The Messapic Site of Muro Leccese: New Results from Integrated Geophysical and Archaeological Surveys

Abstract

The regular application of geophysical survey techniques to evaluate archaeological sites is well established as a method for locating, defining, and mapping buried archaeological materials. However, it is not always feasible to apply a range of different methods over a particular site or landscape due to constraints in time or funding. This paper addresses the integrated application of three geophysical survey methods over an important archaeological site located in south Italy. In particular, it is focused on the results achieved from a past geophysical survey and the ongoing excavations performed by archaeologists in the site of Muro Leccese. Muro Leccese (Lecce) is one of the most important Messapian archaeological sites in southern Italy. The archaeological interest of the site was generated since the discovery of the remains of Messapian walls (late 4th–3rd centuries BC). With the aim of widening the archaeological knowledge of the Messapian settlement, several integrated methods, including magnetometry, ground-penetrating radar, and electrical resistivity tomography were used on site to fulfill a number of different research objectives. Since the most important targets were expected to be located at shallow soil depth, a three-dimensional (3D) ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey was carried out in two zones, which were labeled respectively as zone 1 and zone 2, and were both quite close to the archaeological excavations. The GPR investigations were integrated with a 3D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) survey in zone 1 and with a magnetometric, in gradiometry configuration survey in zone 2. The integration of several techniques allowed mapping the structural remains of this area and leading the excavation project. The geophysical results show a good correspondence with the archaeological features that were found after the excavation. Current work on the geophysical survey data using different codes for the processing of the data and merging different datasets using a Geographic Information System allowed achieving a user-friendly visualization that was presented to the archaeologists.

Geophysical Surveys to Highlight Buried Ancient Walls of Ugento (Lecce, Italy)

“…Geophysical campaigns carried out previously on Messapian sites [3,4] have shown excellent results in identifying buried structures [3] and reconstructing a stretch of the Messapian city walls and nearby necropolis in the St. Antonio area of Ugento [4].…”

“…The soil surface between Area A and Area 2 was uneven due to the presence of shrubs; here, data were acquired along non-equally spaced and non-parallel profiles (P1, P2, P3, and P4). Geophysical campaigns carried out previously on Messapian sites [3,4] have shown excellent results in identifying buried structures [3] and reconstructing a stretch of the Messapian city walls and nearby necropolis in the St. Antonio area of Ugento [4].…”

Geophysical Prospecting of the Coptic Monastery of Apa Moses Using GPR and Magnetic Techniques: A Case Study, Abydos, Sohag, Egypt

“…The cavern system is not entirely hollow; in some places, they are filled with materials having characteristics distinct from those of the host rock. The cavern system has varying depths between 0 and 5.2 m. The GPR method has continued to advance, enabling researchers in a variety of fields to obtain high-resolution images of subsurface objectives, including those in geology and civil engineering [23][24][25], management and conservation of the cultural heritage [26], and archaeology [27][28][29], in examining frescoes, decorations, and columns [23,[30][31][32], and in describing ground conditions in urban areas [33].…”

A Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) application for Depicting the Geoarchaeological pattern in Ancient Falasarna Harbour

“…GPR has a plethora of different applications and plays an important role in the management and preservation of cultural heritage [7]. In the scientific literature, the use of GPR to discover and map buried archaeological artefacts, to inspect ancient buildings and monuments, bridges, columns and statues, to investigate mosaics and decorations and to analyse the internal conditions of various other objects of historical value [8][9][10][11][12] is well documented. In the broader context of geoarchaeological research, the discovery of ancient settlements through archaeological excavations often brings up significant archaeological and geological information.…”