Uncovering The Mysteries Of Gore Place: A Gpr Case History

TheGore Place Estate, a historical landmark, was investigated using ground penetrating radar (GPR)<br>and total field magnetometry to identify any features of interest related to former ventilation, heating or<br>septic systems associated with the Revolutionary War era mansion.<br>GPR results from the north side of the building confirmed that a large buried structure is present<br>below the brick archways on the building north facade. Large reflectors indicating a collapse are also<br>observed in that area, and may correlate to the former building which burned in the 1790s.<br>On the south side of the building, time-depth slices reveal a linear feature, presumably a shallow air<br>duct, trending from the center of the building towards the southwest. A brick-lined air duct was discovered<br>at ground surface, approximately 300 feet southwest of the building, following the same trend as the linear<br>feature detected with GPR. The purpose of the air duct was presumably to create a powerful draw for the<br>heating and ventilation system.<br>Amagnetic anomaly in excess of 2,000 gammaswasobserved coincident with thepresumed location<br>of a Revolutionary War era cistern. However, since the magnitude of the anomaly suggests the presence of<br>steel, not just brick, this structure, first believed to be the original cistern, must represent a more modern<br>structure.<br>Two ducts were detected using time-depth slice imaging within the Great Hall floor. The more<br>contemporary metal duct shows up clearly on the time-depth images, and connects two air vents located<br>south of the east and west chimneys. The older air duct, located just south of the chimneys centerline,<br>appears partially collapsed on the GPR records.