Abstract
n July 2017, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the Royal Commission for Al-Ula, a broad ranging directive designed to help develop the region around the desert oasis Al-Ula and to document and preserve its rich archaeology. One aspect of this commission is the Identification and Documentation of Immovable Heritage Assets (IDIHA): an international team of archaeologists that utilise ground survey, remote sensing and aerial archaeology to record the archaeological sites surrounding the oasis of Al-Ula and its hinterland.
Under the directorship of Professor David Kennedy, the University of Western Australia team utilises remote sensing data and helicopters to survey inaccessible archaeological sites in the desolate but dramatic landscapes surrounding the town. This survey will provide in many instances the first archaeological documentation of these sites. Furthermore, Structure from Motion techniques like photogrammetry, along with ad-hoc ground survey, have been performed to allow a more intensive analysis of the archaeology, with preliminary analysis of the ceramic and lithic data suggesting many may date to the Neolithic and Bronze Age.
This seminar will focus on the methodology utilised by the team for the discovery, identification, and recording of these archaeological sites, the preliminary results of the first field season and a discussion of the future of the project.
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