GNGTS 2024 - Atti del 42° Convegno Nazionale

Session 3.2 GNGTS 2024 Geophysical surveys to detect buried archaeological remains in an area near the Dioscuri Temple (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy) S. Imposa 1 , S. Grassi 1 , G. Morreale 1 , C. Pirrota 1 , L. Cavalier 2 , A. Gilot 3 , D. Giuliano 4 , E. Cayre 5 , L.M. Caliò 6 1 Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy 2 Unité mixte de Recherche Ausonius (UMR 5607), Université Bordeaux-Montaigne, Pessac, France 3 Greensol S.R.L., Syracuse, Italy 4 Department of Cultures and Society, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy 5 Post-doc researcher, Grand Programme de Recherche Human Past, Université de Bordeaux, Talence (France) 6 Department of Human Science, University of Catania, Catania, Italy Introducton In the last few decades, geophysical prospectons have been considered a fundamental tool for archaeological research due to their ability to expeditously investgate large areas and identfy buried targets in the subsoil without directly interactng with it (Witen, 2006; Grassi et al., 2021). These techniques enable more precise planning of excavaton operatons, enhancing their efciency and cost-efectveness, preserving the integrity of the subsoil and minimizing the risk of damaging potental discoveries (Cella et al., 2015). In this work, an extensive geophysical feld survey was carried out, in which the Electromagnetc Method (EM) and Electrical Resistvity Tomography (ERT) were used in an unexplored area near the Dioscuri Temple (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Sicily, Italy) (Fig. 1a,b). By integratng the data obtained from both geophysical methods, several underground anomalies atributable to buried structures were identfed, due to their shape and physical atributes. A preliminary archaeological dig carried out in one of the areas where the geophysical anomalies were located, revealed the existence of a wall built using local calcarenites blocks. Subsequently, the wall was scanned using photogrammetric techniques to obtain a detailed 3D reconstructon. Preliminary analysis suggests that this wall is part of a building possibly datng to the Hellenistc or Classical period. This discovery probably represents only a very small porton of a larger and more complex structure. This structure may have played a key role in the religious topography of Akragas since it is located near the entrance to the sanctuary of the "circular altars".