Area-Optimized, Rapid UAV-Borne Recording of Medieval Heritage in Central Asia

Research demonstrates that consumer-grade UAV technology can efficiently record large areas of medieval heritage sites, even under strict time constraints. The study developed optimized workflows for rapid data acquisition, focusing on two Central Asian case studies: the Medieval fortifications in Bukhara (Uzbekistan) and the Orkhon Valley (Mongolia). By integrating videogrammetry with single-shot imagery, the approach ensures gap-free coverage while maximizing area coverage. The findings provide practical guidelines for low-cost, off-the-shelf hardware and software, offering a scalable solution for documenting heritage sites that cannot be preserved in their entirety.

Block-Berlitz, M., Ducke, B., Rohland, H., Franken, C., Suchowska, P., Batbayar, T., & Erdenebat, U. (2021). Area-Optimized, Rapid UAV-Borne Recording of Medieval Heritage in Central Asia. Journal of Field Archaeology, 47(2), 90–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/00934690.2021.2007661