Buried Wall Research Articles

Enhancing DC resistivity data two-dimensional inversion result by using U-net based Deep learning- algorithm: Examples from archaegeophysical surveys

In this study, we suggested using a convolutional neural network (CNN) based algorithm to enhance two-dimensional (2D) Direct Current Resistivity (DCR) data inversion results. We developed U-net based CNN algorithm, named DCR2D_Net_Archaeo. We generated 1080 sets of 2D resistivity models that simulate buried archaeological remains. We calculated synthetic data for those models for different electrode arrays. We added 2% random noise to apparent resistivity data sets and inverted those data sets. We used the 2D inversion results as input and the corresponding real resistivity model as output. By using those 1080 input and output data sets we developed the DCR2D_Net_Archaeo algorithm. First, we tested this algorithm by using synthetic data. We showed that the developed algorithm improved the 2D classical smoothing regularization inversion and the buried body’'s geometry and depth can be found very close to the real model. Afterward, we also tested the developed algorithm with real data collected from two different archaeological sites. We showed that the buried wall cross-section location and depth are better found by the DCR2D_Net_Archaeo algorithm than by using the conventional inversion codes for the inversion of DCR data if we compare it with the excavated wall structure.

Ground penetrating radar investigations of buried remnants at ancient capital cities of Panchala and Vatsa kingdoms spread along Ganga-Yamuna doab of India from 600 BCE to 1100 CE

Ahichhatra and Kaushambi, ancient settlements located in Uttar Pradesh, comprise differential cultural deposits and architectural remnants from 2500 BCE to 1200 CE. These settlements flourished as the capital cities of once-prosperous urban kingdoms known as Panchala and Vatsa Mahajanapadas but remain abandoned in the present day. To provide ancillary data for the simplification of traditional archaeological explorational practices, a few portions located in and around the fortified areas of both settlements were considered for subsurface investigations using Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). In Ahichhatra and Kaushambi, 2D and 3D GPR survey was carried out in the open areas devoid of vegetation for the understanding of the spatial alignment of the buried features within the fortified walls. The subsurface investigations at Ahichhatra have shown high amplitude reflections referring to buried wall structures, residential complexes, raised platforms, past-used surfaces and structural continuity. Also, the partial excavation carried out at Ahichhatra has revealed walls and compacted floors validating our findings. From Kaushambi, the findings include wall structures and interconnected chambered structures. The anomalies obtained in the data collected from considered survey sites located in Ahichhatra are 1–2 m wide and 2–4 m deep whereas in Kaushambi they are 0.5–1 m wide and 2–4 m deep. These findings helped us to determine the progressive urban relics of the ancient kingdoms which were known for their second phase of urbanism in Ganga Valley that prevailed until their abandonment. For a better understanding of the cultural history, detailed mapping of the contemporary sites can be carried out using integrated survey methods.

Оценка эффективности барьера «стена в грунте» при создании приповерхностных пунктов консервации и захоронения РАО

The article evaluates the impact of a “buried wall” barrier on the long-term safety during the long-term storage1 or in-situ disposal of nuclear legacy facilities, in particular, industrial reservoirs, as well as during the development of near-surface disposal facilities for radioactive waste (RWDF). For assessment purposes, filtration and mass transfer processes have been numerically modelled in the GeRa code based on a case study of a reference near-surface facility. The study explores in which way the available covering screen affects the dynamics of contaminant spread. It evaluates the sensitivity of the results to the dispersion parameter commonly characterized by a high degree of uncertainty.

Ground-penetrating radar inspection of subsurface historical structures at the baptism (El-Maghtas) site, Jordan

Abstract. The baptism (El-Maghtas) site is located to the north of the Dead Sea on the eastern bank of the Jordan River. Previous archeological excavations in the surrounding area have uncovered artifacts that include the location that was home to “John the Baptist”, who lived and preached in the early 1st Century AD and is known for baptizing Jesus. Archeological excavations have revealed walls, antiquities, and ancient water systems that include conduits, pools, and ancient pottery pipes. A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey was carried out at select locations along parallel profiles using a subsurface interface radar system (Geophysical Survey Systems Inc. SIRvoyer-20) with 400 MHz or 900 MHz mono-static shielded antennas in order to locate archeological materials at shallow depths. The GPR profiles revealed multiple subsurface anomalies across the study area. At the John the Baptist Church site a buried wall was detected along the profiles, and at the pool site the survey delineated several buried channels. GPR data also confirmed the extension of an ancient pottery pipe at the Elijah's Hill site through the production of a clear diffraction hyperbola anomaly related to the ancient pottery pipe that could be discriminated from the 2D profiles. The GPR data were displaced using 3D imaging to define the horizontal and vertical extent of the pipe.

