Archaeological treasures found on Google Earth

October 17, 2006 8:07 PM

Archaeological treasures found on Google Earth. In 25 years on the ground, "I've found a handful of archaeological sites. I found more in the first five, six, seven hours [on Google Earth] than I've found in years of traditional field surveys and aerial archaeology,"
posted by stbalbach (20 comments total)

I wonder if it would also apply to mineral prospecting?
posted by Malor at 8:18 PM on October 17, 2006

Nifty.
posted by pompomtom at 8:48 PM on October 17, 2006

ok, anyone happen to have any corresponding Google Earth .kmz/.kml files to make this really FPP worthy?
posted by phylum sinter at 8:53 PM on October 17, 2006

Info on Luca Mori's find here, including Google Earth satellite image.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:13 PM on October 17, 2006

I looked at the image, but my eye is obviously untrained. Still, it sure sounds like great news for archaeologists.
posted by owhydididoit at 9:26 PM on October 17, 2006

I love the headline: FREE ONLINE TOOL HAS SCIENTISTS EXCITED
posted by interrobang at 9:46 PM on October 17, 2006

The anomaly is in the center of this Google Earth image. The almost-square medium green field has dark markings in the lower right-hand corner just above the darker rectangular field. More info here --the pic is of a different villa, but the article indicates that the curved shadow that first caught Mori's eye is the ancient river bed.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 9:50 PM on October 17, 2006

I thought I saw the anomaly but it was just the Google watermark.
posted by smackfu at 10:12 PM on October 17, 2006

I don't suppose I'm allowed to rant about how when it was Keyhole they had my locale in high res, but when Google bought them, I'm now in low-res. No? I won't, then.

Pretty cool, none-the-less.
posted by maxwelton at 12:02 AM on October 18, 2006

I can't wait for Google Sidescan Sonar Phased-Array Radar X-ray Backscatter Real-Time Earth. "I found more lost civilizations in the first five, six, seven hours [on Google Sidescan Sonar Phased-Array Radar Real-Time Earth]... and there are my car keys! I've been looking all morning for them!"
posted by pracowity at 12:23 AM on October 18, 2006 [1 favorite]

Aerial archeology is actually an old technique, but Google Earth is of course an interesting improvement.
posted by Eirixon at 2:11 AM on October 18, 2006

A few more years development and we won't even have to dig anymore.
posted by hoverboards don't work on water at 2:52 AM on October 18, 2006

Other easier to spot places from weapons-grade pandemonium's link.

Also, I am surprised this story hadn't made it to the blue earlier.
posted by magullo at 3:09 AM on October 18, 2006

I found Osama bin Laden using Google Earth one time, but I forgot to bookmark him, so he got away.

Never found any WMDs in Iraq, though.
posted by kcds at 8:05 AM on October 18, 2006

That's pretty cool.
posted by OmieWise at 10:08 AM on October 18, 2006

I think this is really cool, but it makes me wonder -- had they not thought to look at satellite photography before? Or aerial photography? Or is it just that Google is finally funding high-quality aerial photography of everything and finally has the money to actually get it done?

I suppose the latter makes sense. Anyway, cool.
posted by blacklite at 10:44 AM on October 18, 2006

I love this, and it's one of the first things I thought of when I subscribed to Keyhole so many moons ago.

Sure, there have been satellite images before, but never put together in a way that encourages exploration like Google Earth. Data collation and presentation is huge.

I hope I forget about this by the time I get home, or I'll lose another evening roaming around the planet.
posted by frykitty at 11:58 AM on October 18, 2006

Google Earth used to find marijuana patches
posted by homunculus at 12:28 PM on October 18, 2006

had they not thought to look at satellite photography before?

Google maps are free, and even Google Earth Pro is only about a dollar a day for all of this:

* Fastest Google Earth performance
* Export compressed movies of zooms and tours, sample movie (13M)
* Import GIS data (parcel, demographic, 3D building data) in file formats such as .shp, .tab
* Improved printing and saving capabilities (4800 pixels), and print high-resolution images up to 11" x 17"sample print (890k)
* Additional annotation tools (draw polygons with height)
* Additional measurement tools (square feet, miles, acreage, radius, etc.)
* Spreadsheet import - ingest up to 2,500 locations by address or lat/lon
* Technical Support assistance (email and chat) during business hours (PST)

posted by pracowity at 12:34 PM on October 18, 2006

Additional annotation tools (draw polygons with height)

I'd just like to quickly point out that this feature is now available for free using Sketch-Up (links goes to some 3D model examples that integrate with Google Earth).
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 6:08 PM on October 18, 2006