Aerial photography is undoubtedly now one of the principal techniques used by contemporary archaeologists to explore past sites and landscapes. However, the history of the technique of aerial photography itself and how it developed into such a mainstay of archaeological research has often been given only cursory attention in books relating to the subject. This excellent volume by Martyn Barber redresses that imbalance, focusing primarily on the history of aerial photography and archaeology from the earliest attempts at gaining aerial perspectives through to the new remote sensing technologies of the 21st-Century. The book developed out of the celebrations surrounding the centenary of a series of balloon photographs taken of Stonehenge in 1906; the first aerial photographs specifically taken of an archaeological monument.
Following an introduction to the subject and the 1906 photographs of Stonehenge, the book discusses the development of both military and civilian airborne reconnaissance during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (Chapters 1-3). The impact of the First World War on both techniques of aerial photography and approaches to interpretative mapping are then discussed (Chapter 4), before the book takes a brief detour from its broadly chronological structure to focus on how the corresponding recognition of archaeological sites from an aerial perspective has developed through time (Chapter 5).
The role of O G S Crawford in driving forward our understanding of aerial archaeology through his relationship with the Ordnance Survey is rightly covered in some detail in Chapter 6, along with other aspects of inter-war aerial photography, such as the growing number of civil aviation firms. The development of aerial photography during the Second World War follows in Chapter 7, including examples from both Allied and Luftwaffe perspectives, as well as the growing challenges for photo interpreters caused by the use of camouflage and decoys. The close parallels between the development of aerial photography and archaeology are emphasised even further when the wartime activities of the Photographic Interpretation Unit (PIU) at RAF Medmenham are discussed, with the staff list of this unit reading to some extent like a 'who's who' of later 20th-Century field archaeology.
The final section of the book follows the developments of aerial archaeology from the post-war period through to the present day (Chapter 8). Emphasis is again given to the role of individuals, such as J K S St Joseph, in driving forward both the recognition and scientific understanding of aerial archaeology, as well as the creation of important photographic archives (e.g. Cambridge University Collection of Aerial Photography, National Monuments Record) and more recent interpretative mapping programmes (e.g. National Mapping Programme). The subsequent discussion of new techniques and the future of aerial survey is perhaps the weakest section in the book. For example, the burgeoning use of high resolution satellite imagery alongside aerial photography is given only a relatively brief mention. Similarly, there is no reference to the significantly increasing use of civilian Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for both aerial mapping and DEM-production on archaeological projects around the world (see for example: Verhoeven 2009; Verhoeven et al 2009), a development that interestingly echoes the 19th-Century use of automated cameras attached to tethered kites or balloons discussed in Chapters 2-3.
The book is skilfully illustrated throughout with carefully selected and informative aerial photographs that relate well to the points made in the text. Overall this is a fascinating journey through the history of aerial photography and archaeology that is strongly recommended to both archaeologists and those interested in the history of technological developments alike.
References
- Verhoeven, G. 2009. Providing an archaeological bird's-eye view – an overall picture of ground-based means to execute low-altitude aerial photography (LAAP) in archaeology. Archaeological Prospection 16, 233-249.
- Verhoeven, G., Loenders, J., Vermeulen, F. and Docter, R. 2009. Helikite aerial photography – a versatile means of unmanned, radio controlled low-altitude aerial archaeology. Archaeological Prospection 16, 125-138.