TITLE:
GPR Tomography as Support for an Archaeological Excavation in Aripuanã Indigenous Cemetery, Amazon Region, Brazil
AUTHORS:
Jorge Luís Porsani, Renato Kipnis, Vinícius Rafael Neris dos Santos, Emerson Rodrigo Almeida, Iris Fernandes
KEYWORDS:
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Microwave Tomography, Archaeology, Anthropogenic Soil, Dardanelos Hydroelectric Power Plant, Amazon Region, Brazil
JOURNAL NAME:
International Journal of Geosciences,
Vol.8 No.10,
October
31,
2017
ABSTRACT: We present here a series of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey carried
out in different areas of the Dardanelos 1 archaeological site in order to generate
information about subsurface anomalies associated with archaeological
material that could be use in decision making within the environmental licensing
process of the Dardanelos Hydroelectric Power Plant, located near of
the Aripuan? city, Mato Grosso State, northwest region of Brazil. GPR surveys
with 200 MHz antenna were carried out in two blocks aiming to locate archaeological
resources and features. The analysis of GPR 2D and 3D results allowed
detecting anomalous regions characterized by hyperbolic reflections,
shallow elongated continuous targets with high amplitudes, as well as
sub-horizontal reflectors. Microwave tomography allowed estimating the geometry
of the GPR anomalies sources. Excavations were done by archaeologists
at the locations where hyperbolic anomalies were found, revealing interesting
structures related to urns in the middle of a rich in organic matter consisting
of black and ceramic materials up to about 1 m deep. The first sub-horizontal
reflector at approximately 1 m depth is related to the base of the black soil
layer rich in organic matter and the second sub-horizontal reflector between 2
and 3 m deep suggests a lithological change or may be related to presence of
the water table. The continuous elongated shallow targets observed in the
depth slices are related to tree roots in the middle of the archaeological strata.
The GPR results guided archaeological excavations, reduced the time and
costs involved in research, and contributed to the preservation of Brazilian
historical heritage.