On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland
Abstract Structures in Iceland were traditionally built of turf, earth and, to a lesser extent, stone. As turf was the primary construction material, the contrast in geophysical parameters between building ruins and surrounding soil is expected to be low. To investigate the extent to which the remai...
Published in: | Archaeological Prospection |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
Other Authors: | |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Wiley
2015
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/arp.1506 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Farp.1506 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/arp.1506 |
id |
crwiley:10.1002/arp.1506 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
crwiley:10.1002/arp.1506 2024-06-23T07:53:57+00:00 On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland Wunderlich, Tina Wilken, Dennis Andersen, Jasmin Rabbel, Wolfgang Zori, Davide Kalmring, Sven Byock, Jesse Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 2015 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/arp.1506 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Farp.1506 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/arp.1506 en eng Wiley http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor Archaeological Prospection volume 22, issue 3, page 171-186 ISSN 1075-2196 1099-0763 journal-article 2015 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.1506 2024-06-11T04:49:58Z Abstract Structures in Iceland were traditionally built of turf, earth and, to a lesser extent, stone. As turf was the primary construction material, the contrast in geophysical parameters between building ruins and surrounding soil is expected to be low. To investigate the extent to which the remains of turf buildings can be detected by geophysical measurements, we applied several geophysical techniques to a known turf ruin in southwestern Iceland. The methods used were magnetics, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic induction (EMI), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and seismic Rayleigh‐wave resonance mapping (RRM). Magnetics identified an accumulation of stones inside and beside the ruin. The in‐phase component of the EMI measurements, which can be related to magnetic susceptibility, showed the same pattern. A very precise image of the stones lining the inside of the former turf walls was generated by GPR. In contrast, EMI conductivity and ERT imaged the actual turf in the walls. Turf walls have lower electrical conductivity compared with the surrounding soil, probably as a result of different porosities. The mapping of Rayleigh wave resonance clearly revealed the outline of the ruin, as indicated by weaker amplitudes compared with the surrounding soil. Overall the results indicate that geophysical methods can be used for subsurface mapping of Icelandic turf structures and that the combined application of the methods maximizes this potential. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Wiley Online Library Archaeological Prospection 22 3 171 186 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Wiley Online Library |
op_collection_id |
crwiley |
language |
English |
description |
Abstract Structures in Iceland were traditionally built of turf, earth and, to a lesser extent, stone. As turf was the primary construction material, the contrast in geophysical parameters between building ruins and surrounding soil is expected to be low. To investigate the extent to which the remains of turf buildings can be detected by geophysical measurements, we applied several geophysical techniques to a known turf ruin in southwestern Iceland. The methods used were magnetics, ground‐penetrating radar (GPR), electromagnetic induction (EMI), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and seismic Rayleigh‐wave resonance mapping (RRM). Magnetics identified an accumulation of stones inside and beside the ruin. The in‐phase component of the EMI measurements, which can be related to magnetic susceptibility, showed the same pattern. A very precise image of the stones lining the inside of the former turf walls was generated by GPR. In contrast, EMI conductivity and ERT imaged the actual turf in the walls. Turf walls have lower electrical conductivity compared with the surrounding soil, probably as a result of different porosities. The mapping of Rayleigh wave resonance clearly revealed the outline of the ruin, as indicated by weaker amplitudes compared with the surrounding soil. Overall the results indicate that geophysical methods can be used for subsurface mapping of Icelandic turf structures and that the combined application of the methods maximizes this potential. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
author2 |
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wunderlich, Tina Wilken, Dennis Andersen, Jasmin Rabbel, Wolfgang Zori, Davide Kalmring, Sven Byock, Jesse |
spellingShingle |
Wunderlich, Tina Wilken, Dennis Andersen, Jasmin Rabbel, Wolfgang Zori, Davide Kalmring, Sven Byock, Jesse On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland |
author_facet |
Wunderlich, Tina Wilken, Dennis Andersen, Jasmin Rabbel, Wolfgang Zori, Davide Kalmring, Sven Byock, Jesse |
author_sort |
Wunderlich, Tina |
title |
On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland |
title_short |
On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland |
title_full |
On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
On the Ability of Geophysical Methods to Image Medieval Turf Buildings in Iceland |
title_sort |
on the ability of geophysical methods to image medieval turf buildings in iceland |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/arp.1506 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1002%2Farp.1506 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/arp.1506 |
genre |
Iceland |
genre_facet |
Iceland |
op_source |
Archaeological Prospection volume 22, issue 3, page 171-186 ISSN 1075-2196 1099-0763 |
op_rights |
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.1506 |
container_title |
Archaeological Prospection |
container_volume |
22 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
171 |
op_container_end_page |
186 |
_version_ |
1802645849695584256 |