Summary:
In the present Master thesis, in order to supplement the results from an
earlier work carried out by the Institute of Geology and Mineral Exploration
(Zananiri & Zervakou 2008, Zananiri 2009), a non-invasive geophysical survey
was performed at the city of Argos, which from the beginning of Archaic Times
and through to Classical Times was one of the most prominent city-states. Based
on historical and archaeological evidence, in collaboration with the
archaeologists from the 4th Ephoria of Prehistoric and Classic Antiquities, two
sites were chosen near the ancient Agora of Argos.
Total field magnetic measurements were collected over 5 grids, with 1 m spacing
between measurement points. Mapping, filtering and inversion procedures of the
magnetic data have been used in tandem. A GPR survey was also carried out in
the same sites in order to utilize a method which was capable of producing high
resolution results that would allow to pin-point the exact depth of burial and
a more detailed outline of the linear and square structures indicated by the
magnetic surveys. The GPR data where acquired using a GSSI SIR-2000 system
equipped with a 400Hz antenna in a C-scan survey in order to receive 3D data
which was then processed and plotted with the use of matGPR revision 2.2.4.3
software (Tzanis, 2010a).
The data management and cartographic representation was performed using
Geographic Information Systems, where a geographic database was created,
including all available information for the broader Argos area. The results of
the geophysical survey were able to highlight the presence of linear and square
structures possibly representing inhabitance ruins, namely small building
remnants and road foundations according to observations from neighbouring
excavations.
During the present work it was not possible to locate the ruins of the temple
of Apollo Lyceus, however, the application of geophysical techniques succeeded
to identify areas of increased interest and consequently suggest to the
archaeologists excavation tests on the basis of the residual magnetic map and
the 3D maps derived from the GPR survey.
Keywords:
Argos, Geoarchaeology, Geophysics, Magnetometry, Georadar
