Cartography of the archaeological surveys taken from an Ikonos stereo-pair: a case study of the territory of Hierapolis in Phrygia (Turkey)

The paper analyses methods and issues connected with the elaboration of Ikonos stereo high-resolution satellite images to create a large-scale cartography for archaeological research. This methodology has been used on an area of the ancient territory of Hierapolis in Phrygia (Turkey), where archaeological surveys, developed by the Italian Archaeological Mission, are in progress. In particular, the study area is situated between the modern villages of Yeniköy and Küçükdereköy, for which neither cartographies suitable for ground surveys nor aerophotogrammetrical covers were available. In this area there are a lot of archaeological remains; in particular, a large Hellenistic and Roman settlement and its necropolises, and also an old Turkish settlement, now destroyed. An Ikonos image was ortho-rectified to obtain a space-map of the entire area. It was used to extract vectorial thematic elements (modern topography, hydrology, archaeological remains and traces, etc.) for the production of maps for archaeological research in the tolerances of a 1:10,000 scale.

► We highlights the case of Hierapolis in Phrygia where archaeological surveys are in progress.
► We create a very detailed cartography for archaeological purpose from high-resolution satellite images.
► We obtain a space-map of the entire area from an ortho-rectified Ikonos image.
► We extracted vectorial thematic elements and positioned the archaeological data collected during survey.
► We have obtained a large scale cartography (1:10,000 in scale) of areas that are very rich in archaeological evidence, filling the gaps caused by the lack of updated maps in appropriate scale.