Abstract: Spatial location is an important attribute of an archaeological site. The early archaeological excavation in China was limited by technical equipments and other factors. Some excavated and backfilled sites lack accurate spatial location information, which causes major inconvenience to follow-up research and protection. In this work, a relocation model for early archaeological excavated sites was established, based on GIS technology and multi-geographic information including existing archaeological excavation records, data from references, high-resolution remote sensing images, and early maps. The model is tested at Mengzhuang Site in Huixian County, Henan Province. The results show that the method significantly reduces the ambiguity and uncertainty of the site location and distribution, and hence this study provides support for archaeological site reconnaissance, protection planning, and restudy.

Key words: early excavation, archaeological sites, relocation, GIS