Search

In this article we present the results of a geomorphological and geophysical investigation carried out in the Regional Park of Matera Murgia, also known as Park of the Rupestrian Churches (world site protected by UNESCO), in Basilicata region, southern Italy. The aim of this investigation is to support the scheduled restoration works in some rupestrian historical sites and the safety of the tourist route that connects the churches along the eastern side of Gravina river valley. In particular, a ground penetrating radar (GPR) prospection was conducted on frescoed surfaces in two rupestrian churches permitting the detection of different kinds of problems affecting the fresco surfaces, such as lesions and efflorescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objects of forensic investigations vary from illegally buried weapons and explosives, landmines and improvised explosive devices, drugs and weapons caches to clandestine graves of murder victims and mass genocide graves, environmental crime. Illegal excavations represent one of the main risks which affect the archaeological heritage all over the world. They cause a massive loss of artefacts but also, and above all, a loss of the cultural context, which makes the subsequent interpretation of archaeological remains very difficult. Various techniques are available for forensic crime search teams. These techniques allow for the detection of a hidden object successfully. Near‐surface geophysical search methods have been dominated by ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) but recently other techniques, such as electrical resistivity, magnetometric, time domain reflection have become more common. The geophysical investigation was required to investigate the presence of illegal looting in an area located 1 km north from the archaeological park of Pompeii. For this purpose combined GPR and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were used. Results reveal the presence of an illegal tunnel and offered the opportunity to investigate such areas not previously systematically documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents new archaeological data concerning the ancient layout of Piammiano, an Etruscan and Roman settlement located in the Tiberine internal Etruria (probably corresponding to the ancient town of Statonia), still little known. These data have been obtained by geophysical surveys performed using the Electrical Resistivity Tomography technique. These investigations were carried out in the central sector of the plateau where the settlement lies, and they have documented the presence of ancient buried structures at a depth of between about 0.5 and 2.5 m. These structures has the same orientation of the main road of the ancient settlement, and they are also consistent with the orientation of the structures documented in previous geophysical surveys and archaeological excavations carried out in the westernmost sector of the investigated area. Specifically, the new geophysical surveys have highlighted the presence of the buried remains of the road and numerous walls, some of which are pertaining to a large building with porticoes on the two sides overlooking the Tiber valley. Furthermore, a channel network perhaps linked to a cistern was documented at more depth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research project aimed at the study of the archaeological context of the Basilica Julia in the Roman Forum (Rome, Italy) and the transformation phases of the building involved the use of different techniques of geophysical prospecting. In particular, Ground‐penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) surveys were carried out in order to record the buried structures of the Basilica and the previous buildings laying in the southern part of the Forum. These geophysical methods have been chosen in order to guarantee a good compromise between resolution (GPR in the shallow subsurface) and depth of investigation (ERT in the deeper subsurface), with the aim of investigating up to a depth of about 10 m in a very conductive subsoil. In particular, GPR surveys were conducted in the five aisles of the monument, while ERT measurements were performed with nonstandard acquisition mode in order to include the entire perimeter of the building. These techniques allowed us to acquire new data on the structures buried in the sectors of the monumental complex that have never been excavated and on the paleosoil till a depth of about 10 m from the surface. Interesting data were acquired on the Basilica Julia itself, built during the late Republican period (54–46 BC) and rebuilt at the beginning of the first century AD, such as the technical features of the caementicium and travertine foundations, their relationship with the Cloaca Maxima and the traces of a design change occurred during the construction in the central aisle of the building; other buried remains of the previous Basilica Sempronia, constructed in 169 BC in the same area, were identified. Moreover, the investigations documented the paleosoil in the area between the Forum and the Velabrum to the south, between 7.5–8.5 and 5.5 m a.s.l. These data confirmed the general geological setting of the area, obtained from previous coring, but significantly specified the geomorphology of this border sector of the Roman Forum, which slopes down towards the south and the west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]