The use of non-invasive techniques for the investigation of sites of potential archaeological interest has grow over recent years. In magnetometry, for example, differences, or local anomolies, in the magnetic field relative to the earth's magnetic field are measured. These anomolies are due to local variations of magnetic susceptibility in the subsurface of the site caused by archaeological features such as walls, ditches etc. Readings collected over a site can be display as an image. These images, however, are degraded by noise and blur so can be difficult to interpret. A statistical description of this produces models which are very similar to those used in other application of remote sensing, even though source and detection equipment are somewhat different. Traditional inversion procedures, such as Fourier or Weiner filter methods rarely produce acceptable estimates. Statistical approaches to inverse data problems have been widely used over the last 10 to 15 years and have been particularly useful in areas such as medical imaging. These methods are also proving useful in archaeology, and make it possible to consider more interesting and challenging models. This work is joint with John Haigh (Mathematics, University of Bradford) and in collaboration with archaeologists from the University of Bradford.
The Secret Treasures of Zeugma: A BBC Horizon programme investigating a Greek/Roman site on the banks of the Euphrates in Turkey before a huge dam lead to the valley being flooded. Good use of magnetometry. Sorry this link has now gone...
Physics and archaeology: A very good article from Physics World looking at physics-based methods in archaeology - including magnetometry.
Aykroyd, R.G., Haigh, J.G.B. and Allum, G.T. (2001) Bayesian methods applied to survey data from archeological magnetometry. JASA, 96, no. 453, 64-76.
Allum, G. T., Aykroyd, R. G. and Haigh, J. G. B. (1999). Bayesian estimation for archaeological stratigraphy. JRSS-C, Applied Statistics, 48 , 1-14.
Allum, G. T., Aykroyd, R. G. and Haigh, J. G. B. (1998). Reconstruction of survey data from archaeological magnetometry using the OSL algorithm. Research Report No. STAT-98/04.
Allum, G. T. (1997). A statistical approach to inverse data problems in archaeological geophysics. PhD Thesis, Department of Statistics, University of Leeds.
Allum, G. T., Aykroyd, R. G. and Haigh, J. G. B. (1997). Seeing beneath the surface: Imaging in archaeological geophysics. Proceedings in The Art and Science of Bayesian Image Analysis, 213-214. Edited by K. V. Mardia, C. A. Gill and R. G. Aykroyd. Leeds University Press.
Allum, G. T., Aykroyd, R. G. and Haigh, J. G. B. (1996). Restoration of magnetometry data using inverse-data methods. CAA95: Interfacing the Past. Edited by H. Kamermans and K. Fennema. Analecta Praehistorica Leidensia, 28, 111-119.
Allum, G. T., Aykroyd, R. G. and Haigh, J. G. B. (1995). A new statistical approach to reconstruction from area magnetometry data. Archaeolgical Prospection, 2(4), 197-205.