Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) attribute analysis for archaeological prospection

Zhao, Wei; Forte, Emanuele; Pipan, M.; Tian, Gang

doi:10.1016/j.jappgeo.2013.04.010

Cited by 122 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…In the last years the application of attribute analysis for different GPR data interpretation has increased, with a continuous implementation of new or optimized algorithms (76)(77)(78). Examples of applications related to archaeology have also been reported (79)(80)(81)(82).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Roman military fortifications and the origin of Trieste, Italy

Bernardini

Vinci

Horvat

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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An interdisciplinary study of the archaeological landscape of the Trieste area (northeastern Italy), mainly based on airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), ground penetrating radar (GPR), and archaeological surveys, has led to the discovery of an early Roman fortification system, composed of a big central camp (San Rocco) flanked by two minor forts. The most ancient archaeological findings, including a Greco–Italic amphora rim produced in Latium or Campania, provide a relative chronology for the first installation of the structures between the end of the third century B.C. and the first decades of the second century B.C. whereas other materials, such as Lamboglia 2 amphorae and a military footwear hobnail (type D of Alesia), indicate that they maintained a strategic role at least up to the mid first century B.C. According to archaeological data and literary sources, the sites were probably established in connection with the Roman conquest of the Istria peninsula in 178–177 B.C. They were in use, perhaps not continuously, at least until the foundation of Tergeste, the ancestor of Trieste, in the mid first century B.C. The San Rocco site, with its exceptional size and imposing fortifications, is the main known Roman evidence of the Trieste area during this phase and could correspond to the location of the first settlement of Tergeste preceding the colony foundation. This hypothesis would also be supported by literary sources that describe it as a phrourion (Strabo, V, 1, 9, C 215), a term used by ancient writers to designate the fortifications of the Roman army

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Roman military fortifications and the origin of Trieste, Italy

Bernardini

Vinci

Horvat

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

Self Cite

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“…We further calculated some GPR attributes (cosine of instantaneous phase, envelope), which are sometimes specifically used for archaeological surveys (e.g. [31]).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discovery of ancient Roman "highway" reveals geomorphic changes in karst environments during historic times

et al. 2018

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Sinkholes are a well-known geologic hazard but their past occurrence, useful for subsidence risk prediction, is difficult to define, especially for ancient historic times. Consequently, our knowledge about Holocene carbonate landscapes is often limited. A multidisciplinary study of Trieste Karst (Italy), close to early Roman military fortifications, led to the identification of possible ancient road tracks, cut by at least one sinkhole. Electrical Resistivity Tomography through the sinkhole has suggested the presence of a cave below its bottom, possibly responsible of the sinkhole formation, while Ground Penetrating Radar has detected no tectonic disturbances underneath the tracks. Additionally, archaeological surveys led to the discovery of over 200 Roman shoe hobnails within or close to the investigated route. According to these data, the tracks are interpreted as the remains of a main Roman road, whose itinerary has been reconstructed for more than 4 km together with other elements of ancient landscape. Our results provide the first known evidence of a Roman main road swallowed by sinkholes and suggest that Holocene karst landscapes could be much different from what previously believed. In fact, sinkholes visible nowadays in the investigated region could have been flat areas filled by sediments up to the Roman time.

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“…By varying the relative distance between electrodes, which compose both the current and potential pairs, and by modifying the relative position of the couples of electrodes, it is possible to build up a pseudo cross-section of the apparent resistivity beneath the survey line. The investigation depth and the spatial resolution depends on the electrode separation and geometry [26]; a greater electrode separation allows a bulk resistivity measurements form a greater depth but with a lower resolution.…”

Section: Ert Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an Operational Use of Geophysics for Archaeology in Henan (China): Methodological Approach and Results in Kaifeng

et al. 2017

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Abstract:One of the major issues in buried archeological sites especially if characterized by intense human activity, complex structures, and several constructive phases, is: to what depth conduct the excavation? The answer depends on a number of factors, among these one of the most important is the a priori and reliable knowledge of what the subsoil can preserve. To this end, geophysics (if used in strong synergy with archaeological research) can help in the planning of time, depth, and modes of excavation also when the physical characteristics of the remains and their matrix are not ideal for archaeo-geophysical applications. This is the case of a great part of the archaeological sites in Henan, the cradle of the most important cultures in China and the seat of several capitals for more than two millennia. There, the high depth of buried remains covered by alluvial deposits and the building materials, mainly made by rammed earth, did not favor the use of geophysics. In this paper, we present and discuss the GPR and ERT prospection we conducted in Kaifeng (Henan, China), nearby a gate of the city walls dated to the Northern Song Dynasty. The integration of GPR and ERT provided useful information for the identification and characterization of archaeological remains buried at different depths. Actually, each geophysical technique, GPR frequency (used for the data acquisition) as well as each way to analyze and visualize the results (from radargrams to time slice) only provided partial information of little use if alone. The integration of the diverse techniques, data processing and visualization enabled us to optimize the penetration capability, the resolution for the detection of archaeological features and their interpretation. Finally, the results obtained from the GPR and ERT surveys were correlated with archaeological stratigraphy, available nearby the investigated area. This enabled us to further improve the interpretation of results from GPR and ERT survey and also to date the anthropogenic layers from Qing to Yuan Dynasty.

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Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) attribute analysis for archaeological prospection

Cited by 122 publications

References 42 publications

Early Roman military fortifications and the origin of Trieste, Italy

Early Roman military fortifications and the origin of Trieste, Italy

Discovery of ancient Roman "highway" reveals geomorphic changes in karst environments during historic times

Towards an Operational Use of Geophysics for Archaeology in Henan (China): Methodological Approach and Results in Kaifeng

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