Surveying Isurium Brigantum: a new picture of Roman Aldborough

Abstract

Roman towns present enticing targets for geophysical survey. Their gridded streets and masonry buildings respond to a range of survey techniques, and the results are highly visual. Improved rapid survey techniques involving multi-sensor arrays mean that large areas can be covered rapidly. It is also cheap, relative to other forms of archaeological investigation, making it attractive to those working at universities, where research budgets grow ever tighter. Little wonder then that the last two decades have seen an ever-increasing number of surveys on those town sites unencumbered by modern development. In the UK, Wroxeter, Silchester, Caistor-by-Norwich, and Verulamium have all seen large-scale geophysical investigation, while elsewhere in the Roman Empire major surveys have been carried out at Carnuntum (Austria), Ammaia (Portugal), Falerii Novii (Italy), and many other sites.