A review of low-level aerial archaeology and its application in Australia

This paper examines methods of low-level aerial archaeology and provides a rationale for utilizing these systems more widely in Australian archaeological projects. While the value of conventional aerial archaeology is apparent, different low-level aerial photographic methods can be employed more comprehensively by archaeologists to document, interpret and monitor sites in Australia. Kite, balloon, boom and other low-altitude remotely controlled camera platforms are rarely applied in Australian archaeology despite the fact that archaeologists overseas have used these aerial imaging platforms for decades. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and more conventional wireless remote sensing image technology will be used more consistently in the next decades to reconstruct and reinterpret the landscape of the past.