Archaeological Prospection最新文献

In the modern era and especially in the 20th century, the territory with most of the archaeological sites in central Russia and the Urals was used as agricultural land. The history of long-term studies of medieval Finno-Ugric settlements (Cis-Urals) makes it possible to distinguish segments of an occupation layer in various states of preservation: superficially disrupted, replaced and transported. Superficially disrupted and replaced layers are found at the settlement site and are believed to be residential and economic areas​​. The transported layer is mainly transported to the slopes of the terraces to which the sites of the Chepetskaya culture are assigned. Therefore, it is necessary to study not only the site of the settlement itself but also the adjacent territory. To reconstruct the boundaries and structure of medieval settlements, a new methodological approach has been proposed. Initially, a statistical analysis of multispectral aerial photography data was carried out: the calculation of Haralick's textural features; the reduction in the number of features by principal component analysis and the segmentation of images based on the obtained features using the k-means method. This makes it possible to divide the settlement site and the surrounding area into areas with fundamentally different vegetation intensities. A comparison with the geophysical, soil and archaeological survey data allows the interpretation of the identified areas. The research was carried out at the settlement of Kushman-3 (9th–13th centuries AD). Two lines of defensive structures, which are not manifested in the relief, were identified; the structural parts of the settlement were determined and an interpretation of the way they were used in the Middle Ages was proposed. As a result of the application of the new statistical algorithm, the locations of occupation layer segments in different states of preservation were determined, and the boundaries of the Kushman-3 settlement were substantiated.

Egyptian civilization has long flourished along the banks of the Nile, in the south (e.g. Luxor and Aswan), the Middle (e.g. Giza ‘Great Pyramids’) and North (e.g. San El-Hagar and Buto), as well as the less populated areas of the Sinai Peninsula, the Western Desert and the Red Sea coast. There are archaeological sites date back to the Palaeolithic period and cover the Pre-dynastic, Pharaonic, Hellenistic-Roman, Coptic and Muslim periods. Across the Nile Delta, many of these archaeological sites have disappeared beneath Nile alluvium from the annual inundation or through intensive agricultural use, climate changes and other anthropogenic activities. This study aims to detect the long-term changes in the landscape of the archaeological area of Burullus on the Mediterranean shoreline in the North Delta of Egypt. By combining data from historic topographic maps with Radar Sentinel-1 (High-resolution Level-1 GRD) and SRTM data, topographic signatures in satellite imagery can be compared with the historic record of archaeological sites, many of which are now lost. Image layering, enhancement and analysis using ENVI 5.1, ArcMap 10.4.1 and Snap 8.0 software as well as Google Earth Pro facilitated the imagery identification and acquisition. The results of this study provide a means of quantifying the significant loss of cultural heritage sites due to anthropogenic and natural changes in the landscape. This analysis has also identified two—previously unknown—potential archaeological sites. Finally, the reconstruction of the paleolandscape of the study area shows the changing relationships of ancient and historic settlements with natural and man-made waterways over time. Integrating remote sensing data and historic maps offers a method for evaluating paleolandscapes and locating disappeared archaeological sites that can be applied in other areas of Egypt and the world.

Several studies have suggested the potential value in applying gamma radiation surveys to support identification of buried archaeological features. However, the number of previous studies is very small and has yielded mixed results. The true efficacy of the technique is therefore unclear. Here, we report on an alternative survey method that uses Groundhog®, a portable gamma radiation system with spectrometric capability, to achieve high spatial density monitoring of archaeological sites. The system, which is used extensively in the nuclear industry, was used to carry out preliminary surveys at four different locations within the Silchester Roman Town. Targeting a site for which an extensive amount of archaeological data is available facilitated testing of the method on a range of known target types. Surveys were carried out along 1-m transects at an approximate walking speed of 1 m per second, resulting in the capture of one radiation measurement per square metre. Total gamma radiation, recorded in counts per second, was presented in the form of surface radiation (contour) maps and compared against existing geophysical data. Total gamma counting consists of counting gamma rays, without energy discrimination, that are spontaneously emitted by the material under investigation. The obtained counts represent the total, or gross, gamma contribution from all radionuclides, both natural background series and anthropogenic. Radiation anomalies were identified in two of the four survey sites. These anomalies correlated with features present in the geophysical data and can be attributed to a Temenos wall bounding the temple complex and an infilled clay pit. Early results suggest that this may be a complementary technique to existing geophysical methods to aid characterization of archaeological sites. However, it is believed that data quality could be significantly improved by further increasing spatial resolution. This will be explored as part of future fieldwork.

