Why is Aerial Photography useful for archaeology?

Most of the things that archaeologists look at on aerial photographs (such as humps and bumps and stripes in crops) are visible from the ground – but without the aerial view, it’s very hard to make sense of them.

Following the development of the aeroplane and aerial photography in World War I, archaeologists realised the enormous potential for finding and understanding archaeological sites by using aerial photography.

Thousands of new sites have been found and mapped in this way.

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Slides showing exposed foundation stones, earthworks and crop marks

Different weather and light conditions are needed to see these different effects