HR: 0830h
AN: NS41A-05    [Abstracts]
TI: Geoprospection of Mound A, Etowah Mounds State Park, Georgia
AU: Reppert, P M
EM: preppert@ara.com
AF: Applied Research Associates, 415 Waterman Road, South Royalton, VT 05068
AU: Schneider, K A
EM: kaschneider@fs.fed.us
AF: U.S. Department of Agriculture - Forest Service, 1720 Peachtree Rd NW , Atlanta, GA 30309
AU: * Garrison, E G
EM: egarriso@uga.edu
AF: Department of Geology The University of Georgia, GG Building Field Street, Athens, GA 30602-2501
AB: Mound A, located at Etowah Mounds State Park, Georgia, was the subject of a multi-sensor geoprospection study in 2001-02. Mound A, a late prehistoric mound, built by the Mississippian Culture, ca. 1250 - 1400 AD,is, due to its size, ~ 1 ha in area at the base and 20 m in height, a formidable subject for the use of shallow geoprospection techniques. Techniques used were ground radar (GPR), conductivity (EM) and electrical (resistivity) methods. Common Mid-Point (CMP) radar data produced detail on the mound interior from surface to base. Electrical pesudo-sections produced excellent detail of the mound's interior. The EM data appears relevant for only the upper half of the mound, perhaps to a depth of 10 m, and suggests significant heterogeneity in the sediment fill used in the mound's construction. Our results speak directly to the efficacy of shallow geophyscial techniques in exploring large archeological mounds and tells. Another important aspect of this study is the use of a geoprospection approach as a non-invasice methodology for characterizing culturally sensitive archaeological sites.
DE: 0699 General or miscellaneous
DE: 0925 Magnetic and electrical methods
DE: 0999 General or miscellaneous
SC: Near-Surface Geophysics [NS]
MN: 2005 Joint Assembly