Arabic Abstract
Acknowledgements
Complete Version of Degree Disertation (in German) 
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Abstract
Going on scientific expeditions to the
The aim of this degree dissertation is to present the development of a Satellite-based Navigation-Information-System and its implementation during an archaeological campaign in the Eastern Sahara of North-West
The area was surveyed over a period of three weeks and is situated about 300 km west of the
In preparation for the expedition, a Navigation-Information-System needed to be developed, which had to be custom made in accordance to the demands of the venture. The system is composed of a GPS-receiver-processor, a laptop, navigation software and a specific geographic database. The latter includes both existing topographic and thematic maps and a generated area-wide basis of satellite images as a primary means of visualization.
Chapter 1 of this paper describes the development of the Navigation-Information-System. The emphasis lies on the compilation of the satellite image basis which is essential both for navigation in the field and the visualisation of recorded geo-data for postprocessing purposes. Parallel to the specific requirements of the remote sensing image basis of the Satellite-based Navigation-Information-System, a series of analogue satellite image worksheets has been developed with a scale of 1:250000.
In chapter 2, the present outcome of geo-scientific and archaeological knowledge concerning the survey area is presented. A geographical description of the Wadi Howar, focusing on its lower course and the area of Abu Tabari, is followed by a geological abstract. A reconstruction of the Holocene climate development, which is mainly based on sedimentological studies, is subsumed. Finally, an account of the Neolithic history of the Lower Wadi Howar, which is closely related to the climatic deterioration, is forwarded. It is analysed in terms of successive subsistent economies reacting to environmental changes. From the artefact inventory associated with the surface finds, ceramics are dealt with in more detail, since they allow a chronological classification that is used in the process of assigning survey finds to certain time periods.
Chapter 3 deals with the description of the geo-scientific and archaeological parameters recorded during the systematic survey. During the expedition, documentations could only be partially entered directly to the Navigation-Information-System. Therefore additional records such as survey sheets and digital photos had to be imported and integrated into the system. The database is conceived in a way that enables the user to visualise all relevant information in a well-organized interrelated structure. In order to contribute to the key aim of the expedition - a "spatiotemporal distribution of Neolithic settlement activities" - all relevant data of the tabulated survey records is pointed out and interpreted. There are also thematical visualisations of research topics generated within the Navigation-Information-System (see below).
In the final chapter of the dissertation, all descriptions of the region, which are linked to geo-archaeological topics, are interpreted and re-examined in context. All hypothetical statements are critically reviewed and illuminated in reference to approaches found in the literature.
Keywords: Lower Wadi Howar,
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