Implementation Of Gps Navigation And 3D Volume Imaging Of Ground Penetrating Radar For Identification Of Subsurface Archaeology

The navigation of GPR equipment during surveys at archaeological sites has largely relied on the time-consuming process of manually locating grid lines. When GPS has been available, positions are generally only recorded at the ends of a GPR profile or at the corners of the survey grid. If the GPR antenna deviates from individual grid lines during the field survey, or if the survey grid is inaccurately established because of uneven terrain, targets of interest may be improperly located. In the summer and fall of 2003, GPR data sets were recorded simultaneously with 1-second, real-time DGPS navigation at several archaeological sites. The purpose of the GPR and DGPS integration is to automate the collection of GPR data sets, particularly at sites where establishing grids would be problematic. In addition, this integration allows for generation of accurate, geo-referenced time slice maps for presentation or GIS purposes. Using the DGPS navigation at the archaeological sites, 3D volumes of recorded energies were used to map subsurface archaeological structures. DGPS-navigated time slices were compared with traditionally navigated time slices collected during an investigation at the Jena Choctaw Tribal Cemetery in Louisiana. Results of this investigation indicate that DGPS navigation is sufficient to map unmarked burials without sacrificing accuracy.