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Between 2010 and 2012, the AROURA project conducted magnetometric prospection in the ancient polder around the Late Bronze Age (ca. 1300–1190 b.c.) fortress of Glas, mainland Greece. As had been hypothesized, the anomalies detected were consistent with a system of agricultural fields. This system appears to have been irrigated and drained through previously identified hydraulic mechanisms in and around the polder. Comparison of soil profiles of anomalies with those of background areas, including their magnetic susceptibilities, corroborated magnetometric data. Anomalies were traced from sampled to unsampled areas through corresponding reclassified satellite bandwidths. Constituent sediments of features discovered were dated to the Late Bronze Age through AMS radiocarbon and OSL analyses. The results validated the use of extensive geophysics to detect and investigate ancient agricultural landscapes.
Acknowledgments
We are indebted to the Institute for Aegean Prehistory for generous grants and material assistance, to our colleagues at IX EPCA and the American School of Classical Studies, under whose aegis we worked, and to Jost Knauss, emeritus professor, Technical University of Munich, for fieldnotes and offprints given in the spirit of scientific cooperation. We are also grateful for the guidance of Vassileios Aravantinos, initial Co-Director and Superintendent Emeritus of IX EPCA, and geophysical assistance of Allison Cuneo of Boston University.