Buried Archaeological Features Research Articles

Integrated technologies for archaeological investigation; the Celone Valley project

AbstractA non‐intrusive investigation integrating complementary technologies was carried out at four vast archaeological settlements located in the northern part of Apulia (Southern Italy). An aerial photographic survey combined with a high‐resolution magnetic investigation was used to detect many buried archaeological features. After processing, both crop marks and magnetic anomalies appeared very sharp and well‐defined, outlining the shape and plan of the buried structures with notable accuracy. Furthermore, differential global positioning system measurements were carried out in order to geocode the magnetic grids, to orthorectify the oblique coloured photographs and to make these data sets suitable for input into a GIS; a very good spatial correlation and a more rigorous and comprehensive interpretation of the various data elements were attained. Finally, as a result of this combined and accurate multilayer analysis, an archaeological interpretation was proposed, enabling useful information to be obtained on the transformations that have occurred over time at these study sites. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Large-Area Remote Sensing Coverage of Archaeological Sites with a Dual-Track Cart-Mounted Cesium Magnetometer

This paper describes the benefits of collecting total field magnetic data at archaeological sites with a mobile cart holding two cesium magnetometer sensors and a separate stationary base station magnetometer to correct for global-scale magnetic fluctuations. To date, the Texas Historical Commission has surveyed 40 sites from various time periods and geographical settings in Texas. The cart has allowed rapid surveys over large areas while minimizing signal-degrading noise. Four examples from Texas show that large-area and high-density magnetic surveys can be completed in relatively short periods of time producing maps that aid significantly in archaeological site interpretation. In some instances, no field excavation was required to understand quickly what the magnetic patterns represented in terms of buried archaeological features. In all cases, the magnetometer maps provided important information to help guide future field excavations.

Robotic total station for microtopographic mapping: an example from the Northern Great Plains

AbstractPast human activities in cultural landscapes are often expressed by subtle variations in surface topography that reflect buried archaeological features. When seen from the air under low sunlight angles, resultant ‘shadow marks’ form a cornerstone of site detection in aerial archaeology. Past attempts to quantify and map such variations across large archaeological landscapes have resorted to aerial photogrammetry, electronic total stations, air‐ and ground‐based lidar, and kinematic global positioning systems. The most commonly used surveying instrument is the total station, but its slow rate of data acquisition makes it poorly suited for collecting vast amounts of elevation data over large areas, although it is often used for that task. A robotic total station, examined here, is a relatively new technology that provides a rapid survey solution. It requires only a single person to operate the total station by radio linkage from a control pad affixed to a wheeled reflector rod. As the rod is rolled over the landscape it is automatically tracked, and measurements of surface topography may be acquired to subcentimetre accuracy continuously, at a rate of one measurement per second. A case study from the Double Ditch State Historic Site in the Great Plains of North Dakota, a fortified earthlodge village with culturally significant surface expressions, exemplifies this potential. The loci of prehistoric houses, borrow pits, fortification ditches, middens and defensive mounds are clearly revealed in the topographic mapping. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Magnetic tracing at Abu Sir (land of forgotten pyramids), northern Egypt

Abstract An Erratum has been published for this article in Geoarchaeology 20(6) 2005, 659. An integrated magnetic study was conducted at Abu Sir, a locality in northern Egypt also known as the “Land of the Forgotten Pyramids.” Two magnetic tools were applied over an area of 25,600 m2 in order to trace and detect hidden archaeological features near the Temple of the Sun. The acquisition of the magnetic data was initiated by measuring the magnetic susceptibility of the topsoil samples collected within the entire study area. This was followed by a gradiometer survey to measure the vertical gradient of the geomagnetic field over a restricted area of 14,400 m2. The magnetic susceptibility results are characterized by high values in the middle of the study area and a small extension of high values to the southwest. This pattern may indicate the presence of ritual monuments. The magnetic susceptibility measurements identified regions of interest to be targeted during the gradiometer survey. The gradiometer results revealed the existence of numerous archaeological features of different shapes and sizes composed of mud bricks. These features may represent tombs, burial rooms, and dissected walls, and all of them probably belong to the 5th Dynasty of pharaohs. The depth of the expected buried archaeological features was estimated from the gradiometer results and is about 1.2 m for deep features and 0.42 m for shallow features. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Interim Report on a Geophysical and Surface Survey of Ramla

This report describes the results of a short survey carried out as part of the Ramla project. The aims of the survey were to assess the viability of geophysical techniques for detecting sub-surface features at this site and to carry out a surface survey within the same areas. Inside the town the results of the geophysical survey were disappointing, though work on the borders of the town produced evidence of buried archaeological features.

Geoelectric resistance scanning on parts of Abydos Cemetery Region, Sohag Governorate, Upper Egypt

The ancient Egyptian Abedju (original name of the present Abydos) locality is a famous archaeological site southwest of Balyana town, Sohag Governorate, Upper Egypt. It is located to the west of the agricultural land of the Nile Valley. The locality represents one of the most important burial grounds for kings and high court dignitaries in ancient Egypt. Shallow geophysical techniques are considered as one of the most accurate and cost-effective methods used in archaeological prospecting and are considered as rapid and safe techniques in detecting a wide range of buried archaeological features. The geoelectric resistance scanning technique, using the Geoscan RM-15 Resistance Meter, is applied with a twin-electrode con- figuration at three sites of the unexcavated localities of Abydos area. This technique proved to be a useful means of exploring the sites through mapping the subsurface burial inhomogeneities resulting from the marked resistance contrast between the buried stone and brick walls and the covering fill of sand, silt and clay. Interesting different buried features are imaged and displayed on maps and three-dimensional representations to guide the archaeological excavation programmes at the sites of Umm El-Qaab, Shunet El-Zebib and Kom El-Sultan within the Abydos region. At the Umm El-Qaab site the combined interpretation of the tomography resistance ranges and maps indicate buried walls and rubble as well as an amorphous background area. At the Shunet El-Zebib site, the texture of the images, which show scattered and crowded high-resistance anomalies, confirms the exist- ence of buried tombs at the site, which is surrounded by defence walls. Thus, this site was not a fortress or a palace, but a special cemetery for higher dignitaries. Kom El-Sultan, however, shows a concentration of high-resistance anomalies at the northern part. Thus, these may be related to walls and rubble related to a nearby elevated temple. Copyright * c 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Non-destructive exploration in the Archaeological Park of Metaponto (Southern Italy)

