oa Acquisition, processing and inversion of magnetic data in archaeological prospecting

Magnetic prospecting is a powerful tool for locating and characterizing archaeological features in the shallow subsurface. The introduction of inexpensive optically pumped magnetometers with a resolution of better than 0.1nT facilitates magnetic prospecting for small structures with low susceptibility contrasts. To take full advantage of this new tool, appropriate acquisition strategies and new data analysis techniques are required. For example, applications of various digital signal processing routines allow the locations of archaeological structures to be more precisely determined. Furthermore, 3-D inversions of magnetic data can provide reliable information on the depth extent and shape of the buried objects. These new technologies have been applied in a multidisciplinary study of an archaeological site in northern Switzerland.