The Use and Benefit of Integrated Geophysical Survey in the Study of an Irish Early Medieval Site Rath Maol

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The State of the Art in Medieval European Archaeology: New Discoveries, Future Directions" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This paper addresses the value of an integrated geophysical survey approach, which includes the application of GPR, DGPS, and magnetic gradiometry, to identify archaeological areas of occupation non-invasively. This approach was applied to RathMaol, as part of a larger ongoing research project, Castles in Communities, which encompasses several medieval sites, in the Connacht region of Ireland. These sites present the opportunity to study wide swaths of landscape as they changed over time, in a region that encountered both conflicts between local Gaelic lords and colonization by invading Anglo-Normans.

Integrated geophysical surveys allow for an improvement in our understanding of archaeological sites without the invasiveness of excavation and provide the opportunity to make educated decisions for targeted excavation. Here we present how integrating GPR and magnetic gradiometry, after adjusting for surface elevation changes, is used to analyze the interior and surrounding features of RathMaol. These geophysical techniques were merged and interpreted jointly to produce images of the stratigraphic units and objects found within and around Rath Maol to determine their extent and composition. The success of the data analysis methods performed at this site shows the interpretive potential of non-invasive geophysical techniques, both in Irish contexts and around the world.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The State of the Art in Medieval European Archaeology: New Discoveries, Future Directions   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 24364