COSMO SkyMed X-Band SAR application - combined with thermal and RGB images - in the archaeological landscape of Roman Mellaria (Fuente Obejuna-Cordoba, Spain)

COSMO SkyMed offers high resolution X-Band SAR (synthetic aperture radar) images. Despite its enormous potential, research investigating the possible uses in archaeology is still very scarce, especially of one which works solely with single date analysis starting with a single SAR scene. Therefore, we present the results of single date analysis developed with the acquisition of a CSK-SPOTLIGHT X-Band SAR image from Telespazio Iberica (Italian Space Agency) which examined 49 km(2) of the territory of the ancient Roman city of Mellaria. This has allowed us to calibrate the possibilities of CSK X-Band SAR in a geographic environment under climatic and atmospheric conditions other than those studied up to now. In addition, it is the first time that it has been used in an archaeological environment as dense as Spain. We tried to use the X-Band SAR (1 m/pixel) image in order to detect archaeological traces in combination with thermal images (0.26 m/pixel) and RGB (0.03 m/pixel) taken airborne. We also used the RGB orthophotographs from the PNOA-IGN (0.50 m/pixel) as a comparative method.