Quantifying Depth of Burial and Composition of Shallow Buried Archaeological Material: Integrated Sub-bottom Profiling and 3D Survey Approaches

Abstract

This chapter presents proof of concept results from a program of in situ experimental and shipwreck survey measurements using non-linear (parametric) sub-bottom profiler (SBP) acoustic technology. Currently adopted acoustic methods have practical limitations for in situ management purposes for underwater sites with buried archaeological material. Sidescan and multibeam sensors do not quantify material buried below the seabed; linear SBP surveys are challenging to operate in very shallow water and have difficulties with respect to interpretation in the top 30 cm of the seabed; and confidence estimates for parametric SBP depth of burial measurements have yet to be published. The prime purposes of this research, consequently, are: to quantify shallow buried archaeological sites in 3D with confidence estimates, by measuring the depth of sediment cover, thickness and lateral extent of buried archaeological material; and to investigate relationships between acoustic waveform parameters and the type and degradation condition of that buried material. This improved measurement and interpretation capability, when combined with the other geophysical search tools such as multibeam echo sounders and magnetometers, will also aid in the assessment of the archaeological research potential of underwater sites.