Photogrammetry methods and related aerial photography methods have recently become widely used in archaeological and survey work. The widespread use of aerial photography methods in archaeology is primarily due to the emergence of modern, inexpensive and efficient unmanned aerial vehicles. With the help of drones in modern archeology, it is possible to visually record the results of field work, to link excavations, to prepare materials for archaeological exploration.

The use of photogrammetric methods together with aerial photography allows us to determine the shapes, sizes and other important characteristics of archaeological objects over large areas. Ground-based photogrammetry methods contribute to the accurate spatial reference and determination of the characteristics of objects.

It is particularly relevant to use aerial photography methods to record the results of field work of search teams studying the battlefields of Great Patriotic War, in open spaces (fields, steppes, etc.). Usually such works are carried out without full-fledged geodetic support of the expedition and are limited to fixing the places of discovery of finds by navigation satellite receivers with an error of 1-5 meters. Methods of shooting from UAVs allow you to record the location of all excavations at the same time, after the completion of field work. To achieve this task, our specialists perform areal nadir (cartographic) aerial photography with the placement and accurate binding of identification signs. The resulting “stitched” photo of the work area after orthotransformation allows you to coordinate all the excavations with high accuracy. The creation and processing of such an aerial photograph allows you to save the results of search operations for use and analysis in the future.

The arsenal of Center for Modern History includes unmanned aerial vehicles, specialized software and modern ground-based 3D scanners.