ROME GA CIVIL WAR CANNON IN GRAVEYARD THREAD INFO

Sheldius

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Hi,

Back from the conference. The talk was well recieved, and people were interested. Probably not enough to form a groundswell in Rome, though ;).

Hope everyone has enjoyed this tread. Look for "A day on Tybee beach" in today's finds to see the clad I found in Savannah.
 

Gypsy Heart

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Nov 29, 2005
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SWR said:
Sheldius said:
Thanks. Yes, I was one of the 3 archaeology students working on that. I specialize in remote sensing along with the analysis of artifacts using geology instruments and techniques.

How can you "specialize" in a field that has no scientific merit or support? Sounds very odd :-\

?????????

Remote Sensing Instruments
Aerial Photography:
Many features which are difficult or impossible to see standing on the ground become very clear when seen from the air. But, black and white photography only records about twenty-two perceptible shades of gray in the visible spectrum. Also, optical sources have certain liabilities, they must operate in daylight, during clear weather, on days with minimal atmospheric haze.

Color Infrared Film (CIR):
Detects longer wavelengths somewhat beyond the red end of the light spectrum. CIR film was initially employed during World War II to differentiate objects that had been artificially camouflaged. Infrared photography has the same problems that conventional photography has, you need light and clear skies. Even so, CIR is sensitive to very slight differences in vegetation. Because buried archeological features can affect how plants grow above them, such features become visible in color infrared photography.

Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS):
A six channel scanner that measures the thermal radiation given off by the ground, with accuracy to 0.1 degree centigrade. The pixel (picture element) is the square area being sensed, and the size of the pixel is directly proportional to sensor height. For example, pixels from Landsat satellites are about 100 feet (30 m) on a side, and thus have limited archeological applications. However, pixels in TIMS data measure only a few feet on a side and as such can be used for archeological research. TIMS data were used to detect ancient Anasazi roads in Chaco Canyon, NM.

Airborne Oceanographic Lidar (ADI):
A laser device that makes "profiles" of the earth's surface. The laser beam pulses to the ground 400 times per second, striking the surface every three and a half inches, and bounces back to its source. In most cases, the beam bounces off the top of the vegetation cover and off the ground surface; the difference between the two give information on forest height, or even the height of grass in pastures. As the lidar passes over an eroded footpath that still affects the topography, the pathway's indentation is recorded by the laser beam. The lidar data can be processed to reveal tree height as well as elevation, slope, aspect, and slope length of ground features. Lidar can also be used to penetrate water to measure the morphology of coastal water, detect oil forms, fluorescent dye traces, water clarity, and organic pigments including chlorophyll. In this case, part of the pulse is reflected off the water surface, while the rest travels to the water bottom and is reflected. The time elapsed between the received impulses allows for a determination of water depth and subsurface topography.

Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR):
SAR beams energy waves to the ground and records the energy reflected. Radar is sensitive to linear and geometric features on the ground, particularly when different radar wavelengths and different combinations of the horizontal and vertical data are employed. Different wavelengths are sensitive to vegetation or to ground surface phenomena. In dry, porous soils, radar can penetrate the surface. In 1982, radar from the space shuttle penetrated the sand of the Sudanese desert and revealed ancient watercourses. Using airborne radar in Costa Rica, prehistoric footpaths have been found.

Microwave Radar:
Beaming radar pulses into the ground and measuring the echo is a good way of finding buried artifacts in arid regions (water absorbs microwaves). Man-made objects tend to reflect the microwaves, giving one a "picture" of what is underground without disturbing the site.
 

Gypsy Heart

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Nov 29, 2005
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Ozarks
SWR said:
Thanks for the copy/paste of this article:

http://www.ghcc.msfc.nasa.gov/archeology/remote_sensing.html

Even though there is a definition of “Remote Sensing ” used by NASA, It is highly doubtful that any of this equipment and/or terminology could truly be used for the purpose of this thread (Cannon In Graveyard). :)

Other than simply copy/paste a Googled site….why not add some text, eh? Or at least give credit to the people who do write what you've copy/pasted ;)

You know I usually do that ....so sorry...but why didnt you give this archeology student the benefit of the doubt also.
 

