Program > By author > Ștefan Dan

Too many archaeological sites across the world have already been lost due to anthropic interference or natural hazards. Nevertheless, there are still several archaeological landscapes that survived completely unspoiled, especially because they are located in remote or inaccessible environments. This is the case of forested mountains tops in central Europe that still hide numerous unresearched prehistoric or Medieval forts, roads and battlefields. Remote as they are, some of these unspoiled archaeological landmarks have become also threatened as development projects continue to grow, or precisely due to their remoteness – making them vulnerable to heritage looters.
In order to get protection, these landscapes have first to get known in their entirety. Due to their remoteness and difficult environmental nature, even the access of researchers remains limited, hampering and delaying their understanding. LiDAR applications are for sure game changers that could expand the research horizons on the highest peaks and under the canopy.
In this presentation we will discuss the benefits and challenges of this technology using examples recently collected in a Romanian project dedicated to the exploration of the Eastern Carpathians.