Combining Photogrammetry and Subsurface Geophysics to Improve Historical Knowledge of Romanesque Churches in Normandy, France: Case Study of the Notre‐Dame‐du‐Val Chapel
Cyrille Fauchard, Laure Aillaud, Astrid Legrand, Vincent Guilbert, Cyril Ledun, Bruno Beaucamp, Raphael Antoine
{"title":"Combining Photogrammetry and Subsurface Geophysics to Improve Historical Knowledge of Romanesque Churches in Normandy, France: Case Study of the Notre‐Dame‐du‐Val Chapel","authors":"Cyrille Fauchard, Laure Aillaud, Astrid Legrand, Vincent Guilbert, Cyril Ledun, Bruno Beaucamp, Raphael Antoine","doi":"10.1002/arp.1957","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This study presents the results of aerial and geophysical measurements carried out on the Notre‐Dame‐du‐Val chapel in Sotteville‐sur‐Mer (Normandy, France), a former leprosarium dating from the 15th century; the chapel is now deconsecrated and has been showing signs of ageing in recent years. Restoration work is planned, and geophysical investigations of the area around the chapel have been commissioned. In this article, we propose a robust methodology combining aerial and terrestrial measurements in the visible range with surface prospecting methods. Compiling all the measurements within a perfectly georeferenced 3D model allows the joint analysis of the results of different physical measurement methods to provide unexpected architectural and archaeological information. Photos were taken from the ground and using a drone to build photogrammetric models of the interior and exterior of the chapel. Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were the two survey methods deployed in the area surrounding the chapel. The geophysical measurements clearly reveal traces of apses—which have now disappeared—at the crossing of what would have been the building's transept, which match up with the filled‐in openings that are present. The existence of these apses can only be assumed from inside the chapel. The resistivity anomalies are perfectly correlated with the radar anomalies and allow new hypotheses to be formulated about the original structure of the chapel. Finally, mapping the local geology of the surroundings based on a geophysical survey provides crucial information about the history of the church's construction. Bringing this unknown architectural element to light and carrying out precise mapping of the local geology surrounding the chapel constitute a major breakthrough, as this will make it possible to improve our knowledge of the history of the chapel, in particular its origins, through research based on archaeological surveys.","PeriodicalId":55490,"journal":{"name":"Archaeological Prospection","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Archaeological Prospection","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arp.1957","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"0","JCRName":"ARCHAEOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study presents the results of aerial and geophysical measurements carried out on the Notre‐Dame‐du‐Val chapel in Sotteville‐sur‐Mer (Normandy, France), a former leprosarium dating from the 15th century; the chapel is now deconsecrated and has been showing signs of ageing in recent years. Restoration work is planned, and geophysical investigations of the area around the chapel have been commissioned. In this article, we propose a robust methodology combining aerial and terrestrial measurements in the visible range with surface prospecting methods. Compiling all the measurements within a perfectly georeferenced 3D model allows the joint analysis of the results of different physical measurement methods to provide unexpected architectural and archaeological information. Photos were taken from the ground and using a drone to build photogrammetric models of the interior and exterior of the chapel. Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were the two survey methods deployed in the area surrounding the chapel. The geophysical measurements clearly reveal traces of apses—which have now disappeared—at the crossing of what would have been the building's transept, which match up with the filled‐in openings that are present. The existence of these apses can only be assumed from inside the chapel. The resistivity anomalies are perfectly correlated with the radar anomalies and allow new hypotheses to be formulated about the original structure of the chapel. Finally, mapping the local geology of the surroundings based on a geophysical survey provides crucial information about the history of the church's construction. Bringing this unknown architectural element to light and carrying out precise mapping of the local geology surrounding the chapel constitute a major breakthrough, as this will make it possible to improve our knowledge of the history of the chapel, in particular its origins, through research based on archaeological surveys.
期刊介绍:
The scope of the Journal will be international, covering urban, rural and marine environments and the full range of underlying geology.
The Journal will contain articles relating to the use of a wide range of propecting techniques, including remote sensing (airborne and satellite), geophysical (e.g. resistivity, magnetometry) and geochemical (e.g. organic markers, soil phosphate). Reports and field evaluations of new techniques will be welcomed.
Contributions will be encouraged on the application of relevant software, including G.I.S. analysis, to the data derived from prospection techniques and cartographic analysis of early maps.
Reports on integrated site evaluations and follow-up site investigations will be particularly encouraged.
The Journal will welcome contributions, in the form of short (field) reports, on the application of prospection techniques in support of comprehensive land-use studies.
The Journal will, as appropriate, contain book reviews, conference and meeting reviews, and software evaluation.
All papers will be subjected to peer review.