Holy Island LiDAR Mapping: Aerial Survey for Archaeological Assessment

GeoAerospace, an Irish geospatial Data-as-a-Service provider, was tasked with surveying Holy Island (Inis Cealtra), a historic monastery situated on an island in Lough Derg, Ireland. The project aimed to produce high-density LiDAR data and high-resolution orthophotography to assist in an archaeological assessment of the site.

Traditionally, such surveys required on-site teams using boats to access the location and manual tools to map the terrain and structures. However, given the logistical challenges and dense vegetation, a remote aerial survey was deemed more suitable. Leveraging advanced drone technology, GeoAerospace completed the survey within two hours on-site, delivering a 10cm DTM/DSM, a georeferenced point cloud with up to 250 points per square meter, and a 2cm GSD orthophoto.