Construction of a Geophysical Signature Archive for the Investigation of Bronze Age sites. The Case of Békés 103 (Jégvermi-kert) in Eastern Hungary

Apostolos SARRIS¹ | Paweł DZIECHCIARZ² | Dylan KELLY³ | Paul R. DUFFY⁴ | Györgyi PARDITKA⁵ | Julia GIBLIN⁶
(¹GeoSat ReSeArch Lab, FORTH, Rethymno, Crete, Greece | ²University of Warsaw, Poland | ³University of New Hampshire, USA | ⁴University of Toronto, Canada | ⁵University of Michigan, USA | ⁶Quinnipiac University, USA)

Keywords: Geophysical Prospection, cemetery, Bronze Age, Hungary

Abstract:
Geophysical exploration has been an integral part of the BAKOTA (Bronze Age Körös Off-Tell Archaeology) project which is focusing on the archaeological investigations at the Békés 103 (Jégvermi-kert) site located on an old meander of the Kettős Körös in E. Hungary. The site comprises a flat Bronze Age settlement and an urn cremation cemetery. The small size of the graves, the shallow and disturbed deposits and the intensity of agricultural practices have affected the preservation of the archaeological record and provided challenging conditions for the prospection of the site. Investigations were carried out through the combined employment of magnetic gradiometry, EMI techniques, soil resistance and geochemical coring coupled with shovel testing followed by excavation. In order to enhance the interpretation of the fuzzy geophysical signals, the geophysical signatures of the detected features were cross-correlated to the excavation results and the attributes of the excavated features. The statistical analysis indicated the superiority of the magnetic techniques over electrical resistance methods in terms of correlating the magnetic anomalies with the number of ceramic vessels and their dimensions. The study signifies the importance of the construction of geophysical signature libraries that can be used as an archive to establish a framework for future investigations of similar sites.

Relevance conference | Relevance session:
Fusion of Geophysical and Excavation Data

Innovation:
Towards the construction of geophysical signatures

References:
DUFFY, Paul R. / GYÖRGYI PARDITKA, Julia I. / GIBLIN, László Paja / RODERICK B. Salisbury (2014): “Discovering Mortuary Practices in the Körös River Basin, Hungary.” Hungarian Archaeology Autumn (2014).
SARRIS, Apostolos A. (2013): Technical Report: Bronze Age Körös Off-Tell Archaeology (BAKOTA): Geophysical Investigations at Békés Koldus-Zug, Hungary (Phase II:2013).