The Extended Data-Adaptive Probability-Based Electrical Resistivity Tomography Inversion Method (E-PERTI) for the Characterization of the Buried Ditch of the Ancient Egnazia (Puglia, Italy)

Abstract

A geoelectrical survey was carried out outside the walls of the ancient Egnazia (Puglia, Italy) with the aim of enriching the knowledge about its defense system. Nine Electrical Resistivity Tomographies (ERTs) were realized using the dipole-dipole (DD) electrode array, approximately transversal to the walls and equally spaced. The new Extended data-adaptive Probability-based Electrical Resistivity Tomography Inversion Method (E-PERTI) was applied, for the first time, to model the resistivity distribution of a large dataset. Considering some peculiar aspects of the general theory of probability, an optimization of results was reached giving major emphasis to one dataset portion rather than another and inspecting selectively vertical or lateral resistivity variations. In this way, sets of aligned resistivity lows attributable to the trace of an ancient ditch were found.

Keywords

• archaeological prospection
• resistivity tomography
• E-PERTI
• Egnazia