Seeing the Unseen. Geophysics and Landscape Archaeology

Bringing together some of the world’s greatest experts in archaeological prospection, this volume provides a clear illustration of the remarkable potential of geophysical methods in the study of ancient landscapes. It focuses on researching the entire landscape in all its multiperiod complexity. Illustrated with case studies and practical examples drawn from a variety of geographical and cultural contexts, the book first concentrates on the theoretical basis of the various methods. It then explores the real-life application of the principal techniques of geophysical prospecting, including 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 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.