Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean
This paper investigates the transformative impact of micro-class Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), commonly known as underwater drones, on underwater archaeological mapping. With advancements in Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) technology leading to increased capabilities and reduced costs, these...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Ubiquity Press
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology |
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| Online Access: | https://account.journal.caa-international.org/index.php/up-j-jcaa/article/view/184 |
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| author | Eleni Diamanti Øyvind Ødegård Vasilis Mentogiannis George Koutsouflakis |
| author_facet | Eleni Diamanti Øyvind Ødegård Vasilis Mentogiannis George Koutsouflakis |
| author_sort | Eleni Diamanti |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper investigates the transformative impact of micro-class Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), commonly known as underwater drones, on underwater archaeological mapping. With advancements in Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) technology leading to increased capabilities and reduced costs, these compact and user-friendly drones are making underwater archaeological sites more accessible, reducing the need for human diving. The paper first highlights the advantages of ROVs, including their portability, maneuverability, and ability to perform semi-autonomous mapping with real-time data assessment, which enhances decision making and minimizes the need for site revisits. Second, it presents two case studies from the Phournoi archipelago in Greece, demonstrating the effective use of underwater drones in the photogrammetric mapping of a Late Roman shipwreck of amphora cargo, as well as the large-scale surveying of a historically significant anchorage site. The findings underscore the potential of this technology to revolutionize underwater archaeological documentation, akin to how terrestrial cultural heritage mapping has been highly benefited from aerial drone photogrammetry. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b758778860c247e485ed7bbfe4b58b8d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2514-8362 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Ubiquity Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology |
| spelling | doaj-art-b758778860c247e485ed7bbfe4b58b8d2025-02-11T05:35:40ZengUbiquity PressJournal of Computer Applications in Archaeology2514-83622025-01-018110–2410–2410.5334/jcaa.184182Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the MediterraneanEleni Diamanti0https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2562-4786Øyvind Ødegård1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1056-1453Vasilis Mentogiannis2https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8586-3873George Koutsouflakis3Department of Archaeology and Cultural History, University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim; Department of Marine Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, NO; KORSEAI, Institute of Historical and Archaeological Research, PhournoiDepartment of Archaeology and Cultural History, University Museum, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim; Department of Marine Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), TrondheimKORSEAI, Institute of Historical and Archaeological Research, PhournoiKORSEAI, Institute of Historical and Archaeological Research, Phournoi; Department of History, Archaeology and Social Anthropology, University of ThessalyThis paper investigates the transformative impact of micro-class Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs), commonly known as underwater drones, on underwater archaeological mapping. With advancements in Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) technology leading to increased capabilities and reduced costs, these compact and user-friendly drones are making underwater archaeological sites more accessible, reducing the need for human diving. The paper first highlights the advantages of ROVs, including their portability, maneuverability, and ability to perform semi-autonomous mapping with real-time data assessment, which enhances decision making and minimizes the need for site revisits. Second, it presents two case studies from the Phournoi archipelago in Greece, demonstrating the effective use of underwater drones in the photogrammetric mapping of a Late Roman shipwreck of amphora cargo, as well as the large-scale surveying of a historically significant anchorage site. The findings underscore the potential of this technology to revolutionize underwater archaeological documentation, akin to how terrestrial cultural heritage mapping has been highly benefited from aerial drone photogrammetry.https://account.journal.caa-international.org/index.php/up-j-jcaa/article/view/184marine archaeologyunderwater dronesrovshipwreck mappingunderwater cultural heritagemarine roboticsunderwater photogrammetrysensor fusion |
| spellingShingle | Eleni Diamanti Øyvind Ødegård Vasilis Mentogiannis George Koutsouflakis Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean Journal of Computer Applications in Archaeology marine archaeology underwater drones rov shipwreck mapping underwater cultural heritage marine robotics underwater photogrammetry sensor fusion |
| title | Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean |
| title_full | Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean |
| title_fullStr | Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean |
| title_short | Underwater Drones as a Low-Cost, yet Powerful Tool for Underwater Archaeological Mapping: Case Studies from the Mediterranean |
| title_sort | underwater drones as a low cost yet powerful tool for underwater archaeological mapping case studies from the mediterranean |
| topic | marine archaeology underwater drones rov shipwreck mapping underwater cultural heritage marine robotics underwater photogrammetry sensor fusion |
| url | https://account.journal.caa-international.org/index.php/up-j-jcaa/article/view/184 |
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