Rock magnetic study of grave infill as a key to understanding magnetic anomalies on burial ground

Abstract

Magnetic prospecting of burial grounds is still a great challenge in the field of archaeological geophysics. Some graves appear as positive anomalies, whereas others do not generate any traces or even show up by negative anomalies. This study involves ground magnetic survey, rock magnetic and magnetic mineralogy examinations of soils to determine factors responsible for the formation of magnetic anomalies on Late Roman time burial grounds of Chernyakhiv-Sântana de Mures archaeological culture located in the forest-steppe of Ukraine. We surveyed these sites by a total magnetic field caesium magnetometer in order to target the archaeological excavations. We sampled infill from graves excavated under positive

Methods for Designating Protective Zones of Historical and Cultural Purpose Using Non-Invasive Methods—Two Case Studies for Ukraine and Poland

“…To gain a comprehensive understanding of the area, it is recommended to supplement these findings with magnetic gradiometer surveys [57,58]. Such surveys can help pinpoint magnetic anomalies, facilitating correlation with resistivity distribution results [59]. However, given the inherent limitations of the described method, it is advisable to conduct a reconnaissance of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) profiles.…”

Combining remote sensing and geophysical data to determine Roman structures at Buzovytsia-1 settlement in Ukraine

“…We assume a massive stone wall was clearly visible on the surface at that time, and the trench was dug to extract the stone. The chain of magnetic anomalies, obviously, was formed as a result of gradual refill of the abandoned trench with topsoil material, acquiring detrital remanent magnetization (Bondar et al 2022b).…”

Geoarchaeological investigations in Artanish Peninsula, Armenia: Testing a new geochemical prospecting method for archaeology

“…The diurnal variations of the Earth's magnetic field, whose range may be identical to the magnetic anomalies caused by buried anthropologic remains, are removed in the post‐processing (for details, see Hahn et al, 2022). As a complementary method, magnetic susceptibility measurements with the portable kappameter SM 30 (ZH instruments) were performed in situ soil samples and on excavated rocks of the burials and used as a reference for the interpretation of the magnetograms (Bondar et al, 2022; Hahn & Fassbinder, 2021; Hahn et al, 2021).…”