Underground mapping is of paramount importance at archaeological sites with natural or man-made caves. Techniques of different complexity are available for underground surveying, from compass and tape to light detection and ranging (LiDAR). However, there are scenarios where it is impossible to use heavy and/or delicate instrumentation, or with some of the more advanced techniques, long-distance and time-consuming fieldwork would be required. This is the case of the study of the height of water at key points inside the aquifer located in the subsoil of the Roman city of Colonia Clunia Sulpicia to assess its relation with the evolution of the city. Although subsurface radiolocation, a technique originally intended for cave mapping, seems promising for this application, its accuracy in depth estimation is not sufficient for this purpose. Therefore, the main objectives of this work are to improve the accuracy of depth estimation using radiolocation, to obtain sound data to study changes in water supply in the early centuries of the city and to hypothesize possible causes and probable consequences. Then, this work analyses the sources of error affecting the radiolocation process and develops a new method experimentally validated to improve the depth estimation accuracy. As a result, the depth of key points at Clunia has been accurately measured by radiolocation, where LiDAR or direct measurements from the water level are not possible. Finally, based on the resultant data, a chronology of the city in relation to the aquifer, and vice versa, is outlined. The new radiolocation and calculation procedure proposed in this paper is an improved subsurface location technique that can lead to a significant innovation in archaeological prospection.

Hillforts are fortified archaeological sites built from the Neolithic to Early Middle Ages within the area of Europe. They were usually surrounded by fortifications consisting of various combinations of ramparts and ditches, which today constitute their most striking remains. Although magnetometry surveys are commonly used for spatial identification of ramparts and ditches, a different method must be employed for directly obtaining depth information. Hence, we evaluate the potential of electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) for surveying hillfort fortifications. Within three hillforts of different ages in the Czech Republic, we investigated various features affecting the imaging ability of ERT, including bedrock type, building material, present-day condition of fortification, impact of past or recent agricultural activities, and field settings of the ERT method. Supported by additional information from magnetometry and electromagnetic surveys, the results show that ERT is most applicable in cases of stony ramparts, ditches carved into rocky bedrock or well-preserved earthen ramparts. Poorer results were achieved upon active and/or recently active agricultural lands, where fortifications have been gradually destroyed by ploughing. The remains of stony ramparts remained distinguishable in the latter case, but mere traces of earthen ramparts and ditches were invisible to ERT due to mixing of fortification material with on-site soil. ERT is a unique method for detailed investigation of both ramparts and ditches by which a structure and its extent can be evaluated to indicate the function of a settlement and obtain information about former environmental conditions, population, land use and/or human–environmental interaction.

Cyprus, the third largest Mediterranean island, is located at an exceptional crossroad in the eastern Mediterranean, where cultures from the Middle East, Africa and Europe have interacted for more than 10 000 years. The aim of this paper is to present an exhaustive review of the past archaeological geophysical surveys on the island. The result of our research indicates that to date, more than 30 archaeological sites spanning from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic (ca. 10 000 BC) to the Venetian period (up to 1571 AD) have been investigated through noninvasive ground-based techniques. The investigations concern the mapping of the extent of ancient occupation (settlements and cemeteries), the study of the internal organization of settlements (domestic architecture, palaces and fortifications), the investigation of funerary structures (tombs) and the use of space within buildings. The methods implemented are multiple and often used in combination. Emphasis has been given to ground penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic induction (EMI) and magnetic and electrical resistance techniques. Most surveys have been targeted towards the production of maps representing the spatial distribution of the subsurface architectural residues, and sometimes these have been accompanied by soundings, tomographies, as well as 3D reconstructions of the ancient structures. Very few sites have been subjected to the measurements of the chemical or magnetic properties of the soils in relation to the results of geophysical prospection. Further discussion concerns (i) the targets of the archaeo-geophysical surveys in Cyprus, (ii) the limitations of the application of the specific techniques in relation to the Cypriot archaeological and geological context, (iii) the geophysical signatures of archaeological remains and (iv) the metadata accompanying the geophysical results.

