What was once hidden beneath nearly two centuries of forest growth is beginning to reappear through modern mapping technology. Researchers are using drone-mounted lidar to gain new insights into a historically significant Adirondack settlement. – Sarah Roe, Lidar News
Drone Lidar Maps Hidden Remains of Timbuctoo
A team of researchers near Lake Placid, New York, is using drone-mounted lidar technology to uncover the hidden remnants of Timbuctoo, a mid-19th-century Black settlement in the dense Adirondack forest. Led by SUNY Potsdam anthropology professor Hadley Kruczek-Aaron in collaboration with East Tennessee State University and the Adirondack Experience museum, the project aims to locate where Black families lived and farmed nearly 200 years ago. Abolitionist Gerrit Smith originally granted parcels of land to Black residents to provide economic independence and satisfy the state property ownership requirements for voting rights. Over the decades, the harsh mountain environment forced many families away, and the thick forest completely reclaimed the homes, roads, and fields. To bypass the heavy tree canopy, geosciences professors Eileen Ernenwein and Steven Jones flew a specialized drone over 200 acres of woodland, firing 160,000 light pulses per second to build a highly accurate 3D elevation map of the forest floor stripped of all vegetation.
From Ground Surveys to Airborne Remote Sensing
This technological shift marks a significant leap forward for historical archaeology, moving from labor-intensive manual searching to efficient airborne remote sensing. Previously, researchers spent years searching the rugged, uneven terrain on foot using handheld metal detectors, visual scouting, and small test excavations to find subtle clues. The lidar-equipped drone mapped the entire 200-acre hillside in just 90 minutes, gathering millions of precise data points that reveal surface contours invisible to the naked eye. This rapid data collection is critical for locating the subtle, non-structural anomalies left behind by early pioneers, such as linear stone piles from field clearing, faint agricultural furrows, and buried cellar holes. By uncovering these features, the project provides physical, spatial context to sparse historical documents, allowing historians to pinpoint exact homesteads, like that of early settlers Lyman and Anna Epps, and validate the lived experiences of these pioneers for their modern descendants.
Preserving Cultural Heritage with Drone Lidar
The early success of the Timbuctoo survey demonstrates how aerial mapping tools are fundamentally changing the detection and preservation of marginalized cultural heritage sites. Initial processing of the lidar data has already identified five specific target areas containing potential field systems, stone mounds, or building foundations that will guide upcoming targeted ground excavations. For the broader geospatial and surveying industries, this application highlights a growing market for high-density drone lidar in cultural resource management, where traditional pedestrian surveys are limited by dense vegetation and rugged terrain. By proving that lightweight drone platforms can effectively reveal subtle human modifications beneath complex forest canopies, this work establishes a clear methodology for archaeologists worldwide to locate and protect ephemeral historical sites before they are lost to time or development.
Learn More: North Country Public Radio
