yes / Introduction: The 12th International Conference of Archaeological Prospection saw a return to the University of Bradford, the host for the 1st ICAP conference in 1995. Much has changed in the world of archaeological prospection since that inaugural event, but many things have also remained constant. Perusing the abstract list from the 1st conference reveals that there no less than 6 presenters who returned to present, and many more of the initial group returned to attend, at this, the 12th conference. For the 12th International Conference of Archaeological Prospection a number of key themes were targeted, divided in to six conference sessions: • Techniques and new technological developments • Applications and reconstructing landscapes and urban environments • Integration of techniques and inter-disciplinarity, with focus on visualisation and interpretation • Marine, inter-tidal and wetland prospection techniques and applications • Low altitude prospection techniques and applications • Commercial archaeological prospection in the contemporary world Many of the presentations in the Techniques and technological developments session highlighted the use of automated process in the filtering and recognition of data, and also the use of vehicles for the rapid capture of high resolution data. The Applications and reconstruction of landscapes and urban environments session highlighted contemporary research in a wide range of locations and temporal settings from around the world, from Stonehenge to Mexico, and from Northern Plains earthlodges to 19th century landscape gardens. The variety of presentations amply demonstrates the applicability of prospection techniques to a wide range of situations and purposes, and highlights the expansion seen in archaeological prospection since the 1st ICAP conference in 1995. Within the integration of techniques and visualisation session a number of presentations detailed the use of simultaneous data capture, and how such techniques have been integrated with specific research programmes to enhance the understanding of archaeological sites. The special sessions on Marine, inter-tidal and wetland prospection and Low altitude prospection for cussed on new and emerging technologies broadening the horizon for archaeological prospection. The use of underwater vehicles and aerial vehicles for data capture in the form of marine seismic data and LiDAR is detailed through a number of case studies. These demonstrate the novel use of emerging technologies for archaeological prospection, and the success of these applications will certainly lead to the growth of this field within coming years. A special session on commercial archaeological prospection combined a number of presentations from commercial practitioners in the field with a workshop session covering a range of key issues and standards relating to practices within both commercial and research archaeological prospection. The success of the 12th International Conference of Archaeological Prospection is due to both the presenting contributors and attending delegates. We also recognise the effort made by both the Organising Committe and Scientific committee, and thank the members for their dedication in organising the event, and for the prompt review and comments on all of the scientific papers. On behlaf of both the ICAP 2017 Organising Committee and the Scientific Committee we extend sincerest thanks to all of the presenters and attendees at the conference, and very much look forward to the 13th conference in 2019.

A high resolution magnetic survey was carried out at the archaeological site of Birka, situated approximately 20 km west of Stockholm. A new-generation optically pumped cesium magnetometer, G-858 from Geometrics, with a maximum sensitivity of 0.01 nT was used in the survey. An area of totally 504 m2 was covered in three windy days in September 1997 with the cesium magnetometer working in vertical-gradient mode. Remnants of the old houses, some of the oldest ditches and an earlier excavation could be seen in the gradient data after processing. Also a total-field measurement was carried out to search for the oldest defence wall at Birka. The bad positioning that followed with the continuous-scan mode made the data very difficult to process efficiently. Some processing was done in Matlab to eliminate effects that might be caused by the geology, but no substantial archaeological results emerged.This work shows that high resolution magnetic surveys can be efficient in detecting archaeological remains even in a very heterogeneous soil, provided very sensitive equipment and correct choice of method. It also emphasized the importance of good positioning in a survey.

No

The Pile Mound survey includes magnetometry paired with targeted ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electromagnetic induction (EMI) surveys of the mound and testing of associated features over the ca. 6.5 ha site. The GPR survey discovered six rock features (five large rock features within the mound and one marking the outside of the mound). Knowledge of mounds in the Upper Cumberland Plateau (UCP) is lacking—the closest other studied sites are at the Corbin Site, Croley-Evans, Bell Site, and Beasley Mounds, approximately 75 – 100 km away. However, the most similar mound construction is found at Corbin and Cherokee sites, some 175 – 275 km away. In addition, the associated ceramic assemblage appears to reflect more similarity to the East Tennessee Valley rather than the Middle Cumberland region. These data provide a unique opportunity to better understand the Mississippian occupation in the UCP of Tennessee.

