Detection of ancient settlement mounds – Archaeological survey based on the SRTM terrain model

In the present study we demonstrate the value of the SRTM 3 arc-second terrain model for a virtual survey of archaeological sites -the detection and localization of ancient settlement mounds in the Near East. These so-called "tells" are the result of millennia of settlement activity within the period from 8000-1000 BC, and form visible landmarks of the world’s first farming and urban communities. The SRTM model provides for the first time a systematic opportunity to identify and plot such sites. In order to map these cultural monuments for the purpose of settlement archaeology and conservation, we develop a machine learning classifier, which predicts probable tell sites from the terrain model. Point-like elevations of a characteristic tell shape, standing out for more than 5-6m in the DEM were successfully detected.