Measuring Magnetic Susceptibility to Determine Deposits in Field Archaeological Research at the Mikulčice Site : Use of magnetic susceptibility in field archaeological research

Abstract

The submitted paper presents the possibilities of specific use of a simple geophysical method in the conditions of an ongoing archaeological excavation. It demonstrates an effective (i.e., quick, inexpensive, and beneficial) method that greatly enhances the knowledge gained from archaeological context analysis and thus contributes to a more accurate interpretation of the excavated portion of the historic strata. For example, field measurements of magnetic susceptibility can help to correctly interpret the genesis of individual layers, to distinguish individual phases in a visually indistinguishable stratum, or to indicate layers (and stone walls) that have undergone heating, etc. A detailed geophysical measurement of magnetic susceptibility was carried out on a section with archaeologically excavated relics of fortifications on the outskirts of the early medieval Mikulčice – Valy hillfort and the results were then critically confronted with the archaeological interpretation. This mutual multidisciplinary approach is also methodologically significant. Geophysics reveals certain information that is invisible to the archaeologist's eye, and may provide important clues to the correct interpretation of the archaeological context. Archaeological research, in turn, provides more precise information on the reasons and possible source of changes in magnetic susceptibility values of different layers and materials.