-founder and managing-partner of the company THEIA, which works on the application of digital and technological solution to Archaeology and Cultural Heritage.

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