{"id":841,"date":"2013-01-15T09:25:34","date_gmt":"2013-01-15T14:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/?p=841"},"modified":"2017-07-28T10:06:24","modified_gmt":"2017-07-28T14:06:24","slug":"to-dig-or-not-to-dig","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2013\/01\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\/","title":{"rendered":"To Dig or Not to Dig"},"content":{"rendered":"

In recent decades, archaeologists have turned to high-tech tools, such as remote sensing, to give them a picture of where the world\u2019s historical and cultural treasures reside, buried beneath the Earth\u2019s sand, soil, water, and other cover. But even this 21st-century approach, relying on aerial and satellite remote sensing, has its limitations. \u201cWe knew we were not taking full advantage of these rich data sets,\u201d recounts Douglas C. Comer, a Baltimore-based expert, who has served as chief of the U.S. National Park Service\u2019s Applied Archaeology Center.<\/p>\n

So Comer turned to a team he calls \u201cthe wizards\u201d at the Whiting School Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics<\/a>. \u201cWe had heard that they needed some creative statisticians,\u201d says Professor Carey E. Priebe, who works with the Center for Imaging Science, in addition to other institutes here on campus. \u201cWe were crazy enough to answer the cold call.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"big-dig\"<\/a>
TREASURE TROVE: Archaeologists have found this ancient tool in the Mojave Desert.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The unlikely partnership has resulted in a new way to conduct wide-area surveys of the Earth\u2019s surface to identify archaeologically rich \u201chot spots,\u201d and it could pave the way for improving the ability of governments worldwide to quickly, and cost-effectively, inventory heritage sites. The U.S., for example, has inventoried only 15 percent of its public lands. \u201cIt\u2019s not a matter of finding everything,\u201d explains Comer. \u201cIt\u2019s a matter of not building on, developing, or destroying areas that might be important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Priebe-Comer team now is working with the National Park Service, NASA, and the Department of Defense, and they expect a National Science Foundation grant to support continued work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on the verge of a whole new way of conducting archaeological research,\u201d says Comer. The duo, with NASA\u2019s James C. Tilton, and Johns Hopkins doctoral students Li Chen and Daniel Sussman, has presented initial findings in the book Mapping Archaeological Landscapes from Space (Springer Press), co-edited by Comer and Michael Harrower, an assistant professor of Near Eastern studies at Johns Hopkins.<\/p>\n

In short, Priebe\u2019s team has been able to improve upon data analysis of high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and multispectral sensors by finetuning statistical analysis. They use image-processing techniques to translate multispectral bands into feature sets, and then use machine learning methods, widely employed in science, engineering, and business, to classify and analyze the data.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe machine learning isn\u2019t just blind searching,\u201d says Chen. \u201cWe incorporate features from data that archaeologists know are important,\u201d with the goal of detecting archaeological sites.<\/p>\n

Recently, the researchers have developed a complementary approach: They add statistically derived features to algorithms based on archaeologists\u2019 collective knowledge from centuries of combing the Earth\u2019s physical surface for ancient civilizations. \u201cWe know, for example,\u201d says Comer, \u201cthat people have located along waterways, built on slopes, desired vistas, and sought out diverse environments.\u201d This knowledge is incorporated into computer programs that search new data sets.<\/p>\n

The approach holds great promise. In 2007, Comer cataloged sites on San Clemente Island, off Southern California. Using a simpler analysis, Comer found 90 percent of the island\u2019s archaeological sites on about one-quarter of the island. Using the supercharged Hopkins model on a new area in the Mojave Desert, where sites are even more difficult to find, his preliminary results looked even better.<\/p>\n

The potential? \u201cWe\u2019re just beginning to understand,\u201d Comer says, with a smile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Archaeologists turn to high-tech tools to give them a picture of where the world’s historical and cultural treasures are buried.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-big-ideas","issue-winter-2013"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nTo Dig or Not to Dig - JHU Engineering Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2013\/01\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"To Dig or Not to Dig - JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Archaeologists turn to high-tech tools to give them a picture of where the world's historical and cultural treasures are buried.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/2013\/01\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"JHU Engineering Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-01-15T14:25:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-07-28T14:06:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/engineering.jhu.edu\/magazine-archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/big-dig.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Abby Lattes\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Abby Lattes\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Abby Lattes\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0244393be370fbc3ead8ec26062e9742\"},\"headline\":\"To Dig or Not to Dig\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-01-15T14:25:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-07-28T14:06:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":574,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/06\\\/big-dig.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Big Ideas\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/engineering.jhu.edu\\\/magazine-archive\\\/2013\\\/01\\\/to-dig-or-not-to-dig\\\/\",\"name\":\"To Dig or Not to Dig - 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