A non-intrusive investigation combining complementary technologies has been carried out in the Archaeological Park of Metaponto (southern Italy). A multitemporal analysis of aerial photographs acquired at different times and a high-resolution magnetic survey provided useful information about the buried archaeological features of the ancient Greek colony. The use of GIS and image processing technologies allowed a highly effective integration of all aerial and magnetic data, leading to more rigorous correlation of the different results. This modern approach yielded new and relevant information contributing to improve knowledge of the town-planning of the Greek colony. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Shallow geophysical investigations on Tell el Farama, Northwest Sinai, Egypt

The main objective of the present study was to locate the buried archaeological remains in the area of Tell el Farama in northwestern Sinai, using shallow geophysical techniques. Magnetic and electric resistivity surveys were carried out on a selected area of about 300 m×330 m, which represents the present location of the ancient Citadel of el Farama. The field data have been collected, automatically analysed and presented in the form of maps and profiles, which show several magnetic and resistivity anomalies of different amplitudes and shapes. After the interpretation of these geophysical anomalies, a broader distribution of the buried archaeological features has been estimated and a simplified interpretative map is given to assist future plans for excavation of this area. This interpretation was based mainly on the magnetic results. The geoelectric resistivity method failed to give an indication of the distribution of the archaeological remains in this area due to the high salinization, shallow water table and soil moisture regime in the area of el Farama. Copyright © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ground-penetrating Radar Techniques and Three-dimensional Computer Mapping in the American Southwest

New techniques of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) acquisition and computer processing were tested at archaeological sites in the American Southwest and found to be highly effective in producing images of buried archaeological features. These new methods, especially amplitude slice-maps, were combined with more standard data processing and interpretation techniques and tested at sites with little or no surface expression. In southern Arizona, numerous pit structures buried in terrace alluvium were discovered and mapped. In the Four Corners region, a Chaco period great kiva and other pit structures and features were mapped by GPR and later confirmed through excavation. At some sites, GPR surveys did not successfully identify buried archaeological features. These failed surveys highlight both geological and methodological problems including soil conditions, surface disturbance, and equipment calibration that may be avoided or ameliorated in future GPR surveys.

Defining archaeological features with electromagnetic surveys at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Electromagnetic (EM) surveys have been used at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site in southwestern Illinois to locate and define a number of buried archaeological features. Two instruments, Geonics EM31-D and EM38 conductivity meters, were employed to locate portions of a wooden stockade known as the Central Palisade; delineate a number of leveled earthen mounds; and explore a broad, flat area in the central portion of the site known as the Grand Plaza. EM surveys, together with limited excavation, provide a cost effective and nondestructive means of exploring a site as large and complex as Cahokia. Archaeological excavations confirmed that EM surveys were able to locate the Central Palisade, and more importantly, that they provided information on anthropogenically modified terrain within the Grand Plaza. The EM survey documented buried ridge and swale topography and borrow pits within this area. This evidence of landscape modification challenges previous conceptions about the extent of earthmoving at this important Mississippian center and suggests a promising area of application for EM surveys in archaeology.

ELECTROMAGNETIC PROSPECTING ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES USING A SOIL CONDUCTIVITY METER

In addition to their use as metal detectors, electromagnetic prospecting instruments can, in principle, be used to locate buried archaeological features such as pits, ditches, kilns and walls. Location is achieved as a result of either the electrical conductivity or magnetic susceptibility contrast between the archaeological feature and the surrounding soil. In the former case the possibility of electromagnetic prospecting is extremely attractive since this type of instrument would avoid the tedious business of probe insertion necessary with the conventional resistivity method. Initial attempts to use an electromagnetic detector for archaeological prospecting were unsuccessful (Tite 1961) but recently a new instrument, referred to as the soii conductivity meter or SCM (Howell 1966 and 1968) has been successfully employed to detect buried pits and ditches. The SCM consists of a vertical transmitter coil which is fed with a continuous sinusoidal current at a frequency of 4 kc/s and a receiver coil which is mounted, at a distance of I m, on the axis and perpendicular to the transmitter coil, thus avoiding any direct energy transfer. Although designed to detect differences in soil conductivity, it has been shown that in its present form the SCM normally responds to the magnetic properties of the soil (Tite and Mullins 1969). The purpose of the research described in this paper was to establish the conditions under which electromagnetic instruments, and in particular the SCM, respond to the conductivity rather than the magnetic susceptibility of the soil and to estimate the depth at which typical archaeological features could be located. The majority of the results were obtained using a scaled model of the SCM.

Trials of the Elsec Proton Magnetometer at Two Sites on Wetherill Mesa

AbstractThe magnetic results obtained in teste at two sites did not indicate the location of buried archaeological features and suggest that magnetometry is not suited to sites of the type found on Wetherill Mesa.