Specifics and limitations of geophysical work on archaeological sites near industrial zones and coal mines in northwest Bohemia, Czech Republic

Geophysical work on archaeological sites in northwest Bohemia is dependent on a number of regional and specific local conditions and factors. Difficulties are encountered when conducting archaeological and geophysical work in the heavily industrialized region of Bohemia, in the lowland area along the Bílina River. A high concentration of brown-coal mines and power stations and the chemical industry have produced electromagnetic disturbances. These disturbances, together with irreversible changes to the landscape produced by industrial development, create conditions that are far from ideal for systematic geophysical surveys. Nevertheless, the results from gradient magnetic surveys verified by subsequent archaeological rescue excavations have shown that a limited, local-scale application of archaeogeophysical methods is not only practicable in these adverse conditions, but also beneficial to archaeology. Entirely different conditions characterize the systematic surveys conducted on abandoned late medieval glass-working sites (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries) in the forested highland regions of the Ore Mountains. In areas with a well-preserved original landscape, magnetic surveys have provided clear and detailed data on the sources of magnetic anomalies. The most intensively farmed region in the lowlands along the Ohře River displayed yet another type of conditions. Magnetic measurements are invariably disturbed by the effects of consistent tilling, particularly deep ploughing, and other related activities of modern or recent origin. The limitations involved in archaeogeophysical work in the region of the Central Bohemian and the Doupov Mountains are all natural. Steep slopes and neovolcanic bedrock played a major part in the choice and effectiveness of geophysical methods used on archaeological sites in the environmentally protected areas of this region. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeology · Bedrock · Excavation · Geography · Mining engineering · Natural (archaeology · Physical geography · Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Image Processing and 3D Reconstruction · Geology · Geophysics · Paleontology