The Cave of Altamira (Spain), a UNESCO World Heritage site, contains one of the most fragile and inaccessible Paleolithic rock-art environments in Europe, where geomatics documentation is constrained not only by severe spatial, lighting and safety limitations but also by conservation-driven restrictions on time, access and operational procedures. This study applies a confined-space UAV equipped with LiDAR-based SLAM navigation to document and assess the stability of the vertical rock wall leading to “La Hoya” Hall, a structurally sensitive sector of the cave. Twelve autonomous and assisted flights were conducted, generating dense LiDAR point clouds and video sequences processed through videogrammetry to produce high-resolution 3D meshes. A Mask R-CNN deep learning model was trained on manually segmented images to explore automated crack detection under variable illumination and viewing conditions. The results reveal active fractures, overhanging blocks and sediment accumulations located on inaccessible ledges, demonstrating the capacity of UAV-SLAM workflows to overcome the limitations of traditional surveys in confined subterranean environments. All datasets were integrated into the DiGHER digital twin platform, enabling traceable storage, multitemporal comparison, and collaborative annotation. Overall, the study demonstrates the feasibility of combining UAV-based SLAM mapping, videogrammetry and deep learning segmentation as a reproducible baseline workflow to inform preventive conservation and future multitemporal monitoring in Paleolithic caves and similarly constrained cultural heritage contexts.

Remote sensing has become a key non-invasive tool in archaeological prospection, partic-ularly in regions where logistical constraints limit sustained fieldwork. This study pre-sents the results from Zar Tepe (1st–5th centuries AD), in the Surkhandarya province of southern Uzbekistan, within northwestern Bactria. The research aimed to document the site’s urban layout, accurately relocate Soviet-era excavation sectors within the pre-sent-day topography, and refine the interpretation of earlier interventions that were only partially documented and lacked precise georeferencing. A multiscale and multitemporal methodology was applied, integrating CORONA and WorldView-3 satellite imagery, UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry, GNSS Precise Point Positioning, magnetic prospection, and targeted archaeological verification. The workflow followed an iterative laboratory–field sequence, combining remote-sensing analysis, field checks, data refinement, and sys-tematic ground-truth validation. Fieldwork was conducted during two contrasting phe-nological periods, in June 2024 and December 2025, to assess seasonal variability in sur-face and subsurface visibility. The integrated approach enabled accurate spatial fitting of legacy excavation sectors and cross-validation of optical and salt-efflorescence-related anomalies with geophysical evidence. These results strengthen the interpretation of buried architectural features and provide a robust basis for reconstructing Zar Tepe’s urban or-ganization and occupational dynamics.

Remote sensing has become a key non-invasive tool in archaeological prospection, particularly in regions where logistical constraints limit sustained fieldwork. This study presents the results from Zar Tepe (1st–5th centuries AD), in the Surkhandarya province of southern Uzbekistan, within northwestern Bactria. The research aimed to document the site’s urban layout, accurately relocate Soviet-era excavation sectors within the present-day topography, and refine the interpretation of earlier interventions that were only partially documented and lacked precise georeferencing. A multiscale and multitemporal methodology was applied, integrating CORONA and WorldView-3 satellite imagery, UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry, GNSS Precise Point Positioning, magnetic prospection, and targeted archaeological verification. The workflow followed an iterative laboratory–field sequence, combining remote-sensing analysis, field checks, data refinement, and systematic ground-truth validation. Fieldwork was conducted during two contrasting phenological periods, in June 2024 and December 2025, to assess seasonal variability in surface and subsurface visibility. The integrated approach enabled the accurate spatial fitting of legacy excavation sectors and supported the cross-validation of optical and salt-efflorescence-related anomalies with geophysical evidence. These results provide a stronger basis for the cautious interpretation of buried architectural features and for refining hypotheses concerning Zar Tepe’s urban organization and occupational dynamics.

The cave of Altamira (Spain), a UNESCO World Heritage site, contains one of the most fragile and inaccessible Paleolithic rock-art environments in Europe, where conventional geomatics workflows are limited by severe spatial, lighting, and safety constraints. This study applies a confined-space UAV equipped with LiDAR-based SLAM navigation to document and assess the stability of the vertical rock wall leading to “La Hoya” Hall, a structurally sensitive sector of the cave. Twelve autonomous and assisted flights were conducted, generating dense LiDAR point clouds and video sequences processed through videogrammetry to produce high-resolution 3D meshes. A Mask R-CNN deep learning model was trained using manually segmented images to automatically detect cracks under variable illumination and viewing conditions. The results reveal active fractures, overhanging blocks, and sediment accumulations located on inaccessible ledges, demonstrating the capacity of UAV-SLAM workflows to overcome the limitations of traditional surveys in confined subterranean environments. All datasets were integrated into the DiGHER digital twin platform, enabling long-term storage, multitemporal comparison, and collaborative annotation. The study confirms the feasibility of UAV-based SLAM mapping combined with videogrammetry and deep learning segmentation as a robust approach for structural assessment and preventive conservation in Paleolithic caves and similarly constrained cultural heritage contexts.

Información sobre los congresos y las exposiciones organizadas por las áreas de Prehistoria y Arqueología del Dpto. de Ciencias de la Antigüedad de la Universidad de Zaragoza a lo largo del 2025.