Electrical resistivity tomography array comparisons to detect cleared-wall foundations in brownfield sites

Electrical resistivity surveys are commonly used to detect and characterize near-surface buried objects in commercial developments of brownfield sites. Two-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) profile arrays predominate in such surveys owing to their relatively rapid deployment, good penetration depths and fast data collection rates. However, there is a need to test the optimum array types in such surveys. A scaled model was used to simulate a large cleared-building wall foundation in gravel-fill at a test facility, before multiple 2D ERT profiles were acquired using different array configurations. Results were used to generate 2D resistivity models using both least-squares smoothness-constraint and robust inversion. Two-dimensional profile array comparisons showed that the Wenner and dipole–dipole arrays were the best in detecting the cleared-wall foundation, although dipole–dipole arrays better delineated the top of the wall foundation. This study suggests that both Wenner and dipole–dipole array configurations should be utilized to detect buried wall foundations for 2D resistivity surveys.

Three-dimensional regularized inversion of DC resistivity data with different stabilizing functionals

A regularized inversion with a smoothing (SM) stabilizer is commonly used in 3D inversion of direct-current (DC) resistivity data. We have developed a new 3D inversion algorithm for DC resistivity data to investigate the efficiency of various stabilizing functionals. This algorithm is capable of incorporating 3D regularized inversion with [Formula: see text]-norm, [Formula: see text]-norm, SM, minimum support (MS), minimum gradient support (MGS), first-order minimum entropy, and total variation (TV) stabilizers. This is, to our knowledge, a comprehensive study of the effects of these seven different stabilizers on the inverse solution using synthetic and field data. As expected, the structure boundaries are found to be smooth when a SM stabilizer is used in the synthetic data examples. The upper bounds of the structures are recovered close to true model with [Formula: see text]-norm, [Formula: see text]-norm, first-order minimum entropy, and TV stabilizers, but the lower bounds cannot be recovered. Moreover, these stabilizers cannot completely resolve the resistivity of structures. The boundaries and resistivity of the structures are determined to be close to the true model with MS and MGS stabilizers. Similar results are obtained from inversions of field data collected in the Kültepe archaeological site (Kayseri, Turkey). A buried wall structure is correctly identified when the inversion used MS or MGS stabilizers. The archaeological structure found in the excavation studies reveals the success of the solution using MS and MGS stabilizers. These two stabilizers are recommended for an exploration of sharp boundaries structures.

Meshing around: integrating ground-penetrating radar surveys and photogrammetric documentation for the reconstruction of the spatial layout of the church of St. Lawrence, Sigtuna, Sweden

This article aims at providing evidence for the usefulness of combining data from both above and below the ground in order to provide a more complete understanding of an archaeological site. For this purpose a Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey was carried out next to the standing ruins of the west tower of the church of St. Lawrence in Sigtuna, Sweden. The tower ruins were also documented using photogrammetry providing an accurate 3D-model of the site. The result of the GPR survey clearly images the buried wall foundations of the church but it is only when this data is combined with the photogrammetric 3D-model of the tower ruins that the spatial layout becomes complete. The results clearly provide evidence of the benefits of using such an integrated approach. The available evidence suggests that the tower, nave and choir (with a possible apse) were constructed during the 12th century. During the 15th century the church porch was built and arches added to the nave. The building history of the church is thus rather ordinary compared to other contemporary Swedish churches and, as a consequence, it is likely that that the church was built for the city congregation.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT AND THERMAL PERFORMANCES OF MODERN EARTH SHELTERED HOUSES

The impact of modern structures on the environment during the building process and actual life-cycle becomes more and more of a problem and needs to be minimized using unconventional architectural and building solutions, materials and overall acknowledgement of the whole concept. This study has the task of determining the feasibility of a modern earth sheltered house solution by comparing its thermal performances and environmental impact to a conventional above-ground building solution. Although both models are studied having the same dimensions, orientation and structure materials, the noticeable differences in the final measurements are due to the fact that unconventional natural insulating and waterproofing materials were used in the case of the earth-sheltered house. Also, the buried wall and green roof of this pilot underground house determine significant differences between the two sets of results. The studies were conducted using the RDM 6 and the GaBi 6 software. The models were both virtual, with materials and basic structure given by the earth-sheltered house that is already built but not completely finished. This study highlights the better results of this unconventional alternative to building above ground in a region where the climate and overall geographical context encourages its premises. Due for completion in 2015, the house is the first to be built in Romania and is now under development in the northern region of the country, near the town of Iasi, Iasi County.

