Temperature Check! Aerial Thermography as a Complement to Geophysical Survey in Hellenistic Central Asia: A Case Study from the Bukhara Oasis, Uzbekistan

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper presents preliminary results of systematic aerial and geophysical survey in the Kyzylkum Desert, west of the Bukhara Oasis (Uzbekistan) from 2023-24. Our work utilizes a combined approach of magnetometry, ground penetrating radar, traditional panchromatic aerial photography, and aerial thermography to document land use patterns of relict archaeological landscapes from the Late Bronze, Hellenistic, and Late Antique periods. To date little is known about the efficacy of standard remote sensing and archaeological geophysical technologies in the Kyzylkum’s most arid regions. Our work demonstrates that multiple, complementary technologies are needed to fully grasp the scale and typology of ancient land use practices in this region. Emphasizing results from a relict Hellenistic landscape, this paper presents new data on hydrological infrastructure, production areas, habitations, hollow ways, and landscaping efforts west of the Bukhara Oasis, providing useful insights for our understanding of non-destructive approaches to Central Asian landscape archaeology.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• SAA 2025: Individual Abstracts

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 54025