Geophysical survey at Las Pizarras archaeological site (Coca, Segovia): GPR as a tool for defining the Late Antique complex (original) (raw)
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Case study: GPR survey at the archaeological Roman site of Ciavieja, El Ejido (Spain)
Near Surface Geophysics, 2013
This paper, describing a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey performed on the archaeological site of Ciavieja, El Ejido (Spain), is part of a series of historical studies performed in Ciavieja to analyse the extent and importance of the remains buried at this site. The objective of the GPR survey was to locate the most promising areas within the archaeological site to help design a park that combines leisure and culture. The time slices built with the radar data show several locations with linear and square anomalies with sizes compatible with those of Roman walls or rooms. The interpretation of the GPR data is corroborated with FDTD computer simulations. ing with other discoveries that part of the ancient Roman city of Murgi is buried under cerrillo de Ciavieja. The discovery of the mosaic led an archaeological investigation in 1985 to delineate the structures found and to extract the remains of the mosaic. On the eastern side of the site (square B in Fig. 2), which was the best-preserved area, a study was performed to determine the complete stratigraphic sequence of the site. According to the archaeological investigations, the prehis-Geophysical Equipment Source FOR MARINE SALES AND RENTALS www.geomatrix.co.uk Our expertise covers all aspects of marine geophysical survey from high resolution magnetic to deep crustal seismic surveys.
In accordancewith archaeological programmes several geophysical investigation campaignswere conducted at the Roman site of Munigua (Province of Seville, Spain). First, building structures such as the city wall and production sites extra muro were investigated by means of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements. A newmethod is presented, ZODIAC, which enables virtual or physical reconstruction of archaeological features in the ground; ZODIAC uses the original geophysical data and avoids the speculative aspect of previous reconstruction techniques. Second, two geophysical survey campaignson Romanarchaeo-metallurgical remainswereundertakenatMuniguain November 2003andApril 2005.Methodsofcomplexresistivitywereusedforanon-destructivesurveyonslag heaps.The slagheapsarewell-defined byinducedpolarizationeffectsfromthebedrockwitha phase angle of more than 30mrad. The extension and depth of the slag heaps are estimated using twodimensional and three-dimensional images of resistivity r and phase angle w.The results fulfilled all expectations and for the first time allowan estimation of the amount of processedmetal in Munigua.
2022
The development of geophysical exploration and techniques have proven to be of great help in identifying and classifying buried surfaces and for planning future excavation strategies. The purpose of this work is to detect the presence of buried structures (walls, floors, etc.) in unexplored areas of the Villa of St. Pietro ad Muricentum (Montebuono, Italy) and the Villa of Collesecco (Cottanello, Italy). Both areas were investigated with the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). The preliminary results show anomalies a few meters deep attributable to buried archaeological structures. These anomalies seem to be attributable, due to their shape and dimensions, to the presence of wall structures. Moreover, the maps obtained from the planimetric representation (time slices) of the Georadar reflections made it possible to follow the development, as the depth increased, of these structures and to reconstruct their reciprocal geometric correlation. This provides an overall view of the structures under investigation and provide useful guidance to archaeologists for the planning of excavation investigations.
Geoarchaeology, 2005
The purpose of this investigation was to locate the foundations of an ancient wing of the Basilica de Nuestra Señora de la Salud, which, according to historical documents, was part of this 16th-century structure. The site was located within the southern vestibule of the Basilica. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and vertical magnetic gradient (VMG) field methods were employed. The geophysical survey consisted of 20 GPR profiles measured in the study area. A series of 16 VMG profiles was also surveyed. The GPR studies located a linear reflector going in a NE-SW direction, with an angle of almost 45°. The VMG made it possible to identify a rectangular pattern and other features that are probably associated with either collapsed portions of the foundations or Pre-Hispanic remains. These results confirmed the presence of the reflector found with GPR, as well as other features of interest.
