Magnetic gradiometry

A basic problem in archaeological research is determining site size and structure. In this paper we develop an approach that sequentially employs several survey techniques, including aerial photography, magnetic gradiometry, magnetic susceptibility, and shovel testing in the context of the Wildcat site (33My499), a Fort Ancient habitation site located near Dayton, Ohio. Defining site size and structure was a challenge at Wildcat since it is located in an agricultural field that has not been plowed for many years. Magnetic susceptibility and close-interval shovel testing worked well to define the basic site structure, and magnetic gradiometry and targeted magnetic anomaly excavations efficiently revealed a series of features. Alone, each of the methods produced somewhat misleading data regarding site size and structure, but together they revealed a much smaller site than originally anticipated.

Download Full-text

Shallow Offshore Geophysical Prospection of Archaeological Sites in Eastern Mediterranean

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13071237 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (7) ◽

pp. 1237

Author(s):

Nikos Papadopoulos

Keyword(s):

Eastern Mediterranean ◽

Archaeological Sites ◽

Cultural Resources ◽

Marine Environments ◽

Resistivity Tomography ◽

Cultural Resources Management ◽

Coastal Marine ◽

Ground Penetrating ◽

Magnetic Gradiometry ◽

Geophysical Prospection

Geophysical prospecting methods have been extensively used to outline buried antiquities in terrestrial sites. Despite the frequent application of these mapping and imaging approaches for the detection of archaeological relics in deep-water marine environments (e.g., shipwrecks), the aforementioned processes have minimal contribution when it comes to understanding the dynamics of the past in coastal and shallow aquatic archaeological sites. This work explores the possibilities of multicomponent geophysical techniques in revealing antiquities that have been submerged in diverse shallow coastal marine environments in the eastern Mediterranean. A group of four sites in Greece (Agioi Theodoroi, Olous, Lambayanna) and Cyprus (Pafos) spanning from prehistory to Roman times were chosen as test sites to validate the efficiency of electrical resistivity tomography, magnetic gradiometry, and ground penetrating radar methods. The comprehensive analysis of the geophysical data completed the picture for the hidden archeological elements in all the sites. The results manifest the significance and the potential of these methods for documenting and understanding the complex archaeological sites encountered in the Mediterranean. In view of climate change and the risks related to future sea level rise and erosion of low-level coastal areas, the results of this work could be integrated in a strategic framework to develop an effective interdisciplinary research model that can be applied to similar shallow water archaeological surveys, thus substantially contributing towards cultural resources management.

Download Full-text