Geophysical investigation of a plateau at Kugghamn
Ground-penetrating radar survey at Björkö, Sweden
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.66449/fornvn.v121i2.64013Keywords:
ground-penetrating radar, LiDAR, Birka, Late Iron Age, Viking AgeAbstract
To investigate a plateau at the Viking Age settlement of Birka-Korshamn, Björkö, Sweden a 31 x 16 m terrace was surveyed with a single-channel ground-penetrating radar (GPR). A 500 MHz antenna was used to detect archaeological features. The research questions aimed to investigate any remains of archaeological activities in connection to an earlier identified wharf, establish a stratigraphy, get information about the geology and compare the data with other archaeological sources, e.g. LiDAR, aerial photographs, inventories and excavations. The survey identified two unregistered burial mounds not visible above the ground connecting the large burial fields at the site while house structures connected to the terrace were more difficult to establish even if the data clearly indicates several archaeological features.
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