Three-dimensional ground penetrating radar surveys at Grotte dell’Angelo (Pertosa, Salerno province, Southern Italy)

I. Catapano (a), A. Loperte (b), A. Satriani (b), F. Larocca (c), A. Affinito (a), F. Soldovieri (a) & M. Amato (d)
(a) Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environmental (IREA) – National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 80124 Napoli – Italy. E-mail: soldovieri.f@irea.cnr.it (b) Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IMAA) – National Research Council of Italy (CNR), 85050 Tito (PZ) – Italy. E-mail: loperte@imaa.cnr.it (c) University of Bari, "Aldo Moro", 70124 Bari, Italy. (d) University of Basilicata, Department of Crop, Forest and Environmental Sciences, Via AteneoLucano,10, 85100 Potenza, Italy.

Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is a well assessed electromagnetic tool for subsurface imaging and is widely adopted in several Earth Sciences, such as geophysics, geology and archeology, in order to gather information on buried structures in non-invasive way and without performing excavations. In this communication, we report on the GPR measurement campaign carried out at Grotte dell’Angelo, Pertosa, Salerno province, Southern Italy, one of the most famous sites of the Cilento and Vallo di Diano geopark. This site, beyond to be a striking nature trail, is of archeological interest since a prehistoric pile dwelling settlement was discovered in the cavern at the end of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, large part of this ruins was destroyed and the surviving ones are not visible being covered by an embankment and the river crossing the cave. In this frame, GPR survey have been recently carried out with a two- fold aim: to support the outcomes of previous archaeological investigations and to infer about the presence of pile-dwelling structures in a not previously investigated area.

Archeological surveys, Grotte dell’Angelo, ground penetrating radar, microwave tomography, natural and cultural resources of the geoparks