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03.03.2022, 12:15
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Deposit Modelling has been used for many years now as a
method of conglomerating data to provide an overall view of the
palaeo-environmental and archaeological topography/landscapes for the
preservation, excavation and/or development of land.
Many data sources are used to achieve this level of
interpretative data sequencing, including boreholes, excavation, geological
studies and geophysical surveys. This data is amalgamated into one data set;
each source used as a reference for the other.
Deposit Modelling has the ability to deliver the potential
locations of archaeological sites within a landscape, set into a
palaeo-landscape and topography. This can be delivered without the need for
large scale excavation or other intrusive works which may damage archaeological
material and/or increase development costs. This is achieved due to the
non-intrusive and non-destructive nature of GPR technologies.
In their simplest form, deposit models provide visual representations of
the special and stratigraphic relationships between sediments,archaeological
and palaeoenvironmental remains in areas preserving both vertically and
laterally accreting sediment sequences.
GPR is a potentially game changing application of geophysical technology, in that it allows for the depth analysis and topographical mapping which is the purpose for deposit modelling.
An example of GPR’s ability in Deposit Modelling would be that of a discovered palaeo-channel underneath an area of aircraft stand on an airstrip in North Wales.
The image above reveals time slices in the data of
a small flood plain river channel which still presents high moisture levels
below the concrete slab. This has created a subsidence situation, but more
intriguingly it has revealed the ability of the GPR to present buried river
channel courses below a concrete layer.
Using this information, it would be possible to
start creating a deposit model and map the likely areas which could be affected
by such subsidence issues.
Another example of GPR’s ability to determine subsurface conditions is the anthropogenic causes of topography alteration, specifically that which is evident in the Iron Age Hillfort defences.
The
image above details the bank and ditch below the current surface level, of the
Iron Age Hillfort defences. The ability to see such details without the need
for excavation further highlights GPR as a fantastic method of deposit
modelling in a non-intrusive capacity.
In other environments, preferably undisturbed ones, the GPR would potentially be able to map the depth from surface to archaeological features whereby the stratigraphy could be mapped to project the same land surface horizon across a site.
Conclusion
It is clear to see, even with these basic examples, that with the support of GPR, Deposit Models could be improved through the addition of stratigraphy, palaeo-topography and extant archaeological features to better understand the landscape and aid in the safe development of the land.
References:
University of Brighton, 2018. Deposit Modelling and Archaeology.
Brighton: University of Brighton.
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04.11.2022
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