The Cold War may be over , but all the hoarded wealth that go into defeating the Soviet conglomerate , when Rocky just require one puncher , has not been wasted . Photos taken by some very old U.S. satellites could be the keystone to rule some of humanity ’s oldest artificial water systems .
A team of archaeologists from the Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology were interested in hit the books qanats , a system of water conveyance that go steady back 3,000 years . Finding these ancient , buried pipe is a challenge , so they came up with a novel result : Use something new ( artificial intelligence ) , and mix it with something old ( artificial satellite imagery look at when Stalin ’s body was n’t even frigid ) . The results offer a promising way forward to analyse the engineering artistry of sometime civilizations .
Qanats “ represent a noteworthy ancient invention for sustainable water distribution in arid environments , ” the archaeologists write in the resultingstudy , published in theJournal of Archaeological Science . The system worked by draw out water from underground germ in sublime region , which then flowed down the underground , human - made watercourse towards open canal . avail tunnels were also dig , allowing for the unreal waterways to be cleanse and maintain , and also to allow airflow . Qanats have been discovered around much of the globe , including China , the Iberian Peninsula , and western China . Because of their often ingenious intention , they can be of great involvement to archaeologists .
These photos taken by Cold War satellites kinda make you feel like James Bond, don’t they?© Journal of Archaeological Science
“ These organization were exceedingly innovative , ” Hector Orengo , a researcher at Spain ’s Catalan Institute of Classical Archaeology , who led the study , toldNew Scientist . “ They allowed people to hold up in areas where it would have been unthinkable before . ”
But old qanats can also be grueling to locate . In some area , such as Afghanistan and Iran , the tumultuous political situations can make get imagery of the landscapes where qanats may be located unmanageable . Previous studies that used aerial imagery had result in a large number of sham positive , thanks to a deficiency of declaration in the exposure .
To solve the enigma , the scientists decided to test out a novel proficiency . They used a deep learning algorithm called You Only wait Once ( yes , it ’s abbreviated to YOLO ) , to analyze satellite imagination , and to examine already divulge qanat locations in Iran , Afghanistan , and Morocco .
To get the imaging , they turn to a rather obsolete firearm of technology : the United States ’ CORONA and HEXAGON undercover agent orbiter . The former were put into orbit starting in the late 1950s , while the latter were first establish in 1971 . The satellites were fit out with onboard camera and the imagination they bewitch can be seen online via the U.S. Geological Survey .
The scientist direct YOLO to search for qanats ’ telltale lines of holes in the ground , each of which look as a opprobrious or white-hot pane in the imagery . The AI perform praiseworthily , analyze photos from obsolete satellites to locate even more disused aqueducts . They had a success rate of more than 88 % in describe qanats .
The organisation the archaeologists prepare has some major limitations , requiring a certain level of solution to succeed , and is only capable to operate using black and white-hot photos . They also note that the current version of the AI works best when contemplate desert areas ( fortunately , that ’s where most qanats are discover ) . They expressed hope that it could be expanded to other area once more diverse training data is incorporated .
Identifying qanats is n’t just a way for some archaeologist to get material for their next arcane textbook . The waterway are priceless end of past civilizations , kin to thefamous aqueduct in Rome . Iran ’s qanats have even beenselectedas a World Heritage Site . It turns out , Cold War satellite , once used to discover the best places to destroy America ’s enemy , can be used to preserve something precious .
ancient humansArtificial intelligenceIranmorocco
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