Ground Penetrating Radar Survey over a buried Roman Farmhouse Estate in Lindau, ZH
Student : Aurélia Meister
Supervisor: Dr. Cedric Schmelzbach, Institute of Geophysics, ETH Zurich, Dr. Patrick Nagy, Kantonsarchäologie Zurich
In 1971, the remains of a Roman farmhouse estate were excavated and subsequently re-buried on the eastern side of the road in Lindau, ZH. In 2015, a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) survey carried out on the western side revealed another part of the building complex. With the aim of finding more remains of the Roman villa, in the framework of this Bachelor Thesis, I investigated the eastern part using GPR imaging. Providing detailed 3D information, the GPR survey revealed several linear and rectangular structures about 15 cm below the surface, having a depth extent of about 35 cm. Most of those features could be related to the formerly excavated remains. Only few further remains were discovered. However, based on the geophysical data obtained from the previous measurements in 2015 as well as on the one collected during this survey, it was possible to link the interpretation of the western area to the structures identified in the east. The combination of both data sets results in a more complete subsurface image showing the main building of the farmhouse and a possible enclosing wall.