Resistivity

Hampton Hills: The Search for Buried Archaeology

Surveying with a Geoscan electrical resistivity meter was also used to gather data at the project site.  Resistivity readings measure the resistance of a matrix to the passage of electrical current.  The application of this method provided an indication of the depth and thickness of possible features as well as features that won’t respond to a magnetic survey.  As a comparative tool, features discovered by one of the survey techniques can be used to validate the other. 

Electrical resistivity surveying was completed at the same grid locations as the magnetometer transects.  The sample density was set at two readings per meter to provide sufficient data for analysis.  The resistivity collected was conducted by walking in a zig-zag pattern with intervals every one meter.    

The raw survey data was downloaded into GeoPlot from the resistivity meter and a shaded plot was created.  Below is an image of the unprocessed resistivity data.