Geophysical methods, and particularly ground penetrating radar (GPR), have been increasingly applied as a preliminary mapping tool to guide archaeological excavations. Direct comparisons between geophysical and archaeological features are however not always systematically performed given the different time spans, covered areas, acquisition and processing approaches of the surveys. A critical comparison between geophysical and archaeological results is here proposed on a test site within the archaeological area of Augusta Bagiennorum (NW Italy). Three rectangular sectors covering an area of approximately 2325 m² were investigated with high-density GPR profiles and compared with both historical and new archaeological excavations. The GPR amplitude and attribute analyses highlight the effectiveness of geophysical prospections in identifying buried linear (i.e., walls) and localized (e.g., pillars or columns) archaeological remains. The recent archaeological excavations fully confirm the interpretation of the GPR results. Historical archaeological trenches, filled with coarse material after the excavation, are also found to generate strong anomalies in the GPR amplitude, similar to the ones of the buried structures, but with irregular contours and oblique orientations with respect to Roman remains. The GPR prospections also highlight interesting buried elements in unexplored areas, supporting important archaeological interpretations about the spatial configuration of the Roman city. The results help to recognize sectors with significant and well-preserved buried remains that can be brought to light in the future to promote heritage conservation and enhancement at the site.

The article presents the results of magnetic and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) research carried out in Old Dongola in northern Sudan in 2018 and 2020, within the framework of a project designed to investigate the transition from Christianity to Islam taking place in the capital of the Nubian kingdom of Makuria. The integrated datasets from the application of two geophysical methods, of which one is the standard magnetic method used on sites in the Nile Valley and the other ground-penetrating radar, enhanced the archaeological interpretation, focused in this case on a reconstruction of the urban layout of the 16th–18th-century Funj settlement within the walls of the Dongola Citadel. The magnetic method, the effectiveness of which has gone unquestioned with regard to the study of silt architecture in the Nile valley, was successful in mapping the general outline of the settlement on the Citadel hill and in the quarter north of the walls. The GPR survey (450-MHz antenna) provided a much more detailed image of the street grid and was much more effective than the magnetic method in tracing the course of mud-brick walls in a sandy matrix containing baked brick rubble. Verification of the geophysical results through the excavation of selected parts of the Citadel not only satisfied the objectives of the archaeological project, which was to establish the overall street and building layout in the research area, but also confirmed the effectiveness of the two prospection methods applied in combination and the potential of integrated research with the use of the GPR and magnetic methods for the study of mud-brick and baked brick architecture on settlement sites in Sudan.

The archaeological zone of Huexotla, east of Mexico Basin, was part of the Acolhuacan lordship, associated to the Mexica domain in the Postclassical period. In this site, several structures have been partially explored, some of which are open to the public. Recent explorations led to the hypothesis that the structures of La Estancia, the Wall and the Community were part of a more complex space that formed the Sacred Precinct of the city. In order to test this postulate, magnetometry was conducted in three areas of the site. By processing Total Field and Vertical Gradient magnetic data, we were able to identify and understand the distribution of underground features like walls, floors and platforms, aiding in the determination of potential excavation areas. Processing the magnetic data with the application of the analytic signal operator allowed more information to be acquired for the recognition of structures of interest. The geophysical results were correlated with the outcomes of archaeological excavations in three structures, confirming the existence of architectural patterns that were not previously detected and supporting the thesis proposed for the ceremonial enclosure.