Geomatic techniques for surveying and mapping an archaeological site

This paper describes a variety of modern geomatics techniques for the detection and survey of emerging archeological structures in Sicily. The case study presented in this work is related to an archaeological site that lies on the north-western flank of Etna, the highest active volcano of Europe. For the field survey, we used an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped with a high-resolution camera and a GPS for the ground control points. In addition, we produced a Digital Surface Model (DSM) and several detailed orthophotos of the detected objects. The geomatic approach here adopted made significant contributions to our reconstruction of the past settlement located between “Balze Soprane” and “Santa Venera” districts.