New Perspectives on Geophysics for Archaeology: A Special Issue

Abstract

This Special Issue hosts a selection of papers presented at the Third International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (Lecce, Italy, 23–25 October 2017), related to the new perspectives on geophysics for archaeology. In recent years, archaeological prospecting has seen major advances through a variety of remote sensing and computing technologies. Geophysical instrumentation continues to improve in sensitivity and acquisition speed, and new multi-sensor arrays, e.g., drawn by carts over land, now permit vast areas to be rapidly covered. On the other hand, the availability of highresolution remote sensing techniques provides multiscale and multi-temporal approaches to the study of ancient settlements and landscapes, and proves fundamental in the reconstruction of their development over centuries. Nowadays, research in landscape archaeology needs the integration of different high-resolution remote sensing techniques such as satellite (optical and radar data), aerial (photographic, infrared and lidar data from aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles), but also land acquisitions (integration of different geophysical techniques, field walking, and differential GPS topographical surveys). All these investigations are based on a geoarchaeological approach, with several aims ranging from historical reconstruction to preventive archaeology and from the preservation of archaeological and monumental heritage to noninvasive diagnosis through micro-geophysical techniques.