Airborne lidar in archaeology: Overview and a case study

Airborne laser scanning (ALS) is an optical measurement technique for obtaining high-precision information about the Earth's surface including basic terrain mapping (Digital terrain model, bathymetry, corridor mapping), vegetation cover (forest assessment and inventory), coastal and urban areas. Recent studies examined the possibility of using ALS in archaeological investigations to identify features of cultural interest, although the ability of this technology in this context has not yet been studied in detail. In this paper we provide an overview of past and present applications of ALS, as tool for detecting archaeological and palaeo-environmental features on bare surface as well as on vegetated and wooded areas. Moreover, a case study, related to an Etruscan site in Northern Latium, is showed. The LiDAR data were used for the first time, to our best knowledge, to identify looted tombs covered by vegetation.