Seeing the past with futuristic eyes

Images taken remotely by underwater robots or flying drones can be stitched together to create a 360-degree view of an archaeological site with the help of photogrammetry

Archaeologists are using futuristic technologies to dig deeper into the past and visual human life and culture. Technologies like satellite mapping and 3D scanning are being supported by algorithms which can read terrestrial images for archaeological findings. 

Excavation spots are being identified with the help of such technologies. Later, the findings are analysed and even visualised using a range of augmented and virtual reality tools. 

The discovery of chariots at an excavation site in Sinauli, about 70 kilometers from New Delhi, created waves across the world of history. The chariots, discovered at a burial site in Sinauli, were found to be more than 4,000 years old. Archaeologists found sophisticated shields and swords at the site, which point to the realisation that the civilisation in the region was far more sophisticated than previously thought.  

Specialists used 3D scanning technology to understand the nuances and details of the various artefacts found at Sinauli. 

Globally, history buffs are leaning on technology to go deeper into history. While a large chariot or a sword is relatively easy to recognise, broken pieces of pottery or fragments of structures are tougher examine and visualise. It can take months to find, gather and put together all the pieces of an artefact. ArchAIDE, a special tool developed by a European Union project, is helping specialists and amateurs in identifying fragments. The tool automatically identifies the possible identity of a fragment by analysing its image and matching it with its database.

“A knowledge-base of pottery forms, decoration styles and stamps is used as reference by the automatic pottery classification tools,” according to the developers. It also has machine learning algorithms for “decoration and shape recognition from pottery shards.”

Machine learning is also being deployed on satellite images to identify possible excavation sites. Archaeologists are using airborne LIDAR systems to scan topography for unusual patterns which may identify spots to dig in. LIDAR uses laser to bounce off objects which may be underground. LIDAR tech combined with satellite images have been used to train algorithms. Such trained algorithms can scan thousands of images much faster, and shortlist them for scientists to take a closer look. Simple-looking mounds in open grasslands can be deceptive. Some can just be mounds of mud or some could be hiding historical evidence of human life. 

Such technologies revealed a hidden city beneath the jungles of Guatemala’s Peten region. Scientists could see below the dense vegetation of the jungle to discover a huge city with more than 61,000 structures of the Mayan civilisation. The experts used these images to create a 3D version of the city for improved understanding of the city. 

A site that could earlier have taken over a decade to map and analyse, can now be mapped in less than a year, while covering a much larger area. Archaeologists can now add a layer of virtual reality to get an immersive experience of an ancient city. 

Images taken remotely by underwater robots or flying drones can be stitched together to create a 360-degree view of a site with the help of photogrammetry. Prehistoric sites which are underwater are being analysed using unmanned underwater vehicles which can scan and photograph regions inaccessible to divers. Such underwater robots can also scoop up samples for scientists to analyse above ground. A technology using sub-atomic particles is being used to analyse the contents of a chamber deep inside the pyramid of Giza, which is more than 4500 years old. 

Understanding human civilisations and natural history can now proceed at accelerated speed with the help of new emerging technologies. The future is helping us understand history.