Professional Role

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Videos

BBC - Egypt's Lost Cities - "Buried city and 17 pyramids revealed by satellite!" 25 mai 2011

Hey friends, amazing discoveries! An infra-red satellite image reveals the pattern of streets and houses in the buried ancient city of Tanis in Egypt. The new technique has also shown up the sites of 17 lost pyramids as well as thousands of tombs and settlements.Dr Sarah Parcak of the University of Alabama at Birmingham explains the findings at Tanis to Liz Bonnin and Dallas Campbell for the TV programme Egypt's lost cities.It is possible that only one percent of the wonders of Ancient Egypt have been discovered, but now, thanks to a pioneering approach to archaeology, that is about to change. Dr Sarah Parcak uses satellites to probe beneath the sands, where she has found cities, temples and pyramids. Now, with Dallas Campbell and Liz Bonnin, she heads to Egypt to discover if these magnificent buildings are really there. (follow the story on BBC (UK) or Discovery channel (US)

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17 Egyptian pyramids found by infra-red satellite images!! - BBC News - 2011

Seventeen lost pyramids are among the buildings identified in a new satellite survey of Egypt.More than 1,000 tombs and 3,000 ancient settlements were also revealed by looking at infra-red images which show up underground buildings. Initial excavations have already confirmed some of the findings, including two suspected pyramids. The research led by Dr Sarah Parcak from the University of Alabama at Birmingham features in a BBC documentary, Egypt's Lost Cities on BBC One on Monday 30 May at 2030 BST. It will also be shown on the Discovery channel in the US.

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Projects

Numerous Space Archaeology projects
05/01/2001 – 01/30/2012
I use satellite imagery to map and locate previous unknown archaeological sites in the Middle East, Europe, and across the Mediterranean. I prefer Egypt, because I am an Egyptologist, but, I am tempted by all satellite datasets and so-called missing cities/features. I'll find 'em.
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Biography

Sarah Parcak is from Bangor, Maine. She holds degrees from Yale (BA) and Cambridge University (M.Phil and PhD), is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries (an elected position), and a 2012 TED fellow. Sarah serves as the founding director of the Laboratory for Global Observation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology. She is also the CEO of SpectralGlobe technologies (www.spectralglobe.com), a company which specializes in using remote sensing technologies to provide innovative landscape solutions. Sarah and her longtime sweetheart, Egyptologist Greg Mumford, work together on the Surveys and Excavation Projects in Egypt (www.deltasinai.com), which includes archaeological projects in the Delta, Sinai, and pyramid fields regions of Egypt. Sarah has written the first textbook on the field of satellite archaeology, called Satellite Remote Sensing for Archaeology, and has published numerous peer reviewed scientific papers. She is regularly invited to give papers at national and international conferences and symposia. She is also interviewed regularly for national print media (Science, Nature, National Geographic, CNN, BBC). Her research has been features in a major international BBC-Discovery Chanel Documentary, Egypt: What Lies Beneath,”, and she is currently working with BBC-Discovery on another program using satellite imagery to map the Roman Empire. Sarah has worked with NASA, the U.S. State Dept., and has collaborators across the globe. She has given 150 talks to a range of audiences across the globe. Sarah is an avid fan of “football,” as she played varsity football (aka “soccer”) for Yale and Cambridge, winning her varsity blue and leading Cambridge to a 4-0 defeat of Oxford in the Varsity Match in 2005 with 2 goals and 2 assists. She enjoys gardening, cooking, traveling, and learning bluegrass guitar.

Fun facts

Favorite meal:
Steamed lobster, fresh corn and blueberry pie at a lobster shack in Bar Harbor, Maine

A funny story about me:
My entire life is a comedy. Laughter is constant. BUT: I met Hillary Clinton when I was 17. I gave her my life story in 10 seconds when she said, "God, you sound just like Bill." Her face turned bright red. She used her out loud voice, apparently.