An integrated approach for the detection of small archaeological sites along palaeochannels: A case study in the Northeast Chaohu area, China

Because of the flourishing vegetation and developed agriculture in eastern China, it is difficult to extract information of small archaeological sites from remote sensing images based only on spectral analysis. This article presents an integrated approach for detecting mound-shaped archaeological sites of the Zhegao region in the northeast Chaohu area. Initial studies of SPOT satellite imagery have shown evidence of a prominent palaeochannel river system, buried under land cover in the western Zhegao region. Digital 1:50000 topographical maps can be highly effective in determining mound-shaped sites and their elevation in this area. These mound-shaped sites include known and unknown small archaeological sites of the Neolithic and Pre-Qin periods. A database of seven known small archaeological sites imported into a GIS environment can be utilized to help understand their relationship with identified palaeochannels. By integrating above multi-source data, three likely archaeological sites were identified from the many mound-shaped sites and tested by field survey. This integrated method strengthens the use of multi-geoinformation technologies in archaeological surveys of subtropical agricultural areas. The results also suggest that there is a close relationship between small archaeological sites and palaeochannels, and other raised mounds adjoining identified palaeochannels should be selected for further exploration.