Revista Analele Banatului S.N. Arheologie-Istorie

Sarah Sherwood

Ground Truthing Magnetometer Data Using Soil Coring: Initial Results from Cornesti-Iarcuri, Timis County, Romania

1 Ianuarie 2013

Abstract

is study uses soil augering to explore a sample of the range of geomagnetic anomalies from magnetometer surveys at the massive fortified site of Corneşti-Iarcuri. e cores focus on the south end of the interior of Enclosure II and a limited area to the east between Enclosures II and III. ese areas were studied during the 2010 campaign when the international team used different techniques to verify the age and type of occupations in this portion of the site. e coring results are presented in standardized descriptions and 1 m section photographs. e cores sample both high contrast anomalies from suspected burned deposits and low contrast areas where archaeological deposits are thought to be absent. ese field data suggest that the local calcareous Chernozem soils vary by depth and thickness of calcitic horizons due to slope, erosion, or impact due to possible use of the slopes for borrow. e low magnetic susceptibility of the carbonates can affect the results of the Cesium Magnetometer, in some cases identifying high contrast anomalies due to the close proximity to CaCO3 horizons and other material. In other cases archaeological deposits result in low contrast areas on the magnetogram due to the absence of burning. e initial auger results suggest that while the geomagnetic data clearly maps the enclosures and other burned features, there is the potential that other types of deposits may go unrecognized in this calcareous soil landscape.