Magnetic mapping, ground penetrating radar surveys and magnetic susceptibility measurements for the study of the archaeological site of Serra di Vaglio (southern Italy)

In this work we present the results of a multidisciplinary study for characterising the archaeological site of Serra di Vaglio (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy). The site includes an ancient native settlement, arisen between the 8th and the 3rd century BC. The investigation has been performed by means of the integrated use of three different high resolution and no invasive geophysical techniques: magnetic mapping, Ground Penetrating Radar profiling (GPR) and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The integrated approach allows us to detect buried archaeological structures. In particular, our results helped to define spatial pattern of the buried remains, to define the geometry of the anthropogenic settlements and to obtain detailed information about the composition and the manufacturing processes of different building materials. The archaeological excavations, carried out in one of the investigated sites, confirm the usefulness and the reliability of the integrated employment of different geophysical techniques for the archaeological study of ancient buried structures. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.