The Discovery of an Ancient Greek Vineyard

Relatively few geophysical surveys have shown how buried traces of agricultural fields can be revealed. An ancient Greek vineyard on the Crimean peninsula was first suggested in a satellite photograph; however, it was discovered only with a magnetic survey. This survey found a 5.7-ha field that is crossed by about 80 buried stone walls that are parallel and spaced by 2.6 m; this pattern is found only in the vineyard. Later excavations revealed underground walls in this vineyard. The magnetic survey also detected simple magnetic anomalies at three of the four corners of the vineyard. Excavations found that these anomalies are caused by pits that were dug by the ancient Greeks into bedrock to a depth of 2.5 m; the purpose of these pits is not known. The magnetic properties of soil and stone were measured in the excavations, and the magnetic anomalies of the features were calculated. These calculations agree with the measurements, and this means that the entire source of the anomalies was discovered. The interpretation of the magnetic map was adaptive, and it improved as excavations added more information. The archaeological importance of the Ortli vineyard is described along with the efficient procedures that allowed its discovery and mapping. Using the same techniques that were applied at Ortli, another ancient Greek vineyard and farmhouse was later found 1.5 km away. This vineyard has dimensions that are 25% larger than those of the first vineyard. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.