Shallow geophysical investigations at the Akhmim archaeological site, Suhag, Egypt

Ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic terrain conductivity, and electric tomography have proven to be effective tools if they are combined together to investigate archeological sites. We have conducted a geophysical survey at the Akhmim archaeological site, the main objective of our survey is to locate additional buried structures for further excavation. Geophysical data were acquired in the area using the GEM-300 multi-frequency terrain conductivity profiler, the SIR 2000 ground penetrating radar, and the Syscal R2 resistivity meter systems. The results of the integrated interpretation show a number of buried features and a strong linear zone about 1 m wide that coincides with the suspected trend of a buried wall. There appears to be two parallel ridges of strong reflections on either side, indicating two parallel walls extended East-West and a room is identified at the bottom left corner of the site. Moreover, the interpretation results of some selected GPR and dipoledipole resistivity profiles adjacent to the open-air museum suggest the existence of a second statue of Ramses II to the right of the previously discovered statue which could still be buried in the sand.

Underground explosion of a cylindrical charge near a buried wall

The paper investigates the explosion characteristics of a cylindrical explosive that is buried in soil close to a rigid obstacle. The soil is modeled as a bulk compressible elastic plastic medium, including full bulk locking and dependence of the current deviatoric yield stress on the pressure. The Lagrange approach and the modified variational-difference method are used to simulate the process. The pressure distribution along the rigid obstacle has been studied for various stand of distances of the explosive from the obstacle. It was shown that when the explosion is relatively close to the obstacle, the envelope of the pressure distributions (connecting the maximum stress values of all distributions along the wall) shows a maximum value that is located at some distance away from the axis of symmetry and not along the axis as is the case for a distant explosion. It was found that this phenomenon appears when the interaction of the reflected wave with the explosive cavity yields significant deformation of the cavity frontal part that it is sharply deformed and becomes planar. When the explosive stand of distance from the obstacle is moderate or large, the explosion cavity remains cylindrical during all times and the peak pressure is developed along the axis of symmetry. The paper also studies the dependence of maximum stress values of all distributions and their location on the explosive stand of distance and the cavity expansion time history.

Enhanced interpretation of magnetic survey data from archaeological sites using artificial neural networks

The use of magnetic surveys for archaeological prospecting is a well-established and versatile technique, and a wide range of data processing routines are often applied to further enhance acquired data or derive source parameters. Of particular interest in this respect is the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to predict source parameters such as the burial depths of detected features of interest. Within this study, ANNs based upon a multilayer perceptron architecture are used to perform the nonlinear mapping between buried wall features detected within the magnetic data and their corresponding burial depth for surveys in the ancient city of Butrint in southern Albania, achieving a greater level of information from the survey data. Suitable network training examples and test data were generated using forward models based upon ground-truth observations. The training procedure adopts a supervised learning routine that is optimized using a conjugate gradient method, while the learning algorithm also prunes network elements to prevent overregularization by reducing model complexity. Data processing was further enhanced by introducing rotational invariance using Zernike moments and by utilizing the combined output of a number, or committee, of networks. When applied to a section of survey data from Butrint, the ANN routine successfully predicted the burial depth of a number of detected wall features, with an rms error on the order of [Formula: see text], and provided a coherent map of the buried building foundations. The neural network approach offered advantages in terms of efficiency and flexibility over more conventional data-inversion techniques within the context of the study, giving fast solutions for large, complex data sets while having high noise tolerance.

From hypocaust to hyperbola: ground‐penetrating radar surveys over mainly Roman remains in the UK

AbstractGround‐penetrating radar (GPR) survey can provide a wealth of information when applied to the investigation of buried remains. The strength of the GPR technique lies both in its suitability to a wide range of site conditions and the complementary nature of the data in comparison with other geophysical techniques. However, GPR is not infallible, relying on the careful selection of suitable sites and the application of appropriate data processing and visualization routines to maximize the potential of the acquired data. This paper demonstrates the use of GPR over a variety of mainly Roman remains surveyed recently by English Heritage, within the UK, ranging in scale from an in situ mosaic pavement threatened by water damage at Bignor Roman villa, West Sussex to an entire, suspected amphitheatre at Richborough Castle, Kent. The influence of site conditions, such as soil conductivity and topography, is also considered and a novel application of principal components analysis is presented to enhance the identification of significant anomalies from data where rapid signal attenuation has occurred. This latter technique considers the correlation of GPR response between adjacent amplitude time‐slices in an attempt to isolate the response due to significant buried wall footings from the more cluttered signal of the surrounding clay‐rich soil. Where appropriate, URL links are provided to computer animations of the GPR data that may often serve to accentuate subtle variations through the stratigraphy of the site. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Buried Corrugated Thermoplastic Pipe: Simulation and Design

