Karl De Menezes

Geophysics
Methods
Whilst investigating how geophysics is used in the exploration of land, I have come
across many methods used in order to give preliminary insights into previous uses of
land, such as resistance and radar surveying. These methods will allow us to protect
areas of land with high archaeological value, such as the remains of Tudor buildings
which makes survey land very important.

Resistance surveying
Resistance surveying works by measuring the
resistance between two electrodes that are
positioned in the ground.
The diagram on the right explains the principals
behind resistance surveying. It shows that two
electrodes, A & B, pass a current through the
ground while another two electrodes, M & N, which
are connected to a voltmeter, measure the voltage.
From this we can work out the resistance using the
equation:

Resistance=

Voltage
Current

This tells us the resistance of the soil which is useful for identifying areas that were
exposed to water, such as ditches, pits and mots.
We are able to identify areas that have been exposed to water for long periods because
these areas have less resistance than areas that have had less exposure to water, due to
water being a good conductor of electricity. Doing this can give us an insight into what
these areas of land were used for and this can tell us the historical value of the land and
can help to protect possible heritage sites. As well as this, it can help us to find historical
artefacts which may be buried underground. It can also reveal possible sink holes/areas
of water logged ground which may be unsafe to build on. However, this method does not
always give clear results because every person can interpret the data differently.

Thermoluminescence
Thermoluminescence is a method used in order to determine the age of an object.
Ancient pottery can be sampled in this way because when heated, it glows, due to the
radiation that it has absorbed. The older the pottery is, the more radiation it is likely to
have absorbed, therefore an older piece of pottery will glow brighter than a newer piece.
By measuring the thermoluminescence, of an object, we can
calculate how much radiation it has absorbed and from this
information, we can work out the approximate age of the pottery.

Resistivity practical
In my practical, I will be calculating the resistivity of a piece of wire in
order to identify what it is made of. The table on the right shows the
resistivity of different materials, therefore we can work out the
material that the wire is made of based on its resistivity. By working
out what the wire is made of, I will be able to approximate the age of
the wire because wires were made of different materials during
different centuries.
This links to the subject of archaeology because it is a method that
can be used to work out an approximate age of a metal item. As well
as this, when investigating the previous uses of land, resistance
surveying is used which also relies on the resistance measured in
order to make a judgement on any historical significance that the
land has.

Sources

Karl De Menezes
Edexcel Physics for AS (Book) written by Mike Benn, published by Hodder Education
(Published 30/05/08)
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/publications/geophysical-survey-in-archaeological-fieldevaluation/geophysics-guidelines.pdf (Date accessed 19/02/15)
http://www.oxfordauthentication.com/about-us/the-laboratory-and-the-tl-testing-process (Date
accessed 19/02/15)
http://www.cleanroom.byu.edu/Resistivities.phtml (Date accessed 19/02/15)