GIAP-ICAC researchers publish a new study in Land, showcasing the potential of multitemporal lidar- derived digital terrain models for the detection of subtle archaeological features under perennial dense forest. The study directed by Prof. Hector Orengo (ICREA-ICAC) provides a way to co-register and filter several point clouds to increase the resolution of a DTM and, by doing so, improve the detection of subtle topographic features even in complex areas were perennial forest and shrubs combine with abrupt slopes.
This method has the potential to radically improve archaeological survey and the detection and analysis of microtopographic archaeological features. More importantly, it can be employed for the combination and filtering of not just lidar but also different types of legacy point data such as DGPS, total station, and photogrammetry-derived point clouds. As such it provides an important new basis for the integration of data, which up to know had rarely been combined, that can be used for the development of accurate high-resolution DTMs.
