Roland Filzwieser

Over the course of four years (2012–2015) the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI ArchPro), in collaboration with the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG) and on behalf of the provincial government of Lower Austria, has conducted the comprehensive, non-invasive archaeological prospection project entitled “ArchPro Carnuntum”. The purpose of this project has been to generate a basis for future archaeological research and the sustainable spatial planning and cultural heritage management in the area. By combining new information on buried archaeology using different aerial and ground-based archaeological prospection methods and a thorough archaeological interpretation of the combined data within the framework of a GIS environment, it was possible to document Carnuntum’s archaeological heritage, which is threatened by a dramatic increase in erosion and destruction through ploughing, infrastructure development and looting by treasure hunters. In total, an area covering eight square kilometres was explored at very high sampling resolution using magnetic prospection methods, while 2.5 square kilometres were mapped with ultra-high resolution ground-penetrating radar measurements. The results of the project and the spatio-temporal analysis and interpretation of the prospection data are presented here as a preliminary report.

Since 2010 the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP) has undertaken extensive archaeological prospection across much of the landscape surrounding Stonehenge. These remote sensing and geophysical surveys have revealed a significant number of new sites and landscape features whilst providing new information on many previously known monuments. The project goal to integrate multimethod mapping over large areas of the landscape has also provided opportunities to re‐interpret the landscape context of individual monuments and, in the case of the major henge at Durrington Walls, to generate novel insights into the structure and sequence of a monument which has attracted considerable research attention over many decades. This article outlines the recent work of the SHLP and the results of the survey at Durrington Walls that shed new light on this enigmatic monument including a site 'hidden' within the monument.

In 2014, a team of the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology, in collaboration with Holstebro Museum, conducted a geophysical archaeological prospection pilot study at several Viking Age and medieval sites in West Jutland, Denmark; sites that had been discovered earlier by aerial archaeology. The high‐resolution surveys employed motorized ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometer systems as well as novel post‐ processing software. The aim of this study was to test the suitability of these methods and the chosen approach to efficiently explore, investigate and document prehistoric settlements on a large scale under the prevalent environmental conditions in this part of Denmark. Over the course of five days of fieldwork, numerous structures of archaeological interest, such as the remains of longhouses, property boundaries, pathways, pit houses and other buried remains of the settlements, were detected and mapped. The combination of the data gathered by magnetic and GPR prospection with the already existing aerial imagery permitted an integrated archaeological interpretation, resulting in considerable new knowledge about the investigated sites. In this paper, we present the results obtained for the Viking Age settlement at Stadil Mølleby and a medieval village near Rysensten, both situated on sandy soils.

The complementary use of various archaeological prospection data sets offers a series of new possibilities for the investigation of prehistoric settlements. In addition to the separate interpretations of the single methods, the implementation of image fusion provides an additional tool to obtain an even higher degree of data integration during the interpretation process. To investigate some possibilities and risks of image fusion, a procedure frequently used in the medical field but rarely applied in archaeology, various algorithms inside a dedicated MATLAB toolbox TAIFU (Toolbox for Archaeological Image FUsion) were tested on the geophysical prospection data from an Iron Age settlement near Vesterager in West Jutland, Denmark. The Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology had conducted large-scale, high-resolution ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry surveys at the site in 2014, based on its discovery by the Ringkøbing Museum through aerial photos and the results of a follow-up excavation in 2009. The aim was to determine if, and to what extent, geophysical prospection together with a novel integrative interpretational approach was able to add more detailed information to an already known prehistoric settlement. Results yielded a variety of deeper insights into the separate farms (dated to around AD 400), including the discovery of several new structures and more information about the construction of the longhouses, as well as a first suggestion on how to implement image fusion into the process of analysis and archaeological interpretation of geophysical data sets.

Zusammenfassung Nordöstlich des Wolfgangsees befinden sich auf dem Falkenstein eine von einer Kapelle überbaute Höhle sowie eine Quelle. In der Ge-schichte wurden diese wiederholt mit den Legenden rund um Wolf-gang von Regensburg († 994) in Verbindung gebracht. Die Lichtung am Falkenstein, auf der sich Kapelle und Heilquelle befinden, wird seit dem Mittelalter durch einen nach St. Wolfgang führenden Pilger-weg besucht und ist weithin bekannt. In den letzten Jahren ergab sich die Möglichkeit, diesen Ort mit einer Kombination aus geschichts-wissenschaftlichen, archäologischen und naturwissenschaftlichen Methoden näher zu untersuchen und Licht auf seine Geschichte zu werfen. Im Zentrum der Untersuchungen stand eine neuzeitliche Klause, die im 17. und 18. Jh. einer Reihe von Einsiedlern als Behau-sung gedient hatte. Durch geophysikalische Prospektion und archäo-logische Grabungen konnten die Fundamente jener aus historischen Quellen bekannten Klause wiederentdeckt und erste Fragen zum Gebäude und seinen Bewohnern geklärt werden. Schlüsselbegriffe Salzburg, Prospektion, historische Archäologie, digitale Grabungs-dokumentation. Abstract – Archaeological examination of an early modern hermit-age at the Falkenstein in St. Gilgen, Salzburg In a clearing on the Falkenstein, northeast of the Wolfgangsee, there is a chapel built in front of a cave. This monument, together with a nearby well, is connected to the myth of Wolfgang of Regensburg († 994). Because of this association, the site has always drawn people's interest. Now, through analysis of historical records as well as the use of archaeological methods, it is possible to shed more light on its history. In the Middle Ages, this place was already a highly frequented pilgrim path that led travellers over the Falkenstein to St. Wolfgang. However, in this investigation, the focus lies on a post-medieval her-mitage that gave shelter to a series of hermits over the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Finally, most of the questions concerning the hermitage and its dwellers can be answered with the use of archaeological pros-pection techniques as well as excavation.