2026/07/24 by Austin Chad Hill, Austin Hill, Mark T. Lycett +5
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Geophysical and Geoelectrical Methods #Soil Geostatistics and Mapping #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/aaq.2026.10194
Abstract Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) is commonly used in geophysical and environmental surveys because it allows for rapid and high-quality resolution of large depositional features over a wide area. It is generally less able to resolve small anthropogenic features, however, so it has had a slower uptake among archaeologists despite several promising applications over the last two decades. Traditional soil resistivity (ER) surveys are generally limited to two-dimensional surveys at a given depth based on the probe spacing and array selected. As an extension of our ongoing work using ER to detect shallow but spatially extensive patterns at a large urban site of Brahmagiri in southern India, we experimented with using our Frobisher Tar-3 resistance meter to create a “pseudosection”—a narrow but deep remotely sensed profile of a Neolithic ashmound. Ashmounds are large accumulations of vitrified cattle dung, and as such, are appropriate targets for ERT. In our ongoing work at Brahmagiri, one of the most well-known sites in southern India, we located no fewer than nine ashmounds covering an area of more than 10 ha. First reported here, these features add significantly to our understanding of the South Indian Neolithic. Given the size, distribution, and depositional context of the ashmounds, ERT appears to be a promising method for studying these important features.