Archaeological Prospection· 2026Q1
Deciphering the Palimpsest: Chronological Uncertainty and the Interpretation of Mining Landscapes at Písečný vrch (Czech Republic)
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- Q1SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
A MaxEnt model integrating airborne laser scanning, historical aerial photos, and field survey achieved a 0.691 AUC to differentiate prehistoric from 20th-century quartz mining pits at Písečný vrch, Czech Republic, identifying 293 high-archaeological-potential candidates.
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Key points
- Morphologically similar prehistoric and 20th-century mining pits at Písečný vrch pose interpretation challenges.
- A MaxEnt model integrating airborne laser scanning, historical aerial photos, and field survey was used to derive a Recency Index.
- The model achieved a cross-validated AUC of 0.691, indicating useful discriminatory ability.
- An operational threshold identified 293 pits with higher archaeological potential for future verification.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
ABSTRACT We investigated the Písečný vrch (Czech Republic), a site exploited for quartz mining in both prehistoric times and the 20th century. Due to their morphological similarity across all mining periods, the differentiation between pits with archaeological potential and recent ones is challenging. To reconstruct the recent mining component and provide a basis for non‐destructive pit prioritization, we combined airborne laser scanning, historical aerial photographs and field survey. MaxEnt modelling was then applied to derive a relative Recency Index, expressing the similarity of each pit to independently confirmed recent extraction features. The model achieved a cross‐validated AUC value of 0.691, indicating moderate but practically useful discriminatory ability. Rather than providing definitive chronological classification, the model outputs provide a relative basis for prioritizing pits for further archaeological verification, especially those that are less similar to confirmed recent extraction features and therefore have higher archaeological potential. Using Youden Index optimization, we applied an operational threshold of 0.441 and identified 293 lower‐Recency candidates with higher archaeological potential for future verification. Our results demonstrate the value of this approach for the non‐invasive prioritization of morphologically similar anthropogenic relics and for supporting their heritage protection.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Archaeological Prospection, 2026 · DOI ↗
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