I got nominally excited about that new technology until I read this part:
What are the limitations?This technique is not necessarily the answer to every archaeologist’s dreams, as it does have limitations:
•There are many laser configuration and flight variables that can alter the resolution of the survey. All of these must be considered prior to commissioning a survey to ensure optimum conditions for the area under investigation.
•Despite surveying in winter, not all canopy and understory vegetation types are equally porous to the laser energy and where little light naturally penetrates to the forest floor a LiDAR survey may be of little use.
•Whilst under optimum conditions the method will show more discrete features such as charcoal platforms, it is inevitable that not all features of similar or smaller size will be discernible in the resulting images.
•Vegetation removal and hillshading are necessary parts of the data processing. However, both can either remove or hide features of interest. An understanding of the processes involved in producing these models and images are therefore essential.
•LiDAR does not distinguish between modern, archaeological or vegetation produced features in the hillshaded images. Features of potential archaeological interest can result from modern drain clearance, woodland thinning residue left by a roadside or bracken which has died over winter but when draped over a wire fence resembles an earth bank. Whilst it may be a long-term project, some ground-truthing will be necessary.
Bummer - sounds like it might work just fine if everything is perfect. As TIGHAR has found time and again when trying to deploy new technology at Niku, the island has an astonishingly ability to take "This worked fine when we tried it out at home" to "What the ...
" or "What do you mean we don't have a spare part for that?"
I'm not saying let's
not consider it; any tool in the toolbox has the potential to be useful. What I am saying is the use and deployment of any new and untried technology in the unforgiving atmosphere of Nikumaroro has to be weighed very carefully when considering what else absolutely needs to be taken on the expedition.
LTM, who always weighs it before he totes it,
Monty Fowler, TIGHAR No. 2189 CER