Satellite-based geophysical prospection of the Roman fortress of Qreiye-Ayyāš in Syria

Abstract

The presented results show that the launch of the new generation of SAR satellites enables us to do detailed archaeological prospection by satellite radar. In addition to this prospection, of course, confirmation of selected satellite findings should then be sought through the deployment of other geophysical methods such as magnetometry, resistivity or ground-penetrating radar. One of the main results is the discovery that even high frequency X-band waves have a slight penetration depth of around 20 cm. Consequently even buried archaeological remains can be detected by this new method.