Joint geophysical measurements to investigate the Rossano of Vaglio archaeological site (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy)

A high resolution geophysical survey was carried out in the archaeological site of Rossano di Vaglio (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy), where an important ancient sanctuary is located. It was built during the IV century B.C. and devoted to the goddess Mephitis. The sanctuary rises in an area affected by a multiple and retrogressive rototraslational landslide, historically and presently subject to reactivation. The main objective of this work was the identification of buried structures of archaeological interest in an area designated by the Archaeological Superintendence of the Basilicata Region. The study was performed by means of the use of high resolution geophysical surveys. In particular, we made use of the joint application of three highly sensitive and non-invasive geophysical techniques, namely the Geoelectrical, the Magnetic and the Ground Probing Radar (GPR) methodologies. In such a way, we obtained two important results: first, we provided the archaeologists with information about the limits of the areas to be excavated; second, we could verify in real time the reliability of the geophysical results. The experimental results showed four main magnetic anomalies in the area of study, in agreement with the GPR results obtained for the same target. Finally, a partial excavation test of the investigated area revealed a buried building structure, located in correspondence of an anomaly identified by means of the geophysical prospecting.