The technology that sees through the ground to find 5,000 year old structures - Futura-Sciences

May 27, 2026 - 21:29

The method, known as LiDAR, fires laser pulses from an aircraft to map the ground surface in fine detail. Unlike traditional photography, these lasers can penetrate dense forest canopies and reveal shapes that are invisible to the naked eye. The technology creates a digital model of the terrain, stripping away trees and vegetation to show buried foundations, walls, and earthworks.

In this case, the scans identified Neolithic and Copper Age settlements in eastern Romania. The structures include defensive ditches, house platforms, and ritual enclosures dating back to around 3000 BCE. The team believes these sites were part of a larger network of communities that traded and interacted across the region.

The discovery highlights how modern technology can rewrite history without disturbing the ground. Archaeologists can now survey large areas quickly and target specific spots for future excavation. Diaconu noted that the findings change the understanding of how early societies organized their landscapes. The work also demonstrates the value of combining geology, physics, and archaeology to solve old puzzles. As LiDAR becomes more common, researchers expect to find many more hidden structures around the world.