Pre-Archaeological Investigation by Integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Aeromagnetic Surveys and Soil Analyses

Cao，Wei1; Qing，Hao2; Xu，Xing3; Liu，Chang4; Chen，Silin4; Zhong，Yi1,5; Liu，Jiabo1; Li，Yuanjie1; Jiang，Xiaodong1; Gao，Dalun6; Jiang，Zhaoxia7,8; Liu，Qingsong1,5,9

2022-09-01

10.3390/drones6090243

Drones   Impact Factor & Quartile

2504-446X

Magnetic surveys have been widely used in archaeological field investigations. However, conventional survey methods are often restricted by complicated field conditions and ambiguities in data interpretation. In this study, a novel magnetic survey system was designed for pre-archaeological investigation (preliminary survey prior to the archaeological excavation) based on a modified quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and was successfully applied to an archaeological area with a complex landform in Huizhou, China. Results show that the target anomaly identified by UAV aeromagnetic survey corresponds well to the location of a potential archaeological site. Subsequent soil analyses further confirm the archaeological value of UAV aeromagnetic results and provide strong constraints on the interpretation of target anomalies. This study demonstrates that the newly proposed UAV aeromagnetic system can adapt to the various field conditions with the advantages of flexibility and efficiency, which has great potential for future archaeological investigations.

aeromagnetic survey integrated method pre-archaeological investigation soil analyses unmanned aerial vehicle

SCI

English

First ; Corresponding

National Key Research and Development Program of China[2016YFA061903];China Postdoctoral Science Foundation[2020M682770];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41704068];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41806063];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41874078];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41922026];National Natural Science Foundation of China[42104068];National Natural Science Foundation of China[92158208];Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Program[KCXFZ20211020174803005];Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Program[KQTD20170810111725321];

Remote Sensing

Remote Sensing

WOS:000856269900001

MDPI

2-s2.0-85138618099

Scopus

1.Centre for Marine Magnetism (CM2),Department of Ocean Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,518055,China
2.GTK (Shenzhen) Technology Co.,Ltd,Shenzhen,518102,China
3.Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey,Guangzhou,510760,China
4.Guangdong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology,Guangzhou,510075,China
5.Laboratory for Marine Geology,Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology,Qingdao,266061,China
6.SUSTech Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies,Shenzhen,518055,China
7.Frontiers Science Center for Deep Ocean Multispheres and Earth System,Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques,Ministry of Education,College of Marine Geosciences,Ocean University of China,Qingdao,266100,China
8.Laboratory for Marine Geology,Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources,Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology,Qingdao,266237,China
9.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou),Guangzhou,511458,China

Cao，Wei,Qing，Hao,Xu，Xing,et al. Pre-Archaeological Investigation by Integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Aeromagnetic Surveys and Soil Analyses[J]. Drones,2022,6(9).

Cao，Wei.,Qing，Hao.,Xu，Xing.,Liu，Chang.,Chen，Silin.,...&Liu，Qingsong.(2022).Pre-Archaeological Investigation by Integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Aeromagnetic Surveys and Soil Analyses.Drones,6(9).

Cao，Wei,et al."Pre-Archaeological Investigation by Integrating Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Aeromagnetic Surveys and Soil Analyses".Drones 6.9(2022).