Titre : Semi-automated mapping and classification of trench networks and casings on the Verdun battlefield using Airborne LiDAR 

Auteurs : Rémi De Matos-Machado, Jean-Pierre Toumazet, Stéphanie Jacquemot,  

Revue : Digital Archaeology 

Numéro : Issue 1 

Volume : 4 

Date : 2020/06/11 

DOI : 10.21494/ISTE.OP.2020.0525 

ISSN : 2515-7574 

Résumé : In 2013, an airborne LiDAR mission conducted over the Verdun battlefield has brought to light World War IOne landforms. Concealed by a large forest cover of 10,000 ha, these reliefs, called polemoforms in reference to J.-P. Amat’s research (1987, 2001, 2015), are direct remnants from the 1916 battle and constitute a prime archeological reserve for the future generations. Despite the high density of features, they should be exhaustively inventoried in the framework of the national label “forêt d’exception du champ de bataille de Verdun”. However, at the scale of the entire site, this work is only feasible if an automated mapping method is developed. This paper especially focuses on the trench network inventory. The methodology used is threefold: (i) Landforms are extracted from the digital terrain model by means of a semi-automatic algorithm; (ii) Trench geometry is studied using a sinuosity index; (iii) Map interpretation is carried out on the field site and supplemented by historical documents collected in French and German archives centers. The resulting maps reveal approximately 420 km of fire and communication trenches. Their morphological signature is rich and due to the different ways of building facilities. Although a large part of the initial network disappeared during the last century, the crossing of LiDAR data with historical archives allows to estimate the length of the erased features and to locate the affected areas. Beyond the reproducible nature of the method, which may contribute to the research development on other battlefields, this research provides operational tools for management and conservation of the historical, cultural and natural heritage of the Verdun forest. As a result, the produced iconographic and cartographic corpus will be directly used in the next forest management plan, in order to optimize the safeguarding of polemoforms and associated remnants. 

Éditeur : ISTE OpenScience