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Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy)

Received: 5 December 2014     Accepted: 6 December 2014     Published: 27 December 2014
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Abstract

Integrated geophysical prospecting has produced remarkable results in the field of archaeology. In addition to the recognition of archaeological sites, the evolution of a site can be reconstructed. Therefore, the combination of more than one geophysical technique can aid in understanding the layout of a site and help to answer interpretative questions. In this paper, we illustrate the use of two geophysical prospecting methods – ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) – to interpret the archaeological site of the so-called Domus septem Parthorum in the center of Rome (Italy). The ability to investigate the subsurface at different horizontal and vertical resolutions demonstrates the advantage of using these two methods. The GPR provides high-resolution data on the upper remains in the shallow part of the soil, and the ERT detects deeper targets for a complete and exhaustive reconstruction of the buried anomalies. The results of this paper confirm the archaeological hypothesis that this so-called domus was repurposed as a house of worship during the Late Antiquity. In particular, the integrated geophysical acquisition supports the possible existence of a buried Paleochristian basilica.

Published in International Journal of Archaeology (Volume 3, Issue 1-1)

This article belongs to the Special Issue Archaeological Sciences

DOI 10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13
Page(s) 21-25
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

GPR, ERT, Archaeology, Integrated Investigations, Domus septem Parthorum, Late Antiquity

References
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[2] C. Taffetani, Il complesso della c.d. Domus Parthorum. Nuova interpretazione delle fasi costruttive, in D. Manacorda and R. Santangeli Valenzani (eds), Roma il primo miglio della via Appia, Croma Ed., 2010, pp. 39-46.
[3] M. Moscatelli, S. Piscitelli, S. Piro, F. Stigliano, A. Giocoli, D. Zamuner, and F. Marconi, Integrated geological and geophysical investigations to characterize the anthropic layer of the Palatine hill and Roman Forum (Rome, Italy), Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering, 12, 3, 2014, pp. 1319-1338. DOI: 10.1007/s10518-013-9460-5K.
[4] P. Rodríguez-Gonzálvez, A. Muñoz-Nieto, I. Gozalo-Sanz, J. Mancera-Taboada, D. González-Aguilera, and P. Carrasco-Morillo, Geomatics and Geophysics Synergies to Evaluate Underground Wine Cellars, International Journal of Architectural Heritage: Conservation, Analysis, and Restoration, 8, 4, 2014, pp. 537-555. DOI:10.1080/15583058.2012.702370
[5] L. Nuzzo, G. Leucci. and S. Negri, GPR, ERT and magnetic investigations inside the Martyrium of St Philip, Hierapolis, Turkey, Archaeological prospection, 16, 3, 2009, pp. 177-192. DOI: 10.1002/arp.364
[6] E. Forte, M. Pipan, and M. Sugan, Integrated Geophysical Study of Archaeological Sites in the Aquileia Area, CEUR Workshop Proceedings, 806, 2011, pp. E1-E11.
[7] S. Negri, G. Leucci, and F. Mazzone, High resolution 3D ERT to help GPR data interpretation for researching archaeological items in a geologically complex subsurface, Journal of Applied Geophysics, 65, 2008, pp. 111-120.
[8] N.G. Papadopoulos, A. Sarris, W.A. Parkinson, A. Gyucha, R.W. Yerkes, P.R. Duffy, and P. Tsourlos, Electrical Resistivity Tomography for the Modelling of Cultural Deposits and Geomophological Landscapes at Neolithic Sites: a Case Study from Southeastern Hungary, Archaeological Prospection, 2014, Early view. DOI: 10.1002/arp.1480
[9] A. Witten, Handbook of Geophysics in Archaeology, Equinox Publishing, 2006, Oxford.
[10] J.J. Milsom, and A. Eriksen, Field Geophysics, Wiley-Blackwell, 2011.
[11] M.E. Everett, Near-Surface Applied Geophysics, Cambridge University Press, 2013.
[12] A.P. Annan, Ground Penetrating Radar: principles, procedures & applications, Sensors & Software, Inc, 2004, technical paper.
[13] A.P. Annan, Practical processing of the GPR data, Sensors & Software, Inc, 1999, technical paper.
[14] M.H. Loke, Electrical imaging surveys for environmental and engineering studies. A practical guide to 2-D and 3-D surveys, 1997, Penang, Malaysia.
[15] M.H. Loke Time-lapse resistivity imaging inversion, Proceedings of the 5th Meeting of Environmental and Engineering Geophysical Society, European Section, 1999, Em1.
[16] W.M. Telford, L.P. Geldart, and R.E. Sheriff, Applied Geophysics, Cambridge University Press, 1990.
[17] C.C. Pain, J.V. Herwanger, M.H. Worthington, and C.R.E. De Oliveira, Effective multidimensional resistivity inversion using finite-element techniques, Geophysical Journal International, 151, 2002, pp. 710–728. DOI:10.1046/j.1365-246X.2002.01786.x
[18] O. Zienkiewicz, and R. Taylor, Finite Element Method: Solid and Fluid Mechanics Dynamics and Non-Linearity, 4th ed., Vol. 2, 1991, McGraw-Hill, New York.
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    Pier Matteo Barone, Giorgia Carlucci, Francesco Smriglio, Francesco Basile, Giuseppe Della Monica. (2014). Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy). International Journal of Archaeology, 3(1-1), 21-25. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13

