Gregory Tucker carrying out geophysical survey with a fluxgate magnetic gradiometer

The survey team has conducted two seasons of geophysical prospection of the urban center of ancient Notion. These first two seasons of prospection consisted of magnetic gradiometry survey, which is able to detect the physical properties of buried archaeological features by measuring the magnetic gradient at the Earth’s surface. This approach is able to detect features otherwise not visible on the surface and in addition to assisting with research questions concerning urban planning and architectural form will be used as the basis to plan future, complementary survey with other geophysical techniques. The results of the first two seasons of survey have revealed aspects of the urban form of the city as well as details of the architectural content of the terraces and city blocks. Future field seasons will be undertaken to complete the magnetic survey of the intramural area and to target specific areas of interest with complementary techniques, such as electric resistance or ground-penetrating radar, which detect different properties of the buried features and may be able to give a more complete, detailed picture of what is still preserved beneath the surface. Geophysical prospection at Notion is overseen by Gregory Tucker.

Plot of the results of the 2014-2017 gradiometer survey at Notion