While you were using Google Earth to zoom in on your house, these archaeologists used it to find places to dig. And it paid off with 1,977 potential archaeological sites, including 1,082 ancient stone tombs.


Yes! Not only is Google Earth a terrific tool for answering the question "what does my house look like from directly above?," it's also useful for nerdy science stuff, like "finding valuable archaeological sites." David Kennedy, a professor at the University of Western Australia, scanned an area of almost 500 square miles on the Arabian Peninsula in Google Earth, turning up 1,977 potential sites, 1,082 of which were ancient stone tombs known as "pendants." New Scientist writes:



Well, seriously, Google, you need to get on that. Because, for the record, we fully support your ongoing project to eliminate the need to leave one's home, at all, ever, and if archaeologists still need to "verify" things, than what's the point?


[New Scientist