Geophysical and Archaeological Characterization of a Modest Roman Villa

Methodological Considerations about Progressive Feedback Analyses in Sites with Low Geophysical Contrast

Bibliographic Data

ID12429968
AuthorsÓscar Pueyo Anchuela (0000-0002-1460-1590, Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra Universidad de Zaragoza Zaragoza Spain, corresponding author), Pilar Diarte Blasco (0000-0001-7799-593X, Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología (EEHAR‐CSIC) Rome Italy), Carlos García Benito (0000-0001-8062-2245, Departamento de Ciencias de la Antigüedad Universidad de Zaragoza Zaragoza Spain), Antonio María Casas Sáinz (0000-0003-3652-3527, Universidad de Zaragoza), Andrés Pocoví Juan (0000-0003-3197-4177, Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra Universidad de Zaragoza Zaragoza Spain)
Year2015
Volume23
Issue2
Pages105-123
Publication date2015-11-17
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueArchaeological Prospection (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1075-2196 • E-ISSN: 1099-0763
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arp.1529
OpenAlexW2180279899
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited44

The low contrast in physical properties of archaeological elements compared to the host soil is a common drawback in geophysical surveys applied to subtle archaeological sites because those contrasts are usually what are being measured by most instruments. Furthermore, when archaeological elements and construction remains are placed within the same package of materials, differentiation of each can make the interpretation of geophysical data sometimes difficult. In this work we propose a dynamic, integrated approach for the characterization of an archaeological site with simple Roman construction materials in order to evaluate methodological considerations in the evaluation of this kind of sites. This approach includes: (i) a preliminary evaluation of construction material characteristics, according to the background provided by the historical and geographical context and from previous excavations, (ii) measurements of magnetic susceptibility of archaeological and natural materials in the site for direct modelling of the expected anomalies; (iii) a geophysical survey including magnetometry, multifrequency electromagnetic (EM) method and ground penetrating radar (GPR) (100, 250 and 500 MHz centre frequency antennas); (iv) geophysical data evaluation for planning subsequent systematic surveys; (v) dynamic interpretation of geophysical results through careful data evaluation of all previous steps. The final archaeological model from geophysical data has been successful due to the manner of data interpretation looking for orthogonal patterns of geophysical anomalies that were hypothesized to be subsurface walls. Modelling was then followed by archaeological excavations consisting of three trenches where the walls were exposed. The integration of geophysical data with excavations has permitted to evaluate significance of the different geophysical analysis and to identify their archaeological meaning. The proposed sequential methodology represents an innovative manner of analysis (i) in subtle sites where construction remains are scarce and the absence of well‐defined geophysical contrasts can limit the results of usual surveys and (ii) to increase the efficiency in the evaluation of more extensive survey areas. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeology · Characterization (materials science · Context (archaeology · Excavation · Geography · Geophysical survey · Ground-Penetrating Radar · Interpretation (philosophy · Radar · Computer Science · Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods · Geophysical Methods and Applications · Seismic Waves and Analysis · Geology · Geophysics

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