Geofisica applicata all'archeologia

Since 2016 the Department of Culture and Civilization History at the University of Bologna has been conducting a study under the direction of Giuseppe Lepore and Enrico Giorgi, on the 3rd insula of the Roman Hellenistic Quarter of Agrigento. The tradition of studies starts from the latter part of 1800, but many questions remain. One of these concerns the original phases of the urban planning ascribed to the pre-roman age (VI-V century BC) of which there are currently few traces. We have tried to give attention to the preventive archaeology through a methodological and innovative approach with surveying techniques and non-invasive investigation of the subsoil (coordinated by Federica Boschi). The investigation carried out with the GPR method – where possible – involved all the houses of the insula III and the stenopòs III for a total surface area of around 5600 square meters. With the geomagnetic method in gradiometric configuration was carried out an investigation in an open country spaces never explored before again. Both methods proved to be quite effective, although some limitations were found during the acquisition phase due to disturbances caused by logistic impediments (tight spaces inside the already excavated houses; metal bounding fences and trees in pasture spaces) and the
physical characteristics of the site. These factors have partially affected the interpretation of the data, making it more problematic. Despite the difficulties the results obtained have given us important data that will contribute to the wider debate on the evolution of the housing area.