Wolfgang Neubauer

Combined high-resolution magnetics and GPR surveys of the roman town of Flavia Solva

High-resolution magnetics and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) prospecting methods are both employed over large areas (125 000 and 45 000 m 2 ) at the Roman town of Flavia Solvain Austria. High-resolution magnetics using a multisensor caesium gradiometer were used in a survey in a raster of 0.5 x 0.125 m. GPR measurements using a PulseEKKO 1000 device applying 450 and 900 MHz antennae were carried out in a raster of 0.5 x 0.05 m. The collected data are evaluated and visualized in grey scale, using the self-developed software, APMAG and APRADAR . In addition, the small prospected areas are combined automatically into one coherent image and transformed into global coordinate system (georeferencing) for archaeological interpretation in the Geographical Information System (GIS). The magnetic prospecting shows very clearly the extent of the Roman town of Flavia Solva. The Roman streets and walls appear in the magnetics as negative anomalies (black). The positive magnetic anomalies could be due to brick walls, which did not show up as structures in the GPR. On the other hand, GPR provides a lot of detailed three-dimensional information about the archaeological structures.

The discovery of the school of gladiators at Carnuntum, Austria

Sophisticated techniques of archaeological survey, including airborne imaging spectroscopy, electromagnetic induction and ground-penetrating radar, are opening up new horizons in the non-invasive exploration of archaeological sites. One location where they have yielded spectacular results is Carnuntum in Austria, on the south bank of the Danube, capital of the key Roman province of Pannonia. Excavations in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries revealed many of the major elements of this extensive complex, including the legionary fortress and the civilian town or municipium. Excavation, however, is no longer the only way of recovering and recording the details of these buried structures. In 2011, a combination of non-invasive survey methods in the area to the south of the civilian town, where little was visible on the surface, led to the dramatic discovery of remains interpreted as a gladiatorial school, complete with individual cells for the gladiators and a circular training arena. The combination of techniques has led to the recording and visualisation of the buried remains in astonishing detail, and the impact of the discovery is made all the greater by the stunning reconstruction images that the project has generated.

Prospecting archaeological landscapes

The future demands on professional archaeological prospection will be its ability to cover large areas in a time and cost efficient manner with very high spatial resolution and accuracy. The objective of the 2010 in Vienna established Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology in collaboration with its nine European partner organizations is the advancement of the state-of-the-art by focusing on the development of remote sensing, geophysical prospection and virtual reality applications, as well as of novel integrated interpretation approaches dedicated to non-invasive spatial archaeology combining cutting-edge near-surface prospection methods with advanced computer science. Within the institutes research program different areas for distinct case studies in Austria, Germany, Norway, Sweden and the UK have been selected as basis for the development and testing of new concepts for efficient and universally applicable tools for spatial, non-invasive archaeology. The collective resources and expertise available amongst the new research institute and associated partners permit innovative approaches to the archaeological exploration, documentation and investigation of the cultural heritage contained in entire archaeological landscapes. First promising results illustrate the potential of the proposed methodology and concepts.

Extended comparison of different GPR systems and antenna configurations at the Roman site of Carnuntum

To evaluate the suitability of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) systems for archaeological prospecting, three different GPR systems with several antenna configurations were tested on one test area at the Roman site of Carnuntum, under identical environmental conditions, in 2004. Due to developments in hardware and software within the last year, these measurements where repeated and compared with the previous results. The data processing considers the needs of the different systems and antennas and aims to produce depth slices for best interpretation from an archaeological point of view. The results show advantages and disadvantages of the different systems and antennas, the need to process the data differently and the necessity to increase the power of the antennas.

3D-interpretation of postprocessed archaeological magnetic prospection data

Magnetic surveys carried out with an automatic caesium gradiometer in the 1980s suffer from systematic and unsystematic data errors. Recently-developed algorithms for restoring erroneous magnetic data allow postprocessing of the early surveys. The restored data are thereafter suitable for a 3D-modelling algorithm. The resulting model is used for 3D-interpretation and reconstruction of the respective monument. The processing is demonstrated on a circular ditch system dating from the Middle Neolithic period about 6500–6800 BP at Strogen/Austria.