The objective of this study was to demonstrate a computational method for assessing the allowable depth of fill over a buried thermoplastic profile wall (corrugated) plastic pipe and to compare the results with those of the recently adopted AASHTO design method. The computational method is demonstrated for a 1,500-mm (60-in.) diameter high-density polyethylene profile wall pipe but is applicable to all profile wall thermoplastic pipe that exhibits local buckling limit states. The computational model compares strain demands predicted from a two-dimensional plane strain finite element model of buried pipe in the embankment condition with strain capacity predicted from a three-dimensional finite element model of a pipe–soil segment undergoing thrust or positive and negative bending, or both. The strain demands indicate the dominance of thrust strains as opposed to bending strains in the overall behavior, particularly for intermediate to larger fill depths. In the examined profile the ultimate strain capacity is limited by local buckling for thrust strains and positive bending (crest in compression) and inward radial movement of the crest for negative bending (liner in compression). Predictions for depth of fill by the new AASHTO design method for thermoplastic pipe and the computational method agree within 10% of one another when uniform soil distribution is considered and within 20% of one another when a soft haunch and other soft soils are considered in the pipe–soil envelope.

A buried wall in peatland by Sheshader, Isle of Lewis

Reports growing evidence for the enclosure of open moorland in northern and western Scotland in the early 1st millennium bc. Some trace of cereal cultivation nearby. A R

Archaeological Investigations at Mission Concepcion, Fall of 1986

In October 1986, the Center for Archaeological Research, The University of Texas at San Antonio, conducted limited test excavations at Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purisima Concepci6n (41 BX 12) for the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park. The purpose of the excavations was to determine whether buried wall footings and occupation surfaces were preserved in an area where a drain pipe was proposed to be installed to carry rainwater away from the convento. Eleven test units were excavated at points where the foundations of the first two-story convento were expected to cross the area. Remnants of the footings of the north and south walls of the con vento were isolated, recorded, and reburied. No traces of occupation surfaces were found. Three electrical conduit lines were found to cross the area in question, two of which were unknowingly dug into the top of the north convento wall. Based on the fmdings of the testing, it is recommended that the trench for the drain be excavated by hand through the con vento area.

THE USE OF AN INFLATABLE ‘AIR-DOME’ TO PRODUCE CONTROLLED CONDITIONS FOR AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

In April 1968 the writer read a paper to the Fifth International Congress on Iranian Art and Archaeology [1]. He then suggested that inflatable 'air-domes' might be used to produce controlled conditions for archaeological sites. It might thus become possible to attain a great degree of control over factors affecting the state of conservation of the monument and artifacts being excavated. Such control should then improve the standard of the recovery and interpretation of information from the excavations. The fierce sun, dust and strong winds of the Middle East, and the rains and winds of British and other European sites at present have far too great an effect upon the recovery of information. If the site is being excavated beneath the air-dome, the conservator might have a far better chance of saving valuable evidence than when the site is exposed to the elements. The air-dome could also be most usefully employed during the excavation of what are normally regarded as 'difficult' sites, e.g. buried wooden boats of the Sutton Hoo type; buried wall paintings on 'clay plaster' such as were found at Chatal Hiiyiik in Turkey; or ivories and unbaked clay objects buried in wet soil, etc. An attempt could also be made to control or alter the microclimate under the dome.

Iza, an Unusual Diapir in North Spain: ABSTRACT

Interspersed among the gentle fold structures of the Cantabrian Mesozoic basin of northern Spain are at least 12 diapirs with cores of plastic Triassic shales, evaporites, and ophitic igneous rocks exposed at the surface. These occur in an S-shaped belt in a generally east-west direction over a distance of some 130 kilometers (80 miles). The Iza diapir is located in the extreme east portion of the basin at the eastern termination of the diapiric trend. Surface evidence and seismic work plus the data from four wells drilled on the Iza structure have outlined this unusual diapir. Most diapirs in northern Spain are expressed on the surface as nearly circular depressions End_Page 357------------------------------ representing the intrusive mass. The surrounding beds dip away from the central depression, often very steeply, to form a series of cuestas. In contrast, the Iza diapir is a buried wall or ridge of plastic rock at least five kilometers (three miles) long by less than 1.5 kilometers (one mile) wide intruded into a sedimentary section over 4,410 meters (14,470 feet) thick. Only the uppermost tip is exposed at the surface in a belt of indistinct outcrops up to 30 meters (98 feet) wide. One of the wells drilled on the structure encountered an inverted block of Upper Cretaceous sandstone above Paleocene carbonates, apparently incorporated into the diapir. End_of_Article - Last_Page 358------------

A buried wall at Cuzco and its relation to the question of a pre-Inca race (Yale Peruvian expedition 1911)

A buried wall at Cuzco and its relation to the question of a pre-Inca race (Yale Peruvian expedition 1911)