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First High‐resolution GPR and Magnetic Archaeological Prospection at the Viking Age Settlement of Birka in Sweden
Author(s) -
Trinks Immo,
Neubauer Wolfgang,
Hinterleitner Alois
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
archaeological prospection
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.785
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1099-0763
pISSN - 1075-2196
DOI - 10.1002/arp.1481
Subject(s) - prospection , ground penetrating radar , gradiometer , archaeology , human settlement , settlement (finance) , geology , remote sensing , geography , radar , magnetometer , engineering , telecommunications , physics , quantum mechanics , world wide web , magnetic field , computer science , payment
ABSTRACT In May 2006 high‐resolution measurements using ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetic gradiometer systems conducted over selected areas at the site of the Viking Age settlement and trading place Birka in central Sweden demonstrated the suitability of these methods for archaeological prospection of Scandinavian proto‐urban settlements. The non‐invasive geophysical surveys revealed numerous structural details of the settlement: houses, property boundaries, track‐ways, buried remains of the town ramparts dating from different building periods, including a gate, were mapped with a manually operated single‐channel GPR system and a four‐channel magnetometer array. The combination of these two prospection methods, state‐of‐the‐art data processing and visualization and archaeological interpretation within a geographical information system resulted in valuable new information about the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site Birka‐Hovgården. We present methodology and results of this first archaeological prospection case study conducted in 2006. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.