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    ACS Style

    Pier Matteo Barone; Giorgia Carlucci; Francesco Smriglio; Francesco Basile; Giuseppe Della Monica. Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy). Int. J. Archaeol. 2014, 3(1-1), 21-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13

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    AMA Style

    Pier Matteo Barone, Giorgia Carlucci, Francesco Smriglio, Francesco Basile, Giuseppe Della Monica. Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy). Int J Archaeol. 2014;3(1-1):21-25. doi: 10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13,
      author = {Pier Matteo Barone and Giorgia Carlucci and Francesco Smriglio and Francesco Basile and Giuseppe Della Monica},
      title = {Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy)},
      journal = {International Journal of Archaeology},
      volume = {3},
      number = {1-1},
      pages = {21-25},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ija.s.2015030101.13},
      abstract = {Integrated geophysical prospecting has produced remarkable results in the field of archaeology. In addition to the recognition of archaeological sites, the evolution of a site can be reconstructed. Therefore, the combination of more than one geophysical technique can aid in understanding the layout of a site and help to answer interpretative questions. In this paper, we illustrate the use of two geophysical prospecting methods – ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) – to interpret the archaeological site of the so-called Domus septem Parthorum in the center of Rome (Italy). The ability to investigate the subsurface at different horizontal and vertical resolutions demonstrates the advantage of using these two methods. The GPR provides high-resolution data on the upper remains in the shallow part of the soil, and the ERT detects deeper targets for a complete and exhaustive reconstruction of the buried anomalies. The results of this paper confirm the archaeological hypothesis that this so-called domus was repurposed as a house of worship during the Late Antiquity. In particular, the integrated geophysical acquisition supports the possible existence of a buried Paleochristian basilica.},
     year = {2014}
    }
    

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    T1  - Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy)
    AU  - Pier Matteo Barone
    AU  - Giorgia Carlucci
    AU  - Francesco Smriglio
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    AU  - Giuseppe Della Monica
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13
    T2  - International Journal of Archaeology
    JF  - International Journal of Archaeology
    JO  - International Journal of Archaeology
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    EP  - 25
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2330-7595
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ija.s.2015030101.13
    AB  - Integrated geophysical prospecting has produced remarkable results in the field of archaeology. In addition to the recognition of archaeological sites, the evolution of a site can be reconstructed. Therefore, the combination of more than one geophysical technique can aid in understanding the layout of a site and help to answer interpretative questions. In this paper, we illustrate the use of two geophysical prospecting methods – ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) – to interpret the archaeological site of the so-called Domus septem Parthorum in the center of Rome (Italy). The ability to investigate the subsurface at different horizontal and vertical resolutions demonstrates the advantage of using these two methods. The GPR provides high-resolution data on the upper remains in the shallow part of the soil, and the ERT detects deeper targets for a complete and exhaustive reconstruction of the buried anomalies. The results of this paper confirm the archaeological hypothesis that this so-called domus was repurposed as a house of worship during the Late Antiquity. In particular, the integrated geophysical acquisition supports the possible existence of a buried Paleochristian basilica.
    VL  - 3
    IS  - 1-1
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Archaeology and Classics Program, The American University of Rome, Via Pietro Roselli, 4 – 00153 Rome, Italy

  • Department of Science, University of Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale, 84 – 00146 Rome, Italy

  • Department of Science, University of Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale, 84 – 00146 Rome, Italy

  • Department of Science, University of Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale, 84 – 00146 Rome, Italy

  • Department of Science, University of Roma Tre, Via della Vasca Navale, 84 – 00146 Rome, Italy

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