The new tools of archaeology, revealing lost cities and other ancient wonders – Libération

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Artificial intelligence: from fascination to concerncase

LiDAR technology and artificial intelligence are just some of the technological advances that are making archaeologists’ discoveries faster and easier.

Much of the physical remains of our civilization has disappeared. Erased by time, buried under tons of earth, dynamited or eroded by the elements. Faced with this gradual disappearance of traces of our past, archaeologists have never given up.

In the past, their research relied mainly on shovels, brushes, magnifying glasses – meticulous work, fragment by fragment, bone by bone, pottery shard by pottery shard. This method continues today, but archaeologists now rely on an impressive range of modern technologies to unearth traces of vanished civilizations.

Among these tools are artificial intelligence, DNA sequencing, satellite images, airborne technology called LiDAR (for “Light Detection and Ranging”), drones equipped with thermal infrared cameras and even mini-robots capable of slipping in burial shafts. These remote sensing technologies, as well as AI and machine learninggreatly increase the chances that sites targeted by archaeologists will reveal important artifacts without them needing to expend unnecessary effort.

“There is a palpable sense of urgency around site mapping, as coastal erosion, fires, tsunamis – all large-scale climate phenomena – put archaeological sites at risk,” explains Sarah Parcak, American archaeologist

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