Integrated geophysical archaeological prospection resulting in the discovery of the school of gladiators in the Roman town of Carnuntum in Austria

Abstract

In the Roman town of Carnuntum 40 km south-east of Vienna (Austria) the unique discovery of a school of gladiators was made using a multi-disciplinary approach based on high-resolution near-surface geophysical prospection. The outstandingly well preserved architecture was revealed through non-invasive mapping using latest highly efficient multichannel ground penetrating radar systems. Foundations of a building complex including a circular training arena surrounded by wooden stands, the gladiator’s living quarters, practice fields and an associated cemetery were mapped in unprecedented detail. In this paper, state-of-the-art near-surface geophysical prospection involving large-scale data acquisition, precise real-time positioning, and efficient data processing followed by detailed geophysical and archaeological interpretation is presented.