On the economical value of a geophysical survey of an archaeological site

摘要

An archaeological site can be seen, in a sense, as a particular kind of "ore body": a subsoil resource with a potential economical value for the territory. In terms of amount of labour, an archaeological excavation is a long and complex operation. Actual costs are very high. The total length of an operation is generally measured in years. An intensive geophysical survey of a site requires rather costly high-resolution methods, but these costs are much lower compared to those of excavations. In this paper the "Decisional Tree" graph is used, to show how geophysical surveys can actually decrease the costs of exploration and increase the economical value of the archaeological "resource". Two examples are given; the first concerns the exploration of a site with a few clues to the presence of archaeological remains. The second example is of a site full of historical indications.