10 years of LBI ArchPro: Large-scale, high-resolution geophysical prospection projects in Europe

Abstract

The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro) is, together with its international partner organisations, dedicated to the development of new techniques and methodological concepts for large-scale landscape archaeology. Its interdisciplinary research programme combines geophysics, remote sensing and computer sciences to develop more efficient, universally applicable approaches for the non-invasive detection, documentation, analysis, interpretation, and visualisation of archaeological sites and landscapes. Over the past ten years, the LBI ArchPro was able to conduct numerous extensive archaeological prospection projects throughout Europe, significantly contributing to increased knowledge and understanding of important cultural heritage sites. Special publicity was generated in connection with ‘The Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project’ in the UK, the ‘ArchPro Carnuntum Project’ in Austria, and the discovery of a Viking Age ship burial in Norway. The presentation will provide an overview on the technical developments of the past decade as well as an insight into the current research of the LBI ArchPro. Several prominent discoveries will be discussed, and the integration of different measurement methods and joint archaeological analysis illustrated.