Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) attribute analysis for archaeological prospection

• Applicability of GPR attribute analysis for archaeological purposes was evaluated.
• A multi-attribute was used to characterize the subsurface in Aquileia, NE Italy.
• Instantaneous, section and volume attributes were included.
• Different buried remains in a very complex environment were identified.

We evaluate the applicability and the effectiveness of the GPR attribute analysis for archaeological purposes and we test the attribute analysis on GPR data obtained in the river harbor area of the Aquileia Archaeological Park, NE Italy, where cultural heritage of the Roman imperial period is buried at different depths beneath a silty loam layer at an average depth not greater than 3–4 m. A multi-attribute approach is used to characterize the subsurface through several attribute categories, including instantaneous, section and volume attributes applied to quantities related not only to the reflection amplitude, but also to frequency and phase or other more complex parameters. The results allow the identification of different buried archaeological remains, from brick walls to isolated stone chunks also in a very complex environment characterized by several interconnected or superimposed archaeological remains.