Noninvasive GPR, ERT, LIDAR and TLS Methods in the Search for Artefacts on the Site of the Palace Complex in Łobzów (Poland)

Abstract

In the years 2024–2025, noninvasive geophysical surveys were carried out inside and in the courtyard of the royal palace in Łobzów, Krakow (Poland), using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). In addition, laser scanners (LIDAR and TLS) were used. The aim of the conducted research was to determine and clearly describe the location and extent of the remains of Casimir the Great's fortalicium, that is, the original and oldest building located in this place, and the remains of the royal palace, including the identification of the palace wings that have not been preserved (the western and the northern one) in contrast to the preserved and well-identified southern wing and the fragmentarily preserved eastern wing. The archaeological research conducted on the site of a defensive tower, as indicated by iconographic sources in 2014, confirmed its authenticity based on the uncovered fragment of a Gothic wall. The recently conducted GPR surveys inside the south-eastern wing of the palace have revealed the occurrence of anomalies that may be related to a subsequent Gothic building. On the other hand, surveys carried out in the palace courtyard using the above-mentioned methods enabled us to identify the remaining walls of the palace, which in turn allowed us to determine the extent of the entire residential building. Using the ERT method complemented with the GPR method, it was also possible to determine the course of the mediaeval moat and the irrigation canal supplying the royal gardens with water.