The contribution of geophysical prospecting in the reconstruction of the buried ancient environments of the house of Marcus Fabius Rufus (Pompeii, Italy)

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12430337
AutoresRosa Di Maio (0000-0001-8152-7936), Maurizio Fedi (0000-0002-2145-2271), Mauro La Manna (0000-0003-1260-4277, autor de correspondencia), Mario Grimaldi (Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa), Umberto Pappalardo (0000-0002-7845-4657, Università degli Studi Suor Orsola Benincasa)
Año2010
Volumen17
Número4
Páginas259-269
Fecha de publicación2010-10-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaArchaeological Prospection (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1075-2196 • E-ISSN: 1099-0763
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/arp.395
OpenAlexW1994232111
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas5
Referencias citadas16

An integrated geophysical study was carried out in a Roman house in the archaeological area of Pompeii (Italy). The house, once owned by Marcus Fabius Rufus, is an important architectural building overlooking a large garden that is likely to contain buried archaeological structures. The geophysical survey was planned to support an archaeological reconstruction of the residential complex, which was based on the assumption that the house was surrounded by an arcade. Electromagnetic data allowed us to assess the most promising areas for investigating the subsoil within the garden. The resistivity method yielded more detailed results and a further non‐invasive geophysical technique, self‐potential, confirmed the presence of very shallow structures. We performed an integrated interpretation of the data and detected structures buried under different volcanic eruptions succeeding the Plinian event of Mount Somma‐Vesuvius in AD 79. Specifically, several structures were found at a very shallow depth; their shapes are regular and the physical parameters are interpreted as anthropogenic remnants, whose geometry does not appear to be linked to architectural elements of a classical arcade. A test excavation revealed the presence of walls whose configuration corresponded with basins for water collection. Apart from the detected remains, the characterization of the pyroclastic deposits in terms of conductivity and of susceptibility allowed a synthesis of the stratigraphic context. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Excavation · Geography · Geophysical prospecting · Geophysical survey · Mining engineering · Prospecting · Pyroclastic rock · Subsoil · Volcano · Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods · Geophysical Methods and Applications · Seismic Waves and Analysis · Geology · Geophysics · Paleontology