GPR for preventive conservation and valorisation of buried archaeology

Summary This paper deals with a geophysical experimental activity carried out in Maxenxius Complex, an archaeological site located in Rome, Italy. The objective of the study was to evaluate the feasiblity of GPR for the structural detailing of buried archaeological remains, in view of its future valorisation through three-dimensional reconstruction. As a result, GPR allowed to confirm the literature-based information, i.e. to precisely locate the tanks of the thermal area which was known to be buried in the inspected area. In addition, the tomographic analysis highlighted the presence of two further tanks, thereby suggesting the possibility of further rooms to be located close to the excavated ones. This assumption was also confirmed by tomographic analysis, which stressed out a wall pattern that seems to suggest the presence of further rooms in the top-right side of the area. In general terms, GPR demonstrated a great applicability to archaeological purposes, despite the reliability and productivity of the data interpretation are strongly influenced by the expertise of both the geophysicists and the archaeologists involved.