Remote Sensing analysis in the Florentine Plain: investigating wetland context by comparing Quickbird image and multitemporal aerial photographs

Archaeological investigations carried out in the Sesto Fiorentino area (Florence, Italy) revealed a significant number of prehistoric finds. Landscape archaeological analyses were carried out using recent (2004) and historical (1954 and 1965) aerial photos in conjunction with near infra-red (NIR) images (1997 and 2006) and historical cartography in order to detect morphological anomalies connected to the plain palaeo-drainage. In order to carry out the research, additional technologies such as DGPS and GIS were adopted. DGPS surveys in RTK modality offered autonomy and high accuracy when acquiring ground control points used in photogrammetric processing. Multilayer GIS provided a common platform to analyze all the data, highlighting its use in palaeo-channel identification. Within this research framework, one of the objectives of the study was to illustrate the potential of high-resolution QuickBird satellite images for the identification of palaeo-rivers by means of spectral enhancement. The comparison of different remote sensing data sources pointed out their advantages, pecularities and potentialities for the reconstruction of a prehistoric sedimentary landscape. The research revealed that this approach offers effective tools for the investigation of hidden prehistoric landscape features.