Geospatial analysis of the Roman site of Munigua based on RGB airborne imagery

Ramírez-Juidias, E and Antón, D ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4267-2433, 2025. Geospatial analysis of the Roman site of Munigua based on RGB airborne imagery. Remote Sensing, 17 (18): 3224. ISSN 2072-4292

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Abstract

This study investigates the use of high-resolution RGB aerial imagery from Spain’s National Aerial Orthophotography Plan (PNOA) for archeological feature detection through spectral index analysis and unsupervised clustering. Focusing on the Roman site of Munigua, eight orthophotographs acquired between 2014 and 2024 were analyzed to compute five RGB-based spectral indices: VARI, GLI, ExG, CSI, and BI. These indices were used to detect surface spectral anomalies potentially linked to buried archeological structures. A multi-temporal approach was employed, with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-Means clustering applied independently to each image. This allowed for the identification of temporally persistent anomalies (areas that remained within the same spectral cluster across multiple years), suggesting the presence of underlying anthropogenic features. Despite the lack of near-infrared data, the combination of RGB-based indices and temporal clustering proved effective for non-invasive prospection. The methodology is scalable, repeatable, and relies entirely on open-access datasets, making it suitable for broader applications in heritage monitoring and landscape archeology. The results underscore the potential of RGB imagery and time-series clustering in detecting subtle archeological signals within complex vegetated environments.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Remote Sensing
Creators:	Ramírez-Juidias, E. and Antón, D.
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Date:	18 September 2025
Volume:	17
Number:	18
ISSN:	2072-4292
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.3390/rs17183224 DOI 2502176 Other
Rights:	© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Divisions:	Schools > School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	23 Sep 2025 13:23
Last Modified:	23 Sep 2025 13:23
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/54406

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