Sheldius

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Hello,

Here is a link to the first article. Didn't see it anywhere earlier:

http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?pnpid=680&show=archivedetails&ArchiveID=1157197&om=1

As to what I do and why ( I didn't want to bother anyone with the details, but since you asked ;)):

It's true, I'm not getting a PhD in remote sensing as such. I'm a Geology PhD candidate with an emphasis in Geoarchaeology at the Univ. of Georgia. My project is studying Roman lead Curse Tablets from Carthage, Tunisia using Thermal Ionization Mass Spec. However, as part of my training, I also work in remote sensing.

The most expensive and time consuming thing any archaeologist can do is excavate a site. Among other things, geoarchaeologists try to locate areas of potential archaeological interest without digging. This is remote sensing and we use many of the techniques used by geologists. More traditional archaeologist don't want to spend the money and time learning how to run specialized instruments and learning how to read the results. Think of them as the general public when they lose a wedding ring. Most won't go buy an expensive metal detector and then learn to use it just to find the ring. They would much rather just call me to find it for them. Thus, I have the opportunity to travel anywhere in the world and work on site of all time periods. And, there are academic and contract positions for someone with my training.

We use the following most heavily:

Ground Penetrating Radar

Ground penetrating radar is an active method of remote sensing that uses microwave transmissions to image the subsurface. The microwaves are transmitted and received by an antenna that then sends this information to a control unit. The image is created by the difference in the ways that soils and materials conduct the microwaves. When the microwaves leave the antenna, they pass into the ground, where their paths are affected by the different materials present under the surface. Some of the microwaves will be bounced off of an object or change in soil composition, and others will simply pass through and dissipate. When the microwaves encounter a material, such as a buried wall, the depth of the wall will change the amount of time needed for the microwaves to travel into the ground and bounce back to the receiver on the antenna. All of these effects are used to create a vertical image of the subsurface, which is then processed into horizontal plan view maps based on depth.

A map of a site, looking down from above, can be made at any depth desired from the surface to the deepest the GPR can detect.

GPR is used in archaeology and environmental geology, among other things. It is especially good at detecting voids, buried metal items, utility lines, buried structures such as walls, and changes in soil and the water table.

To see more of what these look like visit Dr. Goodman's site (scroll down to the good stuff):

http://www.gpr-survey.com/gprslice.html

Magnentometer

Magnetometry, or Mag, is a passive method of remote sensing that uses a coil and a hydrogen rich fluid to very accurately measure the Earth’s magnetic field anywhere the instrument is placed. The electrical signal generated by the magnetic field is amplified and recorded in the control unit. Any object in the ground that also has a magnetic field will create small changes from the Earth’s magnetic field. Not only metal, but also clay material that has been heated will have its own magnetic field. Mapping these changes helps to locate areas of interest.

Mag is used in archaeology and environmental geology to find magnetic objects such as metal, pottery, brick, ancient fireplaces, iron rich rocks, and walls.


Resistivity and Conductivity

Resistivity and EM, also known as conductivity, rely on measurements of electrical fields in the subsurface. They are active methods that are based on the use of Ohm’s Law to calculate changes in the way the subsurface is able to conduct or resist an electrical current.

As their names imply, resistivity measures how resistant the subsurface is to an electrical field, and conductivity measures how conductive the subsurface is. So, if there is a buried metal object underground, a resistivity survey would show that this object did not resist the current passed through the area, whereas a conductivity survey would show that the object was highly conductive. Resistivity is measure by putting metal spikes in the ground and running a current between them. Conductivity is measure with a instrument very similar to a typical metal detector, but with a 9 ft coil.

Now, finally, the graveyard. Here is the results of our GPR survey. The colored area of interest (I won't say for sure it is a gun but it is most likely metal). The contour plot is from the magnetometer which also shows an area of interest in the same location. I'm not going to go into the details, but it doesn't look like the graves we also identified, and isn't deep enough.

That's about it. Except I'm not really that young. I'm 35 years old. ;D
 

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Sheldius

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Sorry, GPR image didn't come out.

Here it is.
 

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Sheldius

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Mar 15, 2007
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And finally, before anyone asks, yes they anomally is in the same location. Because of how the surveys were run, you will need to flip and rotate the two maps. These clearly aren't the presentation graphics, which I can't show you without my colleagues permission. Plus the City of Rome doesn't want any grave diggers out there at night. :) Sorry.
 

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