The prospect of reconstructing ancient battlefields in the 21st Century: a case study using the Battle of Plataea (479 B.C.E.)

This thesis examines the complications in the historical approach to ancient battlefield recreation and proposes a methodology that utilizes modern remote sensing technologies to supplement ancient literary text. The Battle of Plataea (479 B.C.E.) is used as a case study to investigate the historical benefits of using a combination of UAV mapping/imagery, geophysics, and surface surveys to improve understanding of an ancient battlefield. In June of 2018, as a result of a successful series of applications for fieldwork, the author as part of a team representing the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens in conjunction with the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Ephorates of Boeotia and West Attica, conducted fieldwork at sites surrounding the presumed battlefield of Plataea. Two weeks were spent onsite collecting data to encompass the landscape represented in Herodotus’ portrayal of the Battle of Plataea (book 9 of Histories). With the use of two UAVs, a magnetometer, and ground-penetrating radar, the project added more than 5,000 acres of mapped landscape and 10,000 square meters of subsurface data. The results of the project conclusively demonstrate the effectiveness of using remote sensing technologies as a supplement to the traditional approach to battlefield reconstruction. Exploratory geophysical surveys detected significant subsurface anomalies near the Church of St. Demetrios and the Church of St. John in the battlefield north of modern Erythres (Kriekouki). UAV mapping identified several locations along the battlefield that appear to be historically and archaeologically important, including areas along the Pantanassa Ridge to the east of modern Erythres (Kriekouki) and near the Church of St. George to the south of modern Neochoraki. Based on a truncated report of findings submitted in August of 2018, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has provided a permit for a team to excavate multiple areas around the battlefield commencing in September of 2019. The future excavations are the direct result of the findings presented in this thesis and provide tangible evidence for the success of its methodology.