Prospezioni magnetiche applicate all'archeologia: metodologia, analisi e casi di studio sui villaggi medievali abbandonati

The geomagnetic analysis can detect buried archaeological structures by measuring the contrast between the value of the earth's magnetic field and anomalies (objects, structures, etc.) in the subsurface, recognizable for their eventual induced magnetism (fires, pottery etc.). The geophysical surveys, conducted in the territories of Meilogu and Anglona, aim to study the sites of deserted medieval villages, both previously investigated by surveys or stratigraphic excavations and not yet analyzed from archaeological perspective. The study aims to check the increase of information to the reading of archaeological traces buried, to define internal planimetry. The five cases presented show the different responses of the magnetometric potential at different sites for geomorphological features. Each geomagnetic survey provides for a preliminary study of the geographical and geo-pedological context and of processes of formation of the archaeological record, as well as studying historical archives of written sources. Reading data and the survey procedures, designed and led by an archaeologist, needs the development of models and documentation procedures, with the compilation of numerous forms, that are inserted, along with maps of magnetic anomalies identified and their interpretation, in a queried GIS platform.