Palaeoenvironmental analysis of large-scale, high-resolution GPR and magnetometry data sets: the Viking Age site of Gokstad in Norway

Large-scale, high-resolution geophysical data sets offer new possibilities for the comprehensive study of archaeological landscapes. In addition to the mere archaeological component, these data sets carry palaeoenvironmental information about the study area. Such information was known but rarely used in conventional geophysical surveys, which is mainly due to methodological issues. The Viking Age site of Gokstad in the Norwegian Province of Vestfold was chosen as a pilot study in order to perform a palaeoenvironmental analysis of large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry data sets. The aim was to investigate how much palaeoenvironmental information is contained in such data sets, how this information can be extracted and analysed and whether it is relevant for the archaeological interpretation. Results yielded a variety of different palaeoenvironmental aspects including characteristics of the Viking Age shoreline, traces of former topography as well as insights into the palaeohydrology of the study area.

An object oriented approach to automatic classification of archaeological features in magnetic prospection data

Magnetometer prospection is commonly used in archaeology for the non-invasive detection, mapping and investigation of buried prehistoric sites. The recorded data can contain numerous anomalies caused by archaeological structures in the ground. State-of-the-art geomagnetic data processing results in geo-referenced maps that traditionally are interpreted within Geographical Information Systems. With the increasing size of surveyed areas, the manual outlining and classification of magnetic anomalies becomes a highly time consuming process. Possibilities for automated classification of the magnetic prospection data prior to the actual archaeological interpretation would considerably enhance the productivity of the archaeological interpretation process regarding magnetic prospection data. Object oriented image processing methods known from remote sensing applications offer a large spectrum of readily available procedures for the automatic and semi-automatic analysis of raster data sets. Suitable algorithms have been adapted and utilized in order to exemplarily analyse a magnetic archaeological prospection data set with the goal of automatically mapping magnetic features, facilitating further archaeological interpretation. This article shows that the presented semiautomated classification procedure is able to replace the manual drawing of anomalies based on the expert knowledge and experience of the interpreter to a large degree.

Virtual reconstructions in a desktop planetarium for demonstrations in cultural astronomy

Many cultures throughout history have erected sacred and profane buildings orientated according to astronomical principles. A new plugin for the open-source desktop planetarium Stellarium allows the demonstration and interactive exploration of such buildings.

Astronomical aspects of Kreisgrabenanlagen (Neolithic circular ditch systems)— an interdisciplinary approach

Since the 1980s, the entrances of a certain form of monumental Neolithic enclosure (Kreisgrabenanlage, KGA) have been discussed in relation to solstice or lunistice directions. In our current project we analyze astronomical orientations in more than 30 KGAs in Lower Austria, and combine virtual reconstructions based on previous magnetic surveys with horizon surveys and astronomical simulation software.

Merging the real with the virtual: Crowd behaviour mining with virtual environments

The first recorded crowdsourcing activity was in 1714 [1], with intermittent public event occurrences up until the millennium when such activities become widespread, spanning multiple domains. Crowdsourcing, however, is relatively novel as a methodology within virtual environment studies, in archaeology, and within the heritage domains where this research is focused. The studies that are being conducted are few and far between in comparison to other areas. This paper aims to develop a recent concept in crowdsourcing work termed ‘crowd behaviour mining’ [2] using virtual environments, and to develop a unique concept in crowdsourcing activities that can be applied beyond the case studies presented here and to other domains that involve human behaviour as independent variables. The case studies described here use data from experiments involving separate heritage projects and conducted during two Royal Society Summer Science Exhibitions, in 2012 and 2015 respectively. ‘Crowd Behaviour Mining’ analysis demonstrated a capacity to inform research in respect of potential patterns and trends across space and time as well as preferences between demographic user groups and the influence of experimenters during the experiments.