This workshop - at the Archaeological Sciences department of the University of Bradford -will demonstrate some of the exciting ways in which science can be used to understand what happened in the past. Modern archaeology involves many scientific techniques, familiar through television programmes such as ‘Time Team’. The University of Bradford has an international reputation for teaching and research in these areas and this workshop will give you the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in two of the following areas:
Seeing the invisible- using electrical and magnetic measurement to detect buried remains without excavation
From trench to bench- using biological remains to find out what people ate in the past
Molecules through time- making and analysing prehistoric glue
The topics will be introduced using talks about the scientific principles, case-studies of archaeological sites and hands-on laboratory/field activities.
As the Director of the Stonehenge Riverside Project, Mike Parker-Pearson recently found himself at the centre of one of the decade's most exciting and significant discoveries - Bluestonehenge (or Bluehenge in early reports). But this new 'mini Stonehenge' is part of a much broader understanding of the area being built up by the Stonehenge Riverside Project as they try to put together a history of the area rather than focusing on individual monuments in isolation. In an illuminating lecture at Wiltshire Heritage Museum, Parker-Pearson revealed some surprising theories about the construction and meaning of the henges.
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have today released video footage of the newest Henge discovered in Britain, at the River Avon and less than a mile away from the world most famous stone circle. Bluestonehenge (or Bluehenge as it was originally called by the press) was named after the famous Welsh blue stones that are also incorporated - or maybe even reused - in the nearby Stonehenge. Dr Josh Pollard, co-director of the research project, explained: "This is an incredible discovery. The newly-discovered circle and henge should be considered an integral part of Stonehenge rather than a separate monument. Furthermore, it offers tremendous insight into the history of its famous neighbour. Its riverside location demonstrates once again the importance of the River Avon in Neolithic funerary rites and ceremonies."
In September of 2008 a paper came out in the Journal of Applied Geophysics, which reported on a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey of the site of “Le Pozze” in Lonato, Northern Italy. Most of the findings were from the Roman period and include the discovery of a large villa and public building. The researchers estimate that the two structures combined extended over nearly 10,000 square meters of space.
Here is the stopper – the survey was done in 2004. It took four years until it appeared in a journal.
Developed in the 1970’s, Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) uses radio waves to detect and map underground objects and soil/rock strata. In the last three decades archaeologists have made extensive use of the technology. It allows them to detect, map and analyze archaeological remains without putting a shovel into the ground.
How it works
The science behind GPR is complex and has been the source of plenty of headaches for archaeology students. A very basic explanation of the technology works like this:
The antenna of a GPR system shoots radio pulses into the ground. Each pulse travels through the ground as a wave.
Within the ground there are different layers of subsurface materials (soils, rocks and, hopefully, archaeological remains).
Every time this wave comes in contact with a new layer of soil or debris, the velocity of the wave changes. This causes some of the energy of the wave to “bounce” back as a reflected wave.
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It can provide a powerful and intuitive means of communicating complex information to non-geophysicists.
In September of 2008 a 
