This paper gives a presentation of how airborne laser scanning (ALS) has been adopted in archaeology in the North over the period 2005–2019. Almost two decades have passed since ALS first emerged as a potential tool to add to the archaeologist’s toolbox. Soon after, it attracted the attention of researchers within archaeological communities engaged with remote sensing in the Fenno-Scandinavian region. The first archaeological ALS projects gave immediate good results and led to further use, research, and development through new projects that followed various tracks. The bulk of the research and development focused on studying how well-suited ALS is for identifying, mapping, and documenting archaeological features in outfield land, mainly in forested areas. The poor situation in terms of lack of information on archaeological records in outfield areas has been challenging for research and especially for cultural heritage management for a long period of time. Consequently, an obvious direction was to study how ALS-based mapping of cultural features in forests could help to improve the survey situation. This led to various statistical analyses and studies covering research questions related to for instance effects on detection success of laser pulse density, and the size and shape of the targeted features. Substantial research has also been devoted to the development and assessment of semi-automatic detection of archaeological features based on the use of algorithms. This has been studied as an alternative approach to human desk-based visual analyses and interpretations of ALS data. This approach has considerable potential for detecting sites over large regions such as the vast roadless and unbuilt wilderness regions of northern Fennoscandia, and has proven highly successful. In addition, the current review presents how ALS has been employed for monitoring purposes and for landscape studies, including how it can influence landscape understanding. Finally, the most recent advance within ALS research and development has been discussed: testing of the use of drones for data acquisition. In conclusion, aspects related to the utilization of ALS in archaeological research and cultural heritage management are summarized and discussed, together with thoughts about future perspectives.

In August 2018, a group of experts working with terrestrial/marine geophysics and remote sensing methods to explore archaeological sites in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Scotland and Sweden gathered together for the first time at the Workshop ‘Sensing Archaeology in The North’. The goal was to exchange experiences, discuss challenges, and consider future directions for further developing these methods and strategies for their use in archaeology. After the event, this special journal issue was arranged to publish papers that are based on the workshop presentations, but also to incorporate work that is produced by other researchers in the field. This paper closes the special issue and further aims to provide current state-of-the-art for the methods represented by the workshop. Here, we introduce the aspects that inspired the organisation of the meeting, a summary of the 12 presentations and eight paper contributions, as well as a discussion about the main outcomes of the workshop roundtables, including the production of two searchable databases (online resources and equipment). We conclude with the position that the ‘North’, together with its unique cultural heritage and thriving research community, is at the forefront of good practice in the application and development of sensing methods in archaeological research and management. However, further method development is required, so we claim the support of funding bodies to back research efforts based on testing/experimental studies to: explore unknown survey environments and identify optimal survey conditions, as well as to monitor the preservation of archaeological remains, especially those that are at risk. It is demonstrated that remote sensing and geophysics not only have an important role in the safeguarding of archaeological sites from development and within prehistorical-historical research, but the methods can be especially useful in recording and monitoring the increased impact of climate change on sites in the North.

This study presents a practical case analysis detailing the outcomes of a survey project conducted on Neolithic megalithic structures on the Mols Peninsula in East Jutland, Denmark. The survey methodology employed digital photogrammetry, utilizing consumer-grade drones and handheld digital cameras. This approach facilitated the merging of aerial perspectives of the local surroundings with terrestrial photographs specifically focusing on the densely clustered stone chambers. Subsequently, the gathered data underwent conversion into various forms, such as orthophotos, surface elevation models, 3D representations, hill shades, point clouds, and textured low-resolution models optimized for online visualization. Among the noteworthy findings, the study included an evaluation of 19th-century drawings, revealing their remarkable precision. However, it was also noted that one of the monuments underwent substantial alterations in 1943. Moreover, the study successfully generated 3D models of the capstones from two dolmens, allowing for their virtual reconstruction. Importantly, the research introduced an innovative technique for mapping burned flints on the field surface surrounding the dolmens by employing low-altitude vertical drone photography – a previously unexplored method.