While the use of satellite images for identifying potential archaeological sites is successful in several parts of the world, it is less so in others. In Cambodia, where many monumental stone structures are hidden in the dense tropical vegetation, and where land mines and unexploded bombs pose a threat to those conducting ground survey, it is possible to use training samples to classify images for the identification of previously unknown sites. However, it is problematic. This map shows a supervised classification of the area surrounding the core of Angkor's monumental architecture. The classification does identify several areas where potential sites may be located, and indeed one area, Phnom Kulen, has recently been identified as a previously undiscovered urban landscape associated with early Angkorian settlement (Evans et al, 2013). The classification is not good at distinguishing the stone monuments from other classes, such as dense forest and water. However, patterning that points to hydraulic features and geometric lines associated with Angkorian architectures is visible.
It appears that the use of lidar in this situation is far superior to the results that can be achieved using Landsat imagery, as seen here. The following website and article provide additional information.
http://angkorlidar.org/publications/
Evans, D. H., R. J. Fletcher, C. Pottier, J.-B. Chevance, D. Soutif, B. S. Tan, S. Im, D. Ea, T. Tin, S. Kim, C. Cromarty, S. De Greef, K. Hanus, P. Bâty, R. Kuszinger, I. Shimoda and G. Boornazian. 2013. “Uncovering archaeological landscapes at Angkor using lidar,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 110: 12595-12600
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