Droning on: UAV Survey in the Black Desert of Jordan

Summary

In this paper we discuss preliminary results of UAV-survey in one area (c. 32 sq. km.) along the Wadi al-Qattafi, Jordan as part of the larger Eastern Badia Archaeological Project. Excavation and survey in this area of the Black Desert revealed hundreds, or possibly thousands, of unmapped and unrecorded structures that required a new approach to their accurate identification and documentation. With the exception of the large desert ‘kites’ (hunting traps), most stone structures are too small to map effectively using satellite imagery, and too sparsely distributed to map efficiently with traditional terrestrial survey tools. Our results reveal new insights into the distribution of kites, buildings, and other structures in this area. In addition, we note how this mapping project will affect our future research directions, and the challenges drones present for documenting the cultural landscape in this remote region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21984