World War I revolutionized military tactics with the introduction of aerial reconnaissance, but its legacy extended far beyond the battlefield. After the war, veterans who had trained as photo interpreters began to realize that the same techniques used to survey enemy trenches could reveal something else: hidden traces of ancient civilizations.
During the war, aerial photography had required precise technology and highly trained observers. Cameras had evolved to capture detailed images from high altitudes, while photo interpreters developed the skills to read landscapes, identify structures, and spot subtle changes in terrain. These abilities, honed under the intense demands of war, became tools that archaeologists soon found invaluable.
One of the pioneers in this new field of aerial archaeology was O.G.S. Crawford. After the war, Crawford gained access to wartime reconnaissance photos and began scouring them for traces of the ancient past. In these images, he uncovered patterns that suggested the presence of Roman roads, burial mounds, and ancient settlements. This ability to see patterns invisible from the ground transformed archaeology, revealing sites that had remained hidden for centuries.
Crawford’s efforts—and those of other veterans with similar skills—showed that aerial photography could capture the outlines of long-forgotten civilizations, from crop marks revealing ancient roads to shadowed indentations marking old buildings. This adaptation of military technology to archaeology didn’t just advance the field; it changed our understanding of human history, opening up a new, aerial perspective on the past.
The fascinating journey from wartime reconnaissance to groundbreaking archaeological discovery will be explored further in our forthcoming documentary, Through the Lens.