Session: #765

Session, made up of a combination of papers, max. 15 minutes each

Under the right circumstances, non-invasive geophysical prospection methods offer reliable and valuable information on the subsurface, but can also be seen as cost efficient means to investigate buried archaeology on large scales and at high resolution. However, despite the potential of these techniques most heritage agencies struggle to integrate these methods into development-led archaeology procedures, notably due to varying traditions in archaeological prospection. Issues that can be solved by geophysics are numerous and occur at different stages of a development-led project: from initial site evaluation to the excavation phase.
As sessions on archaeological geophysics predominately appeal to prospectors and practitioners ‘co-confirming’ the potential of such techniques, the needed critical review and discussion of the potential and pitfalls of the geophysical prospection approach – beyond pure academic research – is often missing. In this session, we therefore call on field archaeologists, geophysical surveyors and heritage professionals to critically address the integration of geophysical techniques in development-led archaeology. Suggested topics include:
• robust and cost-efficient strategies including geophysical techniques alongside other prospection methods;
• bias and emptiness in archaeo-geophysics: what remains undetected and (how) can this be addressed?
• the use of geophysical techniques in complex environments;
• geophysical methods in support of excavation practice;
• national trends in use and legislative framework for geophysical prospection development-led archaeology.

archaeological prospection, geophysics, development-led archaeology

no

no

no

Dr. Philippe De Smedt (Belgium) ¹

Mr. Guillaume Hulin (France) ²
Dr. Eelco Rensink (Netherlands) ³
Dr. Immo Trinks (Austria) ⁴