Ground‐penetrating radar investigations of the Asaviec 2 archaeological site, Northern Belarus

Abstract

Asaviec 2 in the Kryvina wetland is one of the best known and the most thoroughly investigated Stone and Bronze Age lake settlement sites in Northern Belarus.Previously, research on the site used excavations and coring, typological analysis and radiocarbon dating of the find material, as well as stratigraphic, lithological and palynological analyses. However, geophysical methods were not used. This study was carried out to test the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) both at this particular site and in peaty sediments generally. The main goal was to determine the lateral spread of the occupation layer and traces of ancient habitation activity.The GPR reflection profiles have been correlated with coring data and previously excavated archaeological profiles. The chaotic pattern in the GPR reflection profiles has been interpreted as disturbed peat, thereby indicating human activity. The areas of disturbed peat and the lower boundary of the peat body were traced and mapped.The occupation layer and signs of human activity are irregularly distributed and largely coincide with the high and intermediate forms of the subsoil relief, but not with the low forms. As a result, we have concluded that GPR is a valuable tool for determining occupational layers in wetlands when verified by excavations and coring. K E Y W O R D S ground-penetrating radar, Kryvina wetland, Northern Belarus, Stone and Bronze Age archaeology, wetland settlement site 1 | INTRODUCTION Asaviec 2 is 1 of 10 Stone and Bronze Age settlement sites, situated in the Kryvina wetland in the Viciebsk (Vitebsk) region of Northern Belarus, that are currently known to exist (Figure 1a,b). The Kryvina wetland is a part of the Vialiki Moch swamp located in the Belarusian Paazierje (Lakeland). The present-day topography of the territory was formed by the deglaciation processes that followed the Last Glacial

A Case Study of the Integration of Ground-Based and Drone-Based Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) for an Archaeological Survey in Hulata (Israel): Advancements, Challenges, and Applications

“…The preliminary results, which showed the existence of Early Bronze Age (c. 2600-2400 BC) buildings and pottery in the Syrian Middle-Euphrates valley [14], motivated the application of GPR, which revealed the existence of unknown buildings on the streets and the enclosure wall of the city. Another example showcasing the successful use of GPR was highlighted in [15], which revealed traces of ancient human activity during the Stone and Bronze Age periods at the Asaviec settlement site in Northern Belarus.…”