Remediation of unexploded ordnance (UXO) and prioritization of excavation procedures for archaeological artifacts using electromagnetic (EM) induction are studied in this dissertation. Lowering of the false alarm rates that require excavation and artifact excavation prioritization can reduce the costs associated with unnecessary procedures. Data were taken over 5 areas at the San Jacinto Battleground near Houston, Texas, using an EM-63 metal detection instrument. The areas were selected using the archaeological concepts of cultural and natural formation processes applied to what is thought to be areas that were involved in the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto. Innovative use of a Statistical Point Pattern Analysis (PPA) is employed to identify clustering of EM anomalies. The K-function uses point {x,y} data to look for possible clusters in relation to other points in the data set. The clusters once identified using K-function will be further examined for classification and prioritization using the Weighted K-function. The Weighted K-function uses a third variable such as millivolt values or time decay to aid in segregation and prioritization of anomalies present. Once the anomalies of interest are identified, their locations are determined using the Gi-Statistics Technique. The Gi*-Statistic uses the individual Cartesian{x, y} points as origin locations to establish a range of distances to other cluster points in the data set. The segregation and location of anomalies supplied by this analysis will have several benefits. Prioritization of excavations will narrow down what areas should be excavated first. Anomalies of interest can be located to guide excavation procedures within the areas surveyed. Knowing what anomalies are of greater importance than others will help to lower false alarm rates for UXO remediation or for archaeological artifact selection. Knowing significant anomaly location will reduce the number of excavations which will subsequently save time and money. The procedures and analyses presented here are an interdisciplinary compilation of geophysics, archaeology and statistical analysis brought together for the first time to examine problems associated with UXO remediation as well as archaeological artifact selection at historic battlegrounds using electromagnetic data.

Electromagnetic induction (EM) methods have been utilised in a recent surge of archaeological applications across continental Europe, Ireland and Scandinavia. Development of multi-exploration depth instruments and improvements to instrument stability have improved its reputation as an effective method for mapping archaeological remains. Despite these advances, EM methods are comparatively lacking in rigour when for British sites. Through a structured scheme of experimental analysis and fieldwork, this thesis develops an understanding of the responses of EM instruments over a range of British archaeology, including earthworks, field systems, burials, modern remains, and a Cistercian abbey; the results of which demonstrate its effective over a diversity of environments. The impact of instrument-based issues on the collected measurements was quantified through a scheme of experiments targeting instrument drift, calibration and elevation. Dedicated instrument operation and processing workflows were developed based on the collective field and experimental results, which recommend best practice guidelines for improving the quality and accuracy of collected data. The link between instrument measurements and buried archaeology was further developed through a structured analysis of the EM datasets with complementary earth resistance and magnetic results. The integration of the EM, earth resistance and magnetic datasets was utilised to develop an enhanced archaeological characterisation of subsurface features. While the earth resistance and magnetic methods generally responded to different aspects of the buried archaeology, the EM surveys were able to detect a range of responses evident in the results of the former methods. Therefore, the role of EM methods within this characterisation are shown to “bridge the gap” between the earth resistance and magnetic methods, while providing a comprehensive characterisation of the remains in their own right.

no / No Abstract

Electromagnetic induction (EM) methods have been utilised in a recent surge of archaeological applications across continental Europe, Ireland and Scandinavia. Development of multi-exploration depth instruments and improvements to instrument stability have improved its reputation as an effective method for mapping archaeological remains. Despite these advances, EM methods are comparatively lacking in rigour when for British sites. Through a structured scheme of experimental analysis and fieldwork, this thesis develops an understanding of the responses of EM instruments over a range of British archaeology, including earthworks, field systems, burials, modern remains, and a Cistercian abbey; the results of which demonstrate its effective over a diversity of environments. The impact of instrument-based issues on the collected measurements was quantified through a scheme of experiments targeting instrument drift, calibration and elevation. Dedicated instrument operation and processing workflows were developed based on the collective field and experimental results, which recommend best practice guidelines for improving the quality and accuracy of collected data. The link between instrument measurements and buried archaeology was further developed through a structured analysis of the EM datasets with complementary earth resistance and magnetic results. The integration of the EM, earth resistance and magnetic datasets was utilised to develop an enhanced archaeological characterisation of subsurface features. While the earth resistance and magnetic methods generally responded to different aspects of the buried archaeology, the EM surveys were able to detect a range of responses evident in the results of the former methods. Therefore, the role of EM methods within this characterisation are shown to “bridge the gap” between the earth resistance and magnetic methods, while providing a comprehensive characterisation of the remains in their own right. / The supplementary material files from Appendix 2 are not available online.