Resistivity Tomography in the Park of Pratolino at Vaglia (Florence, Italy)

Abstract

Within this article are the results of a geoelectrical survey performed in the park of Pratolino at Vaglia (Florence, Italy), using the multiple dipole-dipole profile technique. The purpose was to outline the location of the main body of the ancient Villa Medici di Pratolino, of which only a separate building, now known as Villa Demidoff, is visible in its full splendour. The three-dimensional probability-based electrical resistivity tomography inversion (PERTI) approach has been adopted. The three-dimensional resistivity tomography inversion provides evidence at the expected depth of burial of a regular pattern of resistivity relative maxima, mostly distributed along the sides of a mesh closely resembling the structural plan of a building. The almost perfect superposition of the high resistivity source image over an official historical plan of the ancient Villa Medici has allowed the regular mesh of the resistivity maxima to be ascribed to remains of walls. As the Pratolino case-history is one of the first applications of the PERTI algorithm to real field datasets, its performance has been tested using the well-known ERTLab commercial software as a benchmark. The comparison has shown a very good agreement between the two inversions and also confirmed the much higher computing speed and greater versatility of the PERTI algorithm, as outlined in a previous paper where only synthetic models were tested.

A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of the Temple of Athena in Poseidonia-Paestum (Southern Italy): New Geomorphological, Geophysical and Archaeological Data

“…In our case, we applied the probability-based ERT inversion (PERTI) method [34], derived directly from the principles of probability tomography [35,36]. As outlined in previous applications [37][38][39][40][41], the PERTI method can be considered a self-sufficient procedure, useful as a means of determining the location and shape of the most probable sources of the anomalies detected on the ground surface.…”

A Probability Electrical Resistivity Tomography Imaging of complex tectonic features in the Kissamos and Paleohora urban areas, Western Crete (Greece).

“…As outlined in previous applications [Amato et. al., 2016;Compare et al, 2009aCompare et al, , 2009bCozzolino et al, 2012Cozzolino et al, , 2014Rose et al, 2015], the PERTI method can be considered a self-sufficient procedure, useful to delineate location and shape of the most probable sources of the anomalies detected on the ground surface. The independence from a priori information, the absence of iterative processes, the drastic reduction of computing time with respect to standard deterministic inversion tools, the independence from data acquisition techniques and spatial regularity, the capability to resolve complex continuous resistivity variation make the PERTI algorithm a versatile and objective approach.…”

An Attempt to Integration of Different Geophysical Methods (Magnetic, GPR and ERT); A Case Study From the Late Roman Settlement On the Island of Rab in Croatia

“…The ERT method is very useful for detecting walls, cavities and many other structures located at different depth (Thacker and Ellwood, 2002;Gaffney, 2008;Leucci and Greco, 2012). Applications of 3D tomography is therefore more and more important for visualizing and interpreting complex archaeological structures, because vertical range of this method is a great advantage (Drahor et al, 2007;Papadopoulos et al, 2011Papadopoulos et al, , 2014Cozzolino et al, 2012;Leucci and Greco, 2012).…”