Seeing the unseen : geophysics and landscape archaeology ; [a collection of papers presented at the advanced XV. International Summer School in Archaeology "Geophysics for landscape archaeology", Grosseto, Italy, 10-18 July 2006

SEEING THE UNSEEN. GEOPHYSICS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY is a collection of papers presented at the advanced XV International Summer School in Archaeology ‘Geophysics for Landscape Archaeology’ (Grosseto, Italy, 10-18 July 2006). Bringing together the experience of some of the world’s greatest experts in the field of archaeological prospection, the focus of this book is not so much on the analysis of single buried structures, but more on researching the entire landscape in all its multi-period complexity. The book is divided into two parts. The first part concentrates on the theoretical basis of the various methods, illustrated for the most part through case-studies and practical examples drawn from a variety of geographical and cultural contexts. The second part focuses on the work carried out in the field during the Summer School. Tutors and students took part in the intensive application of the principal techniques of geophysical prospecting (magnetometry, EM, ERT and ground-penetrating radar) to locate, retrieve, process and interpret data for a large Roman villa-complex near Grosseto. SEEING THE UNSEEN. GEOPHYSICS AND LANDSCAPE ARCHAEOLOGY provides a clear illustration of the remarkable potential of geophysical methods in the study of ancient landscapes, and will be usefull to Archaeologists, Geophysicists, Environmental scientists, and those involved in the management of cultural heritage. Table of Contents 8 List of lecturers 10 List of students 12 Program of the school 14 Preface 18 Introduction 22 Acknowledgments 26 Archaeological site detection and mapping: Some thoughts on differing scales of detail and archaeological ‘non-visibility’ 32 Introduction to geophysics for archaeology 54 Electrical and magnetic methods in archaeological prospection 94 Electrical resistivity tomography: A flexible technique in solving problems of archaeological research 110 Theory and practice of the new fast electrical imaging system ARP© 132 Caesium-magnetometry for landscape-archaeology 156 Why bother? Large scale geomagnetic survey and the quest for “Real Archaeology” 194 The complementary nature of geophysical survey methods 210 The use of geophysical techniques in landscape studies: Experience from the commercial sector 228 Short history, strategies and practical aspects of electromagnetic detection based on the description of field 234 Electromagnetic methods (low frequency) 244 GPR methods for archaeology 256 Ground-penetrating radar for landscape archaeology: Method and applications 272 Comparative geophysical survey results in Japan: Focusing on kiln and building remains 284 Test site background and outcome of the Aiali project 298 Remote sensing: Aerial photography and satellite imagery 300 Geophysical surveys 306 Fluxgate, overhouser and caesium-magnetometry 310 Electrical surveys 316 Electromagnetic survey (EM38 Geonics ltd) 320 Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) surveys at Aiali (Grosseto) 324 Field walking survey, artifact collection and analysis: Remarks of site development from late republican period to middle ages 330 Putting everything together: GIS-based data integration and interpretation 352 Author index 358