Modelling the Seventies. Image-Based Modelling to Investigate Landscape Change in a Mediterranean Mountain Area

Historical aerial imagery can be used to investigate geomorphological change over time, which can inform research about the preservation and visibility of the archaeological record, as well as heritage management. This paper presents a composite Image-Based Modelling workflow to generate 3D models, historical orthophotos, and historical digital elevation models from images from the 1970s. The main challenge was the lack of high-resolution recent digital elevation models and ground control points. Therefore, spatial data from various sources had to be combined. To assess the accuracy of the final 3D model, the RMSE was calculated. While the workflow appears effective, the low accuracy of the initial data limits the usefulness of the model for the study of geomorphological change. However, it can be implemented to aid sample area selection when preparing archaeological fieldwork, or, when working with different survey datasets, signal areas with a high bias risk resulting from post-depositional processes.