14th International Congress „Cultural Heritage and New Technologies“ Vienna, 2009    Extraction of archaeological features from high-resolution LIDAR data Ralf HESSE State Office for Cultural Heritage Baden-Württemberg Abstract: In May 2009, the State Office for Cultural Heritage Management Baden-Württemberg launched a three-year project aimed at the complete archaeological mapping of Baden-Württemberg using high- resolution airborne LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data, covering an area of 35751 km 2 . The goal is the verification and extension of the existing archaeological data base. To achieve this goal, a data processing method and workflow for the extraction of Local Relief Models from LIDAR-based Digital Elevation Models was developed. Colour-coded maps of these Local Relief Models are found to be a valuable tool for archaeological prospection. First results of the project confirm the feasibility of using LIDAR- based data for the archaeological mapping of very large areas. Keywords: LIDAR, laserscan, archaeological mapping, feature extraction Introduction The federal state Baden-Württemberg in south-western Germany is rich in archaeological heritage from the Palaeolithic onwards. Numerous Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age, Roman, Merovingian, medieval and early modern sites make Baden-Württemberg a region of great archaeological importance (cf. LAD, 2009, for an overview of recent archaeological research in Baden-Württemberg). Of particular importance are sites dating to the early Celtic period like the early Iron Age hill fort Heuneburg, which is argued to be the earliest urban settlement north of the Alps. Of comparable importance is the Upper German and Rhætian segment of the Roman Limes which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage system. However, it is unknown to what extent the current state of knowledge approximates the actual number of sites. This is particularly relevant given the high forest cover of 39% of the state which renders large areas as blank spaces for archaeological prospection by aerial photography. Residential and industrial sprawl, construction of roads, railway lines and pipelines, mechanised agriculture and forestry practices as well as looting pose serious threats to known and unknown archaeological sites. Before this backdrop of the urgent necessity for spatially extensive archaeological prospection, LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) data are being developed as a valuable archaeological tool. This paper presents the methods and first results of an ongoing project aimed at the complete archaeological mapping of Baden-Württemberg based on high-resolution LIDAR data.