ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT: Commercial geophysical work for archaeology has really only been workable for the last 20 years. In general the value of geophysical techniques involves a number of factors such as: speed, cost, technical accuracy, success rates. Although nowadays technology may allow whole landscapes geophysical survey, at present such options are rarely used in the commercial field. More commonly strategies are devised that are a mix of Level 1 (prospection) and Level 2 (evaluation). The assumption is that a landscape cannot be surveyed in detail, but areas of potential must be identified (Level 1) and tested by detailed survey (Level 2). Two methods have become commonplace for rapidly locating areas of archaeological potential; coarse grid magnetic susceptibility survey and ‘scanning’ along wide spaced transects using a magnetometer. In either case the ‘hot spots’ are then surveyed in detail using a magnetometer. In any geophysical survey the most important aspect of the work is the data interpretation. The methodology can be rigorous, but if the surveyor does not understand the data then the exercise is futile.
