Abu Shusha: Integrating and Correlating Surface Features with Magnetic Susceptibility

Summary

This research looks at Tel Abu Shusha in the Jezreel Valley of Israel, an understudied site in a strategically important Levantine area with potential evidence of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman settlements. Surface survey was completed in nine square kilometers around the Tel, resulting in ceramic density data as well as over 2,500 mapped surface features in GIS, such as quarries, wine presses, and architecture. Additionally, four magnetic susceptibility grids were taken in this area, each one measuring approximately 100 by 100 meters. These grids were intentionally completely in varying topography that often creates difficulty for geophysical survey: on top of a Tel, on a Tel slope, in a hilly forested area, and in a flatter forested area. This project, a Master's Thesis at the University of Arkansas, looks at settlement patterns and site formation processes through the integration of these two data sets and exploration of visual versus quantitative methods of display, as well as the relevance of maps derived from elevation. Global and local correlation as well as other spatial statistics were used to compare these data sets, particularly looking at how well certain feature types align with susceptibility values and what we can generalize from this.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 20184