Integration of 2D/3D ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography surveys as enhanced imaging of archaeological ruins: A case study in San El‐Hager (Tanis) site, northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt

Gaber, Ahmed; Gemail, Khaled S.; Kamel, Adel; Atia, Hafsa M.; Ibrahim, Amin

doi:10.1002/arp.1810

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Further, the method is capable of yielding stratigraphy, of course The dry conditions favour in general the use of ERT, especially if relatively large burial depths exist, which are beyond the penetrating and resolving ability of magnetic or resistivity mapping (e.g. Gaber et al, 2021;Monik et al, 2018;Yilmaz et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological prospection north of Schinias rowing centre in Marathon at the site of ancient Trikorynthos

Τσοκασ

Tsourlos

Steinhauer

et al. 2021

Archaeological Prospection

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A large‐scale geophysical survey was carried out at the foothills of a topographic table hosting the ruins of the ancient city ‘Trikorynthos’, in the area of Marathon, north of Athens. The explored site assumed to host remnants of ancient constructions belonging to the ancient city. Although the explored site is associated with the final phase of the famous Marathon battle, it was not expected to bear any signs of that event. Because the bulk of the survey had to be during the dry period, resistivity mapping could not be carried out. Further, tests of magnetic prospecting proved unsuccessful, leaving the electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey as the only alternative. Therefore, a total area of about 10 000 m2 was covered by ERTs during the dry months of 2001. A few months later, during the wet winter period, about 5500 m2 were explored by resistivity mapping. The electrical tomographic imaging was extensive, leading to the collection of a large volume of tomographic data. The distance between the measured electrical sections was ranging from 0.6 to 2.4 m at places, depending on the nature of the expected targets. The large number of ERTs carried out renders the survey as one of the largest worldwide of this kind. Processing and interpretation of the tomographic data was carried out in three‐dimensional (3D) using custom‐built algorithms. The inverted data were combined to produce depth slices and 3D images. A few months after the ERT survey, the wet winter conditions allowed the conduct of resistance mapping. Thus, spatially limited resistivity mapping was carried out to complement the ERT survey. The whole operation resulted in detecting and mapping various concealed structures, some of which were verified by the subsequent excavation. Therefore, the ancient use of the area is revealed by the combined result of the geophysical investigation and excavation. In fact, the area should had comprised a road network with extended cemetery westwards and rural premises at the TEST side.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Archaeological prospection north of Schinias rowing centre in Marathon at the site of ancient Trikorynthos

Τσοκασ

Tsourlos

Steinhauer

et al. 2021

Archaeological Prospection

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“…The parameters were selected based on a trade-off between the area coverage and resolution. Second, ERT was executed in the form of a quasi-three-dimensional (3D) setup [15,[59][60][61], where five parallel lines heading south-north (Figure 3C) were acquired in a profile mode using the WB configuration because it has been used commonly in the imaging of different archaeological prospections [15,62] and characterized by a high signal-to-noise ratio [63]. Additionally, it provides a good vertical resolution, which means that the depth to the base of archaeological targets can be detected well.…”

Section: Geophysical Surveys Area Of Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a In such challenging cases, the role of geophysical surveys over large areas could be decisive to fill the knowledge gap and explore the buried targets at different depths with sufficient resolution. In addition, information about the location, depth, and dimensions of buried archaeological remains may be determined by means of geophysical investigation, which is carried out easily and quickly on the surface without disturbing or damaging the buried archaeological structures [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. However, the manifestation of buried archaeological features in geophysical surveys is complex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of such archaeological features of notable size, typical of local architectures of antiquity, generates local anomalies, which can be clearly identified using an appropriate geophysical technique [21]. The combination of traditional archaeological excavations and geophysical imaging can lead to a comprehensive overview of the buried structures, the distribution of archaeological layers, and the properties of archaeological ruins [15,22,23]. However, the geophysical surveys are affected by uncertainties in interpreting the results, particularly if a lack of direct historical information on the surveyed site obscures historical activity at the site.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the same way, direct current resistivity (DCR) is one of the oldest methods in archaeological surveys. The recent development of the multi-electrode acquisition system has increased the ability of the DCR method for 2D/3D imaging and mapping complex geological and archaeological buried structures with a good spatial resolution [15,[41][42][43][44]. The basic procedures and application of both methods in archaeological surveys, either individually or in combination, have been clearly described by several authors [7,16,28,35,[45][46][47][48].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-Scale Geophysical Methodologies Applied to Image Archaeological Ruins at Various Depths in Highly Terraneous Sites

