Jason Smith
@truthinevidence.bsky.social
History sleuth. Writer for HistoricAerals.com. The kids finally left for college. Now I spend my time staring down historic maps until they give me the information I want, and hunting traces of history like it owes me money. Photo is my great grandfather.
Except for a few details, this is not a bad rendering of what that relief scene might've looked like. 🏺
May 7, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Except for a few details, this is not a bad rendering of what that relief scene might've looked like. 🏺
Aerial balloons gave armies a new perspective, improving mapmaking and battlefield awareness. Their use in the Civil War laid the groundwork for modern surveillance, even inspiring future airship pioneers like Ferdinand von Zeppelin. 🗃️ #history #skystorians
May 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Aerial balloons gave armies a new perspective, improving mapmaking and battlefield awareness. Their use in the Civil War laid the groundwork for modern surveillance, even inspiring future airship pioneers like Ferdinand von Zeppelin. 🗃️ #history #skystorians
Did you know? In 1861, Union aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe used a balloon to telegraph real-time intelligence, allowing artillery to accurately target Confederate troops-marking a first in warfare. 🗃️ #history #skystorians
May 5, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Did you know? In 1861, Union aeronaut Thaddeus Lowe used a balloon to telegraph real-time intelligence, allowing artillery to accurately target Confederate troops-marking a first in warfare. 🗃️ #history #skystorians
The story of aerial reconnaissance began with hot air balloons, revolutionizing how armies saw the battlefield. From the French Revolution to the American Civil War, balloons played a key role in military intelligence. 🗃️ #history #skystorians
May 5, 2025 at 9:03 PM
The story of aerial reconnaissance began with hot air balloons, revolutionizing how armies saw the battlefield. From the French Revolution to the American Civil War, balloons played a key role in military intelligence. 🗃️ #history #skystorians
𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 or 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 are patterns in vegetation growth caused by what lies beneath the surface. Over richer soil, like filled ditches or trenches, crops are greener and taller. Those growing over poorer soil, like stone walls or foundations, will be shorter and less vibrant. 🏺🗃️🧵
January 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
𝗖𝗿𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 or 𝘀𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 are patterns in vegetation growth caused by what lies beneath the surface. Over richer soil, like filled ditches or trenches, crops are greener and taller. Those growing over poorer soil, like stone walls or foundations, will be shorter and less vibrant. 🏺🗃️🧵
One feature often visible in aerial photographs is 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀. Lynchets, vertical ridges that form on the downslope of a field after many years of plowing, are visible as shadow marks in aerial photographs, especially when the sun is low and casts shadows that highlight the ridges.
January 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
One feature often visible in aerial photographs is 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗱𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀. Lynchets, vertical ridges that form on the downslope of a field after many years of plowing, are visible as shadow marks in aerial photographs, especially when the sun is low and casts shadows that highlight the ridges.
After WWI, archaeologists like Crawford used the same techniques of interpreting information contained in aerial photographs during the war to look for traces of the past, even developing techniques to maximize visibility by considering lighting, seasonal, and even climatic conditions. 🏺🗃️🧵
January 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
After WWI, archaeologists like Crawford used the same techniques of interpreting information contained in aerial photographs during the war to look for traces of the past, even developing techniques to maximize visibility by considering lighting, seasonal, and even climatic conditions. 🏺🗃️🧵
Crawford set the standards for aerial archaeology. Through his work in the field—or 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 rather—he learned which lighting, angles, seasons, and climate conditions would best reveal subtle traces of ancient sites. He pioneered the techniques still used by archaeologists today. #archaeology 🏺🗃️🧵
January 14, 2025 at 8:01 PM
Crawford set the standards for aerial archaeology. Through his work in the field—or 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘪𝘳 rather—he learned which lighting, angles, seasons, and climate conditions would best reveal subtle traces of ancient sites. He pioneered the techniques still used by archaeologists today. #archaeology 🏺🗃️🧵
It was 𝗢.𝗚.𝗦. 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 - now considered the father of aerial archaeology - who first saw the potential for aerial photography to benefit archaeology when reviewing RAF aerial images from WWI. Patterns on the ground could be seen from a bird's eye view that were indistinguishable from the ground. 🗃️🏺🧵
January 14, 2025 at 4:40 PM
It was 𝗢.𝗚.𝗦. 𝗖𝗿𝗮𝘄𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗱 - now considered the father of aerial archaeology - who first saw the potential for aerial photography to benefit archaeology when reviewing RAF aerial images from WWI. Patterns on the ground could be seen from a bird's eye view that were indistinguishable from the ground. 🗃️🏺🧵
