Ground‐penetrating Radar in the Regio III (Pompeii, Italy): Archaeological Evidence

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Abstract
Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) investigations were performed in Pompeii, in an area of the Regio III that is not yet fully excavated but is bounded by areas where much is known about the ancient Roman city. At the site studied, large areas containing preserved archaeological features are buried under as much as 8 m of volcanic deposits. The GPR survey was conducted using perpendicular reflection profiles in a grid adjacent to a scarp parallel to Nola Street, which allowed a direct correlation between the exposed ruins and the radar reflection features. An analysis of the GPR reflection profiles clearly shows the layering of the volcanic materials, with the underlying Roman architecture clearly differentiated. Amplitude analysis of all reflections within the grid produced spatial maps of the ruins containing a particular distribution of Roman elite buildings inside a Classic insula, including monumental fountains, apses and villas (domus); such architectural features were commonly incorporated into residences (villas) of wealthy people. Typically suburban districts of Roman cities contain non‐elite houses, whereas wealthy persons lived are in the city centre. However, in this case because these features are found away from the central district of Pompeii, it is possible to argue from the GPR analysis for the presence an elite off‐centre district possibly documenting suburban growth that reresents a newly wealthy society produced by the growing economy at the time of the eruption. The importance of collecting GPR reflection data in different directions was apparent in this study, as many of the architectural features of interest were visible in some profiles but not visible in others, depending on the orientation of the antenna dipolar field orientations. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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