When used over a large area, it is possible to map the ancient city that is buried less than two meters below ground. This method is fairly fast and our team can map ten 100 square meter survey areas in a single day.
The map at the left shows an area of the lower town mapped during the 2002 field season. The surface of the ground in this area is basically flat farmland. The dark spots on the map represent pits, while the bipolar (white and black) anomalies are kilns or other pyrotechnical installations. The broad linear feature running along the southern and western edges of the map are the mudbrick city wall, which is entirely buried.
By carefully studying these maps, and by making small test trenches to ground truth the results of the magnetic gradiometry maps, we have been able to accurately trace the city wall, locate several gates, large buildings, and major streets in the Lower Town.
Magnetic gradiometry survey was continued in 2002 and 2003 and we have now mapped about 75% of Ziyaret Tepe. |