Stonehenge, Wiltshire – The past

For more than a decade, Adam Stanford and English Heritage have periodically recorded the pavement marks that appear at Stonehenge in summer when the conditions are right. Until recently, this involved low-level oblique aerial photography via mast, kite or drone. However, our team has now used new RGB, multispectral and UAS (drone) thermographic survey methods – with enlightening results. The application of vegetation indices to multispectral data provided new possibilities to identify hitherto unknown features within the monument, both in the visible and invisible spectrum.

This image shows a ground-flattened digital elevation model of Stonehenge derived from the UAS survey. This technique is used to enhance surface-level micro-topographical features that might otherwise be invisible to the naked eye. Orange and red colors represent positive expressions above the surface, while light and dark blue colors represent depressions.

Analysis and interpretation of results with Heather Sebire and Mark Bowden are ongoing.

Text: Adam Stanford / Image: Survey data: Adam Stanford, GIS Analysis: Dr Scott Williams, SUMO GeoSurveys