𝗔𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 revolutionized archaeology. Whereas before, archaeological sites were puzzles seen piece by piece, the aerial view could reveal entire landscapes, hidden earthworks, and subtle crop marks that were not visible, or barely discernable, at ground level. 🏺🗃️🧵
January 12, 2025 at 10:10 PM
𝗔𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 revolutionized archaeology. Whereas before, archaeological sites were puzzles seen piece by piece, the aerial view could reveal entire landscapes, hidden earthworks, and subtle crop marks that were not visible, or barely discernable, at ground level. 🏺🗃️🧵
From the rise of settled agriculture to the development of writing, complex social hierarchies, and urban centers, the material record reveals the human narrative, showcasing the gradual, messy, ultimately transformative steps that shaped our journey from small communities to complex societies. 🗃️🏺🧵
January 12, 2025 at 5:11 PM
From the rise of settled agriculture to the development of writing, complex social hierarchies, and urban centers, the material record reveals the human narrative, showcasing the gradual, messy, ultimately transformative steps that shaped our journey from small communities to complex societies. 🗃️🏺🧵
It's easy to take for granted the wealth of knowledge that 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 has afforded us just in the last century and a half. But it is only through archaeological excavation that we've truly begun to grasp the intricate process of civilization's emergence. 🏺🗃️🧵
January 12, 2025 at 5:11 PM
It's easy to take for granted the wealth of knowledge that 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 has afforded us just in the last century and a half. But it is only through archaeological excavation that we've truly begun to grasp the intricate process of civilization's emergence. 🏺🗃️🧵
Following the lead of @herberthistory.bsky.social: Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #1 completely changed the way I look at history:
January 9, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Following the lead of @herberthistory.bsky.social: Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #1 completely changed the way I look at history:
Centralia, Pennsylvania was founded in the 1860s as a coal mining town. It peaked at over 2,700 residents by 1890. In 1962, a fire ignited in a strip-mine pit, which continued to burn for the next two decades. By the early 80s, the fire had reached beneath the town, so it had to be abandoned. 🗃️
October 27, 2024 at 8:17 PM
Centralia, Pennsylvania was founded in the 1860s as a coal mining town. It peaked at over 2,700 residents by 1890. In 1962, a fire ignited in a strip-mine pit, which continued to burn for the next two decades. By the early 80s, the fire had reached beneath the town, so it had to be abandoned. 🗃️
One example is Fostoria, Texas. This sawmill town was named after the Fostoria Lumber Company. Once home to around 1,500 residents, after the company shut down in 1957, the business district faded, and the houses were sold off. By the 1980s only a few structures were left standing.
October 27, 2024 at 8:12 PM
One example is Fostoria, Texas. This sawmill town was named after the Fostoria Lumber Company. Once home to around 1,500 residents, after the company shut down in 1957, the business district faded, and the houses were sold off. By the 1980s only a few structures were left standing.
🧵Well-known ghost towns like Bodie, California, have retained many of their structures and become popular tourist attractions. But others have left to no little trace of what they once were. Thankfully, some of these lost towns have been preserved in historic aerial images. 🗃️ #skystorians
October 27, 2024 at 8:08 PM
🧵Well-known ghost towns like Bodie, California, have retained many of their structures and become popular tourist attractions. But others have left to no little trace of what they once were. Thankfully, some of these lost towns have been preserved in historic aerial images. 🗃️ #skystorians
The Ruskin Heights tornado was part of a larger outbreak and carved a 71-mile-long path through homes, schools, and businesses. Its mile-wide track flattened neighborhoods, and the damage led to significant improvements in tornado warning systems across the U.S. 🗃️ #stystorians
October 27, 2024 at 8:05 PM
The Ruskin Heights tornado was part of a larger outbreak and carved a 71-mile-long path through homes, schools, and businesses. Its mile-wide track flattened neighborhoods, and the damage led to significant improvements in tornado warning systems across the U.S. 🗃️ #stystorians
🧵In May 1957, an F5 tornado tore through the Ruskin Heights neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, leaving 44 dead, over 500 injured, and a path of destruction that reshaped the landscape. The path of the tornado is clearly visible in this image from HistoricAerials.com. 🗃️ #skystorians
October 27, 2024 at 8:02 PM
🧵In May 1957, an F5 tornado tore through the Ruskin Heights neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, leaving 44 dead, over 500 injured, and a path of destruction that reshaped the landscape. The path of the tornado is clearly visible in this image from HistoricAerials.com. 🗃️ #skystorians
Here's an old photo from 1900 of the Fohn-Bless Store, in Hondo, Texas, which has managed to stick around so that we can still see it today. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/m... #history 🗃️
February 13, 2024 at 4:10 PM
Here's an old photo from 1900 of the Fohn-Bless Store, in Hondo, Texas, which has managed to stick around so that we can still see it today. texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/m... #history 🗃️
Noah Smithwick came to #Texas in 1827, embarking on an adventure of more than 3 decades. From early Anglo settlement up to the Civil War's outbreak, he witnessed, and influenced, the state's #history. His Unionist sympathies led him to California in 1861, where he lived until his death in 1899. 🗃️
January 14, 2024 at 10:41 PM