Documentation of cultural monuments and sites often includes a thorough analysis of their condition through time. This paper addresses the benefits of using multispectral imagery such as visible, near-infrared, and thermal infrared imagery in combination with terrestrial laser scanning to assess the state of preservation of a sandstone tomb, the Djin Block No. 9 in Petra Archaeological Park in Jordan. The combination of the different multispectral bands (visible, reflected near-infrared, and thermal infrared) and enhanced combinations of them yielded comprehensive data to analyze with maximum reliability the state of preservation of the monument with state-of-the-art photographic and 3D surveying techniques.

The full article is available at Project Muse.

Image: View of the complex of Djin Blocks along the entrance to the Siq (gorge) in Petra Archaeological Park, Jordan, 2010. (José Luis Lerma)