et al. 2021

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Among all geophysical techniques, electrical resistivity and magnetic surveying as an integrative approach has been used widely for archaeological prospection at different scales of investigations. In this study, DC resistivity (1D vertical sounding and/2D/3D ERT) and magnetic surveys (total and gradient) as a multi-scale approach was applied in a highly terraneous archaeological site (Tell) with a case study to characterize and image the various archaeological assets at different depths with different spatial resolutions. Four critical zones of great interest within the considered Tell were surveyed. At the heart of the study area, three layers were depicted clearly from 1D resistivity sounding. A thick conductive zone of mostly clay is sandwiched between two resistive layers. The topmost layer contains construction debris (dated back to the Islamic Era), whereas the deeper layer could be related to Gezira sand on which the probable Pharaonic temple was constructed. A long 2D ERT profile using Wenner Beta (WB) and Dipole–Dipole (DD) arrays with a 5-m electrode spacing identified shallow high resistivity anomalies that could be related to construction ruins from fired bricks. Additionally, it succeeded in imaging the turtleback-shaped deeper resistive layer of mostly sand. At an elevated rim to the east and west of the Tell, total and vertical magnetic gradient maps clearly delineated different archaeological structures: the walls of the rooms of ancient Islamic settlers and the walls of water tanks from the Byzantine Era. Magnetic modeling assuming 2.5-dimensional magnetic models constrained by the 2D ERT inversion models could be used to create a realistic representation of the buried structures. Toward the northern part of the Tell, the joint application of the quasi-3D ERT inversion scheme and the magnetic survey revealed an anomaly of a well-defined geometric shape of an archaeological interest thought to be a crypt or water cistern based on nearby archaeological evidence. The overall results of the geophysical survey integrated with the image of some partially excavated parts provided the archaeologists with a comprehensive and realistic view of the subsurface antiquities at the study area.

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Identification of Architectural Roman Remains in the Complex Archaeological Site of Buto ‘Tell El Fara'in’, Northern Egypt, Using Geophysical and Remote Sensing Data

Abouarab,

Ibrahim,

Eldosouky

et al. 2024

Archaeological Prospection

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The integrated use of remote sensing (RS) techniques, vertical magnetic gradient (VMG) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) measurements, and, in particular, combined analysis of 2D and 3D data, can provide a viable option for the identification of targets of interest at complicated archaeological sites. In this regard, a case study is Kom C at the archaeological site of Buto (Tell El Fara'in) in the northern Nile Delta (Egypt), where satellite data (Google Earth, Landsat 8 and OrbView‐3), VMG and ERT measurements were collected prior to site excavation. In this particular case, soil salinity in the buried structures, a lack of contrast in magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity, as well as the orientation, complex spatial distribution and overlapping of the architectural elements, all contributed to a number of anomalies that were difficult to interpret using only 2D results. Initially, the archaeological remains were identified as being made of mud‐brick based on land surface temperature (LST) estimated from thermal bands (Bands 10 and 11) in Landsat 8. Then, the high‐resolution satellite data, as well as the VMG and ERT (2D, quasi‐3D and full 3D resistivity models), were integrated to produce a comprehensive map of buried archaeological features. Excavations by Kafrelsheikh University in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities recovered archaeological remains, including architectural elements that were perhaps used for official or administrative purposes or pottery‐making workshops during the Late Roman period (between the 4th and 7th century ce). The direct comparison of geophysical results to archaeological evidence from the excavation enabled a robust interpretation of geophysical anomalies visible in the horizontal resistivity depth slice and magnetic maps. As a whole, this case study highlights the value of combining satellite data with the analysis of 2D data and 3D views of geophysical surveys to better understand the real distribution of buried archaeological remains at similar complex sites.

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Integration of 2D/3D ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography surveys as enhanced imaging of archaeological ruins: A case study in San El‐Hager (Tanis) site, northeastern Nile Delta, Egypt

Cited by 15 publications

References 40 publications

Archaeological prospection north of Schinias rowing centre in Marathon at the site of ancient Trikorynthos

Archaeological prospection north of Schinias rowing centre in Marathon at the site of ancient Trikorynthos

Multi-Scale Geophysical Methodologies Applied to Image Archaeological Ruins at Various Depths in Highly Terraneous Sites

Identification of Architectural Roman Remains in the Complex Archaeological Site of Buto ‘Tell El Fara'in’, Northern Egypt, Using Geophysical and Remote Sensing Data

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