UAVS as a platform for earthwork heritage: monitoring, documentation and visualisation

Malbon, Helen

Abstract

Conservation of Cultural Heritage has been a mainstay of UNESCO and other such organisations for decades, whether it is artefacts, buildings, or earthworks. With the increase of tourism, urban encroachment, climate change, or naturally occurring processes, the need to monitor and document earthwork heritage sites should be a priority. The increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in wider research across disciplines has opened a cost-effective method of data collection for disciplines like geography, geology and archaeology, all subjects that use aerial imagery.
The landscape of the Peak District has a diverse history still remaining and visible that is of increasing interest to tourists. By demonstrating the use of UAV derived imagery for monuments, this investigation establishes that UAVs can provide high resolution imagery of monuments within the landscape. This is particularly useful considering the possible costs incurred and when a minimum area requirement can limit access to satellite imagery. From there, it establishes that the contemporary data can be utilised to estimate modelled topographies of heritage sites prior to construction. This topography utilises data from the contemporary site in order to rebuild the monument, which was achieved using both remnant data and measurements provided by earlier researchers. The rebuilds and contemporary sites can be used for volumetric analysis, to understand change that may have occurred over time. Organisations dedicated to the conservation, preservation and documentation of earthwork heritage can utilise the methodology in a cost-effective way to monitor as often as is needed to protect them. Finally, it is discussed how these digital heritage images and other types of visualisation can be used not only within academic research, but also to provide access to the public who cannot reach these sites, or do not feel comfortable doing so, as well as defining how the created images, both 3D and 2D, can be used to make the public aware of heritage.

Citation

Malbon, H. (2023). UAVS as a platform for earthwork heritage: monitoring, documentation and visualisation. (Thesis). Keele University

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 19, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 19, 2023
• Award Date: 2023-06