Roman city of Falerii Novi mapped in detail with advanced ground penetrating radar
For the first time, archaeologists have succeeded in mapping a complete Roman city, Falerii Novi in Italy, using advanced ground penetrating radar (GPR), allowing them to reveal astonishing details while it remains deep underground. The technology could revolutionise our understanding of ancient settlements.
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Ground Penetrating Radar map of Falerii Novi, Italy [Credit: L. Verdonck] |
The research, published in Antiquity, harnessed recent advances in GPR technology which make it possible to explore larger areas in higher resolution than ever before. This is likely to have major implications for the study of ancient cities because many cannot be excavated either because they are too large, or because they are trapped under modern structures.
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A slice of ground penetrating radar data from Falerii Novi, revealing the outlines of the town’s buildings [Credit: L. Verdonck] |
Located 50 km north of Rome and first occupied in 241 BC, Falerii Novi survived into the medieval period (until around AD 700). The team's GPR data can now start to reveal some of the physical changes experienced by the city in this time. They have already found evidence of stone robbing.
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GPR time-slice in the case study area, at an estimated depth of 0.75–0.80m. (1) marks the removal of walls by stone robbing [Credit: L. Verdonck] |
In a southern district, just within the city's walls, GPR revealed a large rectangular building connected to a series of water pipes which lead to the aqueduct. Remarkably, these pipes can be traced across much of Falerii Novi, running beneath its insulae (city blocks), and not just along its streets, as might normally be expected. The team believes that this structure was an open-air natatio or pool, forming part of a substantial public bathing complex.
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Ground Penetrating Radar map of the newly discovered temple in the Roman city of Falerii Novi [Credit: L. Verdonck] |
Corresponding author, Professor Martin Millett from the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Classics, said: "The astonishing level of detail which we have achieved at Falerii Novi, and the surprising features that GPR has revealed, suggest that this type of survey could transform the way archaeologists investigate urban sites, as total entities."
"It is exciting and now realistic to imagine GPR being used to survey a major city such as Miletus in Turkey, Nicopolis in Greece or Cyrene in Libya", Millett said. "We still have so much to learn about Roman urban life and this technology should open up unprecedented opportunities for decades to come."
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Map showing location of the Falerii Novi site [Credit: University of Cambridge] |
Falerii Novi is well documented in the historical record, is not covered by modern buildings and has been the subject of decades of analysis using other non-invasive techniques, such as magnetometry, but GPR has now revealed a far more complete picture.
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Quad towing GPR array on the Falerii Novi site [Credit: Frank Vermeulen] |
Author: Tom Almeroth-Williams | Source: University of Cambridge [June 09, 2020]
Great article , because many people in Egypt think that, they can find the burired treasures using tradidional metal detectors
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