'World War One aerial photography in Belgium: a landscape archaeological perspective', a talk by Dr. Birger Stichelbaut

Gateways Event

Tuesday 24 November 2015, 18:00 - 19:30

Organised by Gateways to the First World War

Airco DH 4 flying over a heavily-shelled area south of the River Scarpe near Biache-Saint-Vaast (upper right), east of Arras. © IWM (HU 91047)

During the First World War, millions of aerial photographs were taken by all fighting countries, documenting a cultural landscape from which the relicts sometimes remain visible as scars on the landscape. Most often however this landscape is preserved beneath the surface as archaeological heritage. Since 2006 the Department of Archaeology (Ghent University) and the In Flanders Fields Museum explore the archaeological potential of these historical aerial photographs. This presentation explores how thousands of these images are now converted into a primary source on their own and complemented with other non-invasive techniques. This presentation also highlightshow these historical aerial photographs are used in modern museum contexts presenting a bird's eye view of the Western Front in Belgium and France.

Dr. Birger Stichelbaut (University of Ghent and In Flanders Fields Museum - Centre for Historical and Archaeological Aerial Photography)

Venue: Darwin Lecture Theatre 2, Darwin College, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, England, CT2 7NY

In Flanders Fields Museum, Gateways to the First World War and the University of Kent organize a series of eight seminars, accessible to all. Full details of all the seminars can be found here.