Archaeology from Space

Remote sensing techniques are revolutionizing the field of archeology, by enabling the discovery and basic analysis of sites before any dig has to happen. Satellite imagery, LiDAR scans and ground-penetrating radar give scientists a basic idea on the materiality and structure of what lies beneath. All of that was super exciting, and I would have preferred to get more technical details. But then the majority of the book turned out to be about the more standard field of archeology. The excavations, the discoveries, the complications due to wars, the looters and the collectors willing to pay anyone - also interesting, but not exactly what the cover promised.

I liked when the author talked about a fundamental shift in archeology - how before, what was most exciting was finding tombs with treasures and golden masks, whereas now the focus of archeologists has shifted towards discovering relics that tell us about people's everyday lives back in the day.