Magnetic surveys of Early and Middle Neolithic settlements in Austria (original) (raw)
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In: Jerem, E.–T. Biró, K. (eds): Archaeometry 98. Proceedings of the 31st Symposium. British Archaeological Reports–International Series 1043, Oxford, 135– 143., 2002
Quantitative Methods in the Humanities and Social Sciences Digital Methods and Remote Sensing in Archaeology Archaeology in the Age of Sensing, 2016
The aim of this paper is to present an approach combining archaeological excavation with geophysical prospection. This is achieved by a combination of magnetometry, magnetic susceptibility, ground penetrating radar (GPR) and pXRF measurements, on archaeological features before and during excavation. Soil properties, such as soil colour, organic content, pH, magnetic susceptibility, chemistry and composition are influenced by natural and human activities and these changes can be identified by various prospection methods. The data was collected at the Middle Neolithic circular ditched enclosure (Kreisgrabenanlage, KGA) at Hornsburg, Austria in the Kreuttal area, which is a case study area of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI Arch Pro, http://archpro.lbg.ac.at/). Archaeological prospection in the majority of cases is carried out prior to excavation, in order to map the archaeology for the excavation or for planning procedures. The full archaeological potential of the various prospection methods therefore is not attained; as these measurements can help corroborate excavation results as well as providing further archaeological data that cannot be seen by the excavator’s eye. Furthermore, excavations provide an opportunity to investigate specific anomalies allowing for an examination of the processes, whether human or natural, influencing the prospectability or non-prospectability of these features. This can provide a link between past human actions and specific anomaly signatures, adding further archaeological interpretation to the prospection data as well as providing a greater archaeological insight during and after the excavation. Data analysis is still ongoing, so the paper will mainly focus on preliminary results obtained from the magnetometry and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Additionally smaller contributions from GPR, aerial photographs and orthophotos are presented here whilst future publications will integrate these alongside ultraviolet and infrared photographs and pXRF measurements.
This paper summarizes the extensive magnetometer survey (over 17 ha) of an important archaeological site in South Bohemia (Czechia). The Late Bronze Age settlement of Bˇreznice has become known for a large amount of specific and at first enigmatic features: trenches, rich in burnt material and structured depositions of finds. Apart from processing by usual methods, magnetometer data has been handled in a less common way in terms of its informative value: as quantitative, spatially continuous information on the intensity of human activities in the landscape. This approach not only led to the definition of the overall extent of the site and detected tens of new trenches, but it also brought information on the functional and behavioural structure of the settlement. The indicated spatial patterns match the model of a continuous growth of individual settlement segments (homesteads) and their gradual shifts following intentional burnings of the buildings. The obtained data represents a significant contribution both to the typology of prehistoric settlements and to the research of their ‘biography’, abandonment rituals and other aspects of prehistoric settlement behaviour. Not least, the data from Březnice demonstrated the information potential of magnetometer data in regard to the formation processes of archaeological sites. The magnetic anomalies were categorized into several groups, some of which can be connected to archaeological features still surviving underground whereas some others may – from the most part – represent the last remains of features, which have been already destroyed in their original setting.
2015
This paper focus on an original magnetic survey with a high spatial resolution used to map the Neolithic site of Le Pontet at Saint-Nazaire-sur-Charente (Charente-Maritime, France). The protocol involves to use a motorized total station to locate each magnetic data measured by a G-858 magnetometer. The data processing enables to enhance the magnetic map and to obtain a final error of location of a few centimetre. The accurate localization of measurements by the total station permits to understand the magnetic intensity variations between two consecutive profiles in slope (variation of the height of the sensors during the uphill and the downhill). The using of the topographic data of the total station will enable to correct the variation of magnetic intensity induced by the relief. The results of the magnetic survey allow to bring out several causewayed enclosures, pits and postholes. The archaeology excavations will be positioned on the basis of magnetic survey.