Joint Interpretation of Geophysical Data for Archaeology: A Case Study

Abstract

Interpret-joints within geophysical data recorded in a complex area where ruins do not outcrop and only earthenware remains within the surficial layer are present. The study area, located in central Italy, consists of Roman, medieval and modern ruins that are included in reworked sediments. The geology is formed by inhomogeneous alluvial sediments (sand and gravel) several meters thick with diamagnetic character. To reduce the ambiguity in the subsurface reconstruction, a joint interpretation of georadar, magnetic and electrical tomography data was performed. The georadar was chosen to reconstruct detailed subsurface features, the electrical tomography to distinguish resistive bodies (stones, voids, etc.) from conductive (cavities filled by clay) and, because of the diamagnetic character of in situ sediments, the magnetic method was chosen to detect the earthenware ruins. The geophysical data were controlled by excavation, which detected silos of 1 m in diameter and a concrete layer at a few centimeters from the topographic surface. Time slices in the georadar data allowed us to detect the silos and to define the lateral edge of the concrete layer. Silos were also indirectly detected by the magnetic data because of the earthenware present in the filling sediments. Electrical tomography detected the concrete layer and an ancient anthropogenic surface of few centimeter depths. The study demonstrates that, because the geophysical methods are based on different physical characteristics, they can have different resolution and therefore detect different bodies.