Second flight season complete
Nearly 200 square kilometers were scanned over nine days of clear weather.
Example data Open Science & Archaeology Neglectedness 8/10 · Overlooked (example)
Example: LiDAR Lost Landscapes Survey
Airborne LiDAR mapping of forested areas, with open data.
The story
LiDAR can see through leaves, revealing terraces, roads and walls that walkers pass without noticing. The survey flies new areas and posts the raw data openly.
Local archaeologists get first look, then anyone can download the maps and join the search.
The team
- Dr. Selene Ibarra · Principal investigator
- Hugh Tarrant · Flight planner
- Anika Rao · GIS analyst
Example team (fictional people, for illustration only).
Efficiency rating
A Source: Example data - not sourced, as of
95¢ of every $1 reaches the work
- Reaches the work: 95¢
- Overhead: 3¢
- Advertising: 1¢
- Executive pay: 1¢
- Reaches the work: 95¢
- Overhead: 3¢
- Advertising: 1¢
- Executive pay: 1¢
Show data table
| Category | Cents per $1 |
|---|---|
| Reaches the work | 95 |
| Overhead | 3 |
| Advertising | 1 |
| Executive pay | 1 |
How the work budget is spent (example data)
- Program activities
- 50%
- Tools and equipment
- 25%
- Training
- 15%
- Open publication
- 10%
- Funding goal
- $600,000
- Raised
- $330,000
- Location
- Example Forest
About this project
A fictional survey team that maps forest-covered terrain with LiDAR to reveal hidden earthworks, then releases the point clouds publicly. Placeholder numbers.
Impact / Why it matters
LiDAR can reveal ancient settlements hidden under forest, and open data lets everyone study them.
LiDAR measures the ground with laser pulses from the air. Because some pulses slip through gaps in the leaves, researchers can digitally remove the trees and see the shape of the land underneath, including walls, roads and terraces.
This has revealed entire settlements that walking surveys missed for generations. A survey can cover in days what once took many seasons, and it shows archaeologists where excavation is most worth the effort.
Publishing the data openly means scholars, students and local communities can all explore it, and the sites can be protected before looters or development find them.
Project updates
Example updates: fictional news for illustration. Newest first.
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Open data portal launched
Point clouds and terrain models can now be downloaded without an account.
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Field team confirms a site
A ground visit confirmed a walled enclosure first spotted in the scan.
Example data. This project and its figures are fictional placeholders. See the methodology for how real ratings will be sourced.