Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey for the Study of the Church of Saint Cosma in Helerito (Tagliacozzo, L’Aquila, Italy)

Abstract

This paper deals with the application of geophysical prospections to the study of the Church of Saint Cosma in Helerito inside the Monastery of Saints Cosma and Damiano (Tagliacozzo, L’Aquila, Italy). The research aimed to verify the presence of buried ancient archaeological structures of a construction phase older than the current building. Thus, a grid of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profiles was carried out inside the building in the available spaces using a radar unit equipped with a multi-frequency antenna of 200–600 MHz. The analysis of 2D radargrams and horizontal slices relative to different temporal ranges led to the identification of significant regular patterns of the amplitude of the electromagnetic signals. The results suggest the presence of a buried structure below the analyzed surface.

Keywords

• GPR
• archaeological prospections
• Church of Saint Cosma in Helerito
• chapel of Saint Cosma in Sylvis