Integrated geophysical investigation applied to the definition of buried and outcropping targets of archaeological relevance in very shallow water

The results of a marine survey aimed at detecting archaeological targets in coastal areas by means the integration of different geophysical methods (multibeam bathymetry, high-resolution seismic, geoelectric and magnetism) are presented. The case study is a shipwreck recognised off the shore of Agropoli town (Salerno, southern Italy) over a sandy sea-bottom at about 5 m of water depth. Each geophysical method has its peculiarity and detection capability depending on a wide range of factors such as: Geological setting, consistency and grain size of sea-bottom sediments, burial and nature (e.g. metallic/non metallic) of the targets, water depth, etc. It is worth stressing that there is a high reduction of the ambiguities inherent in each method when a multiple approach strategy is adopted. We believe that this type of investigation may contribute to establishing a quality standard for such a category of surveys that can be adopted by local administrators and coastal managers wherever archaeological exploration is required.