The use of ASTER satellite imagery in archaeological contexts

Multispectral ASTER satellite imagery has recently become available for scholarly research. The overall bandwidth and spatial resolution of the system give it an advantage over older Landsat satellites. In northern Mesopotamia, modern day north Iraq, hollow ways, sites and canals have all been located using the ASTER system. This system has proven to be useful in both verifying results found in CORONA satellite data and locating potential archaeological features that cannot be easily distinguished on CORONA imagery. Spectral signatures and visual manipulation can both be used to assist in the identification of distinct feature types. Reflectance information obtained from imagery can also be checked with ASTER's spectral library With proper analytical methods applied, significant benefits for landscape archaeology can be achieved. Copyright (c) 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.