Lidar has been a game changer. Also, in the UK context, new developments will often require archeologists to survey the land before ground works can start. There are piles of photographs of fields from the RAF, US air force and Luftwaffe. And names of places and roads often reveal ancient origins. If you meet somewhere with chester or caster in it, e.g. Manchester, that suggests a Roman origin. The same for stret and strat.
And if you live on a UK housing estate or business park whose road names include 'Comet', 'Lysander', 'Mosquito', etc, etc, it was probably a WW2 airfield that was re-developed. E.g. Where I had my first job
