Wings over Armenia
This became possible
with invention of airplane, or to be more correct, after World War I when
there was plenty of aircraft left and many pilots with searching minds
who had noticed mysterious hazy ornaments on the ground. Later they discovered
that differences in color and density of crops, definite shadows visible
from airplanes, make it possible to trace sites and monuments literally
turned to dust centuries ago. Trenches, ditches, and channels get filled
by dust and mud, which results in denser and darker vegetation; stone
walls become covered by relatively thinner soil-accordingly producing
more sparse vegetation.
So it was a matter of altitude to notice this huge puzzle, and a pioneer of aerial survey, O.G.S. Crawford, described it perfectly as a difference between man's and cat's view of the carpet-the higher you are, the more you can see.
So it was a matter of altitude to notice this huge puzzle, and a pioneer of aerial survey, O.G.S. Crawford, described it perfectly as a difference between man's and cat's view of the carpet-the higher you are, the more you can see.
Another pioneer of this
new method, Antoine Poidebard, started his surveys in the Middle East
in the nineteen-twenties; and it seems unfair that being a good friend
of Armenia he never had a chance to apply aerial archaeology method to
this country.
However, the curtain of secrecy that veiled mapping and aerial imaging in Soviet times, as well as the preoccupation of archaeologists with "traditional" excavations, explains why this method wasn't used here.
With the new millennium, when cultural and scientific life in the Republic of Armenia started to return to its normal stream after a harsh transitional decade, archaeologists, light aviation pilots and documentary filmmakers have met àt the Armenian Federation of UNESCO Clubs. Prof. Hayk Hakobyan of Yerevan State University, Karen Martirosyan and Eduard Serobyan, with thousands of jumps and hundreds of hours in-air, and Vardan Hovhannisyan with ability to see the most attractive and scenic "frame," were already prepared to go ahead with a project of aerial archaeology. In 2002 the project had such partners as the British Academy, British Council, the Aerial Archaeology Research Group (AARG, UK) and the Association for Cultural Exchange (ACE, UK).
However, the curtain of secrecy that veiled mapping and aerial imaging in Soviet times, as well as the preoccupation of archaeologists with "traditional" excavations, explains why this method wasn't used here.
With the new millennium, when cultural and scientific life in the Republic of Armenia started to return to its normal stream after a harsh transitional decade, archaeologists, light aviation pilots and documentary filmmakers have met àt the Armenian Federation of UNESCO Clubs. Prof. Hayk Hakobyan of Yerevan State University, Karen Martirosyan and Eduard Serobyan, with thousands of jumps and hundreds of hours in-air, and Vardan Hovhannisyan with ability to see the most attractive and scenic "frame," were already prepared to go ahead with a project of aerial archaeology. In 2002 the project had such partners as the British Academy, British Council, the Aerial Archaeology Research Group (AARG, UK) and the Association for Cultural Exchange (ACE, UK).
A Paramotor is a combination
of a parawing and a propeller engine. It can take off and land on a patch
of ground, weighs only 30 kilograms and allows pilot and passenger/cameraman
to fly up to one hour with speed varying from zero to 70 kilometers per
hour. Taking into account innumerous bureaucratic hindrances and high
cost for helicopter/light aircraft flight, the two most important features
of a paramotor are autonomy and very low cost.
However, to pilot and photographer the initial attempts to get to the air didn't seem as killingly funny as to the rest of the team, which, with undisguised impatience, was looking for another failed take-off with the following picturesque ensemble from ground above: a/ photographer; b/ pilot; c/ motor with rotating propeller.
However, to pilot and photographer the initial attempts to get to the air didn't seem as killingly funny as to the rest of the team, which, with undisguised impatience, was looking for another failed take-off with the following picturesque ensemble from ground above: a/ photographer; b/ pilot; c/ motor with rotating propeller.
During an October session
the British-Armenian team mastered the art of aerial survey by paramotor,
and studied some 200km2. of foothills and plains from the air and on foot.
A number of known sites dating from the Bronze Age were affirmed, and
new features were discovered and identified-fortifications, field systems,
and terraces.
In addition to quite promising scientific achievements the autumn session was marked by the dialogue of two civilizations-Northern Island and Southern Mountainous Continental. Armenian expressiveness and inimitable British humour secured the results of a multidimensional cultural exchange.
The project of Aerial Archaeology Research is a pioneering programme not only for Armenia, but also for the Newly Independent States. Besides being a combination of new techniques (aerial survey) and equipment (computers) with classical methods of archaeological research, the project is an absorbing fusion of scientific, adventure, sportive and cultural elements. Providing an unprecedented level of accuracy, reliability and cost efficiency, it can serve as an important tool for conservation and environmental-protection policy.
Supporting Armenian science in its transition, the Aerial Archaeology Research project integrates new techniques and international standards, and integrates international participants in what is called global development.
In addition to quite promising scientific achievements the autumn session was marked by the dialogue of two civilizations-Northern Island and Southern Mountainous Continental. Armenian expressiveness and inimitable British humour secured the results of a multidimensional cultural exchange.
The project of Aerial Archaeology Research is a pioneering programme not only for Armenia, but also for the Newly Independent States. Besides being a combination of new techniques (aerial survey) and equipment (computers) with classical methods of archaeological research, the project is an absorbing fusion of scientific, adventure, sportive and cultural elements. Providing an unprecedented level of accuracy, reliability and cost efficiency, it can serve as an important tool for conservation and environmental-protection policy.
Supporting Armenian science in its transition, the Aerial Archaeology Research project integrates new techniques and international standards, and integrates international participants in what is called global development.
- Rog Palmer and Chris Musson (AARG, UK) for support, professionalism and devotion to science.
- The Aerial Archaeology Research Group (AARG), the Association for Cultural Exchange (ACE), and the British Academy, for invaluable support of the project.
- The British Council for understanding, and the donated paramotor.
- The United States Embassy in Yerevan for the pickup that conquers our roads.