Geophysics in Archaeology

Specialization / Direction

The students learn the mechanisms by which the buried antiquities create readable geophysical signals They learn the conditions, making possible the mapping of the buried remains of edifices and ancient constructions. After the course, they can choose the suitable geophysical method to be used for a particular archaeological site and explain the reasoning for their decision They can design a geophysical survey of an archeological site. They get familiar to the basic data processing methods They can process the relevant data and produce readable georeferenced images. They learn the principles of Archaeomagnetism, its merits and disadvantages in relation to other dating methods They learn how to collect orientated samples of ancient material. They will be trained in a laboratory estimating the remanent magnetization.

Necessity of Archaeological Prospection for detecting and mapping concealed antiquities. Brief historical details of the discipline, suitability of each method regarding the particular problem, acceptable visualization methods, classical methods of processing and presentation of data, introduction to magnetic prospecting, magnetic susceptibility and magnetization of materials, conversion of magnetic oxides in soils, measuring instruments, total field and gradiometer measurements, magnetic mapping surveying, magnetic data processing and visualization, introduction to resistivity surveying, electrode arrays employed in archaeological investigations, comparison of arrays, resistance mapping and electrical resistivity tomography, resistance surveying techniques, resistance data processing, principles of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method, electrical properties of materials controlling travelling of electromagnetic (EM) waves, refraction, reflection and diffraction of EM waves, penetration depth and resolution, instrumentation and modes of surveying, design of a GPR survey and selection of parameters, GPR data processing and presentation of results - interpretation, principles of Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), data collection and multiplexing, elements of inversion theory, use of ERT in solving specific archaeological problems, Non-conventional use of geophysical prospecting in solving specific archaeological problems (e.g. locating tombs under tumuli embankments, assessing the moisture content in walls, depth of fractures in sculptures, etc.). Different Ways for presenting the results and examples mainly from Greece. Introduction to archaeomagnetic method and to magnetic properties of archaeological materials. Brief description of geomagnetic field components and its main properties. Examples of application of the method related to the variation of geomagnetic field during historical times, dating of archaeological structures, and discrimination of destructive layers and site formation in archaeological settlements. Description of laboratory measurements of the magnetic parameters and training of students in the Palaeomagnetic lab. Different Ways for presenting the results and examples mainly from Greece and broader European area.

28-02-2025