Magnetic Gradient and Ground Penetrating Radar Investigation of Buried Relics in Qocho City Site of Turpan, China

摘要

As the largest capital city site of Chinese western region on 'Silk Road',Qocho city site is important to study the history of ancient Chinese western region and culture exchange between China and central Asia,west Asia and even Europe.To date the archaeological investigations of the city planning are mainly based on ruins on the ground.However,most of relics above ground have been seriously destroyed by the agricultural cultivation,so the layout of the city can not be understood completely only by investigating the ruins above ground.A geophysical survey acquired in 2012,near an excavation area,investigated buried relics using magnetic gradient and Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR).Some magnetic anomalies were inferred as the response of house walls,pits and a temple base by referring to archaeological results of the neighboring excavation area.GPR profiles provided information on the depth of the magnetic anomalies.The identity between geophysical results and archaeological document on layout of three houses verified the validity of magnetic gradient and GPR.