Sarah Parcak (born Bangor, Maine), is an American archaeologist and Egyptologist, who uses satellite imaging to identify archaeological sites in Egypt.
Parcak received her Bachelor's degree in Egyptology and Archaeological Studies from Yale University in 2001, and her Ph.D. from Cambridge University. Currently, she is an assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Alabama, Birmingham; prior to that she was a teacher of Egyptian art and history at the University of Wales, Swansea.[1]
Current work
From 2003 to 2004, Parcak used a combination of satellite imaging analysis and surface surveys in the possible detection of 132 possible archaeological sites, some dating back to 3,000 B.C.[2] In her latest work, Parcak tested several different types of satellite imagery to look for water sources within the arid region of the Sinai, East Delta and Middle Egypt, determining possible archaeological sites.[2] This process, if proven to work, may decreases the time and cost for determining archaeological sites compared to the older method of local surface detection.[3]
In May 2011, Parcak's UAB team announced that they located 17 previously unknown pyramids and more than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements outside Sa el-Hagar, Egypt, through the study of satellite images.[4] The discovery was televised by the BBC in a documentary called "Egypt's Lost Cities".[5] Her claims of discovery were challenged by Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Minister of State for Antiquities.[6] Hawass stated that some of the 'new' discoveries were previously known, and others remained unconfirmed at the time the program was aired. Her claim that infrared radiation could be used to detect sub-surface features was also challenged by remote sensing experts. IR radiation can not penetrate nearly as far as claimed by Parak in the BBC documentary. The physics explaining this fact can be found at: http://www.vscht.cz/anl/vibspec/FTIR%20Reflection%20Techniques.pdf.
In March 2012 a paper was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences which built upon the work of Parcak and the late Andrew Sherratt, locating around 9000 potential archaeological sites in Syria through the use of multispectral satellite images. [7] [8]
Notes
- ↑ From the UNLV Department of Art website
- ↑ a b From the University of Alabama at Birmingham Media Relations website
- ↑ From the SEPE: Survey and Excavation Projects in Egypt website
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-13522957
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b011pwms
- ↑ http://english.ahram.org.eg/~/NewsContent/9/40/12994/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/News-broadcast-by-BBC-is-inaccurate,-says-Hawass.aspx
- ↑ Satellite images spot early settlements. ABC Science, 20. März 2012, abgerufen am 27. Mai 2012.
- ↑ Bjoern H. Menze, Jason A. Ur: Mapping patterns of long-term settlement in Northern Mesopotamia at a large scale. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109. Jahrgang, Nr. 14, 19. März 2012, doi:10.1073/pnas.1115472109 (pnas.org).