2010
In this article we present some results of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) studies carried out at Lapa do Santo archaeological site. This cave is within Lagoa Santa karstic region, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. In the first field work, 44 GPR profiles were acquired with 100 MHz, 200 MHz, and 400 MHz shielded antennas focusing on three mains objectives: (i) to characterize stratigraphic layer; (ii) to identify geological and archaeological anomalies, and (iii) to identify potential areas aiming at assisting archaeologists in an excavation program. GPR results indicated anomalous hyperbolic reflections, and areas with high sub-horizontal reflection amplitude suggesting archaeological and geological potential targets, respectively. These results were encouraging, and then they were used to guide excavations at this site. Excavation of test units (meter by meter) allowed identifying an anthropogenic feature, e.g., a fire hearth structure, and natural features, such as speleothems and top of bedrock. Results also indicated the importance of GPR survey as a tool for orienting archaeological researches, increasing the probability of finding archaeological interest targets in an excavation program an area of environmental protection.
ACTA IMEKO, 2016
The geophysical prospection is generally considered as the attempt to locate structures of archaeological interest buried in the natural subsoil, but in many cases, when applied in urban centers, this attempt could fail due to the effect and disturbances caused by recent man-made structures in the subsoil, covering any signal related to possible archaeological structures. In the present paper the GPR surveys carried out in two urban archaeological sites in Roma, characterised by different targets and environmental conditions, are presented and discussed. The first site, a portion of Palatine Hill (archaeological center area of Roma) is characterized by natural soil on the surface and an overlapping of many archaeological structures in its volume. The second site, St. John Lateran Basilica (Roma), is characterized by artificial medium as road pavement, outside the basilica, and ancient buildings, below the actual basilica. The paper illustrates the two GPR surveys and the obtained results.
GPR survey to confirm the location of ancient structures under the Valencian Cathedral (Spain
Journal of Applied Geophysics, 2000
This paper describes the ground-penetrating radar GPR survey performed inside the Cathedral of Valencia, Spain. It is part of historical studies performed in the Cathedral in order to add information to old maps and documents in the Cathedral Archives and also to analyze the extent and importance of potentially destructive moisture areas that were appearing on the floor. The construction of the Cathedral of Valencia occurred in three stages, all of which are well-documented in the Cathedral Archives with detailed drawings, maps, and charts. The radar data were successful in locating crypts, ossuaries, sepulchers, and graves, and the location of ancient walls that existed before the final Cathedral expansion. Three cultural layers corresponding to the three periods of construction were also identified corresponding to the Roman, Arabian and Middle Age Epochs. Measurements of relative sub-floor moisture were obtained by comparing dielectric permittivity changes and radar velocity differences between materials in humid and non-humid areas.
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial information Sciences, 2013
Remote sensing techniques in Archaeology are increasingly essential components of the methodologies used in archaeological and architectural researches. They allow uncovering unique forgotten data which are unobtainable using traditional excavation techniques, mainly because their precise location is lost. These data are still important since they can help to prevent flood effects inside the ancient building cellars and basements, as it happened periodically in El Escorial. Wide ancient drainage galleries run more than one hundred feet downhill outside the building, ensuring that rainwater and springs were adequately drained. Nowadays their plans are lost, and the lack of documents related both to the ancient water supply and drainage systems become an impediment to solve the stains of damp on the stone masonry walls and vaults, and even other occasional flooding effects. In this case, nondestructive techniques were needed to find the ancient underground passages in order to preserve the integrity of the building and its current activities. At a first stage oblique aerial infrared images taken from a helium barrage balloon helped to find easily, quickly and cheaply the buried masonry structures. Secondly, radar pulses were particularly interesting to image the subsurface as they were valuable means of assessing the presence and amount of both soil water and buried structures. The combination of both techniques proved to be an accurate and low-cost way to find the ancient drainage systems. Finally, results were produced by means of open source software.
Journal of Archaeological Science 37. 3247-3255., 2010
We describe an archaeo-geophysical investigation performed near the Palo Blanco archaeological site, Catamarca, Argentina. A large area beyond the northern limit of the site was explored with the Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) method in order to detect new buildings. The exploration showed signals of mud-walls in a sector that was located relatively far from the previously known buildings. A detailed survey was performed in this sector, and the results showed that the walls belonged to a large dwelling with several rooms. The discovery of this dwelling has considerably extended the size of the site, showing that the dwellings occupied at least twice the originally assumed area. High-density GPR surveys were acquired at different parts of the discovered building in order to resolve complex structures. Interpreted maps of the building were obtained. Different characteristics of the walls were satisfactory determined, in spite of the low contrast of the dielectric constant at their interfaces and the noticeable spatial fluctuations of the signals due to wall collapses.