Multi-Method Remote-Sensing Geophysical Investigation of Medieval Stone/Potsherd Pavements at Ita Yemoo, Ile-Ife, Southwestern Nigeria
Résumé
An integrated geophysical investigation involving the magnetic, electrical resistivity, and ground penetrating radar (GPR) methods was carried out within Ita Yemoo archaeological site at Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria. This was to assess the potency of the geophysical methods to individually or collectively identify potsherd/stone pavement and map the spatial distribution of the archaeological feature to guide future excavation and minimize invasiveness.
The GPR method is the most potent geophysical method for pavement mapping at relatively shallow depth (of up to 1.0 m or thereabout) using radargrams and depth slice maps attributes. The electrical resistivity method is next in potency using 2D dipole-dipole data derived and depth-specific 2D apparent resistivity maps as diagnostic attributes. This method has the limitation of suppressing the archaeological feature due to its thin nature and overlapping resistivity values with the host materials. The 1D Micro VES has very limited but useful applications in estimating pavement resistivities and thicknesses of outcropping pavements. These geoelectrical parameters are needed to constrain the interpretation of 2D resistivity sections and maps. The magnetic method has the least potency because of the overlapping magnetic effects of the weakly magnetic potsherd/stone pavement and the equally weakly magnetic weathered basement-derived host materials. The method is, however, useful in the estimation of the depth of archaeological relevance, which is needed in field design.
Origine | Fichiers produits par l'(les) auteur(s) |
---|---|
Licence |