Low-Cost Archaeological Investigation and Rapid Mapping of Ancient Stone Tidal Weirs in the Penghu Archipelago Using Google Earth

This paper provides a brief history review of the use of ancient weirs in fishing on our planet, as well as a pilot study that involves investigating and mapping the coastal heritage of ancient stone tidal weirs (STWs) in the Penghu Archipelago which is located in the Taiwan Strait. The spatial distribution and morphological features of STWs across Penghu Archipelago were investigated and analyzed using very high-resolution (VHR) and freely available Google Earth (GE) imagery and geographic information system (GIS) analysis tools. A total of 539 ground-truthed STWs were identified from multiple temporal GE images, and these accounted for over 90% of the localized inventory databases. The proposed GE-based method was found to be more efficient, timely and effective compared to field and airborne surveys. This paper illustrates the utility of GE as a source of freely available VHR remote sensing imagery for archaeological surveys and heritage sustainability in coastal areas.