Geophysical Research at the Prepoštská Cave and Čertova Pec Cave Neanderthal Sites (Western Slovakia)

Abstract

The sedimentary filling of two Slovak Neanderthal sitesthe Prepoštská Cave near Prievidza (Micoquian) and the Čertova Pec Cave near Radošina (Szeletian, Mousterian) was investigated, while archaeological and palaeontological studies have shown these caves are very important sites from the viewpoint of the ancient man settlements. No geophysical research had previously been conducted here, therefore ground penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) geophysical methods were applied in order to expose its depths for future archaeological and palaeontological field campaigns. The GPR survey at the Prepoštská Cave revealed a disrupted zone in the southwest (SW) corner of the investigate area, encapsulated in travertine surrounding the bedrock layer identified at a depth between 0.4 to 2.4 m. This discovered zone is assumed to be an undocumented recent excavation zone. The combined ERT and GPR survey also identified at the Čertova Pec Cave, aside from some main structures (large limestone blocks, loamy-clayey sediment in the central part and debris), intact cave sediments, deposited under the debris filling and large limestone block, located at approximately 2 m depth in the back part of the cave, close to its northeast (NE) entrance. These unconsolidated intact deposits represent the lower part of the Mousterian horizon. Thus, the geophysical survey supported previous hypotheses on the assumed existence of deeper layers with potential archaeological and/or palaeontological content, which have since been spatially defined.

Detection and localization of chamber tombs in the environs of ancient Olympia, Peloponnese, Greece, based on a combination of archaeological survey and geophysical prospection

“…In general, cavities can only be measured by ERT as second‐order effects, because a cavity provides infinite resistivity. Thus the electric current flows around the cavity, creating an integral effect on the potential distribution, resulting in increased electrical resistivity in the surrounding of the cavity (Csibri, Lácny, Putiška, Dostál, & Kušnirák, ; Putiška, Sabol, Kušnirák, & Dostál, ). In this case, ERT results show big vertical and horizontal anomalies centering the air‐filled structure (Cardarelli, Cercato, Cerreto, & Di Filippo, ; Orlando, ).…”

The Potential Use of Geophysical Methods to Identify Cavities, Sinkholes and Pathways for Water Infiltration

“…There is a wide range of geophysical methods, for example, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) and Very Low Frequency Electromagnetic (VLFEM) methods which are considered to be appropriate techniques for the delineation of conductive and resistive structures in the subsurface [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Over the past couple of decades, the applications of GPR in the karst studies have increased and many improvements have been successfully implemented [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”