Ground-penetrating radar survey on the island of Pantelleria (Italy) reveals an ancient architectural complex with likely Punic and Roman components

A ground-penetrating radar (GPR) survey conducted on the small volcanic island of Pantelleria, in the Strait of Sicily, south-central Mediterranean, revealed an apparent complex of Punic/Roman architecture. The survey focused on the Lago di Venere area, where a previously investigated ritual Punic site was built alongside a brackish volcanic lake. The site also exhibits evidence of earlier Eneolithic components and later Roman components. The full extent of the site has remained undetermined, however, with only the small area of the Punic ritual complex having been excavated from 1996 to 2002. The GPR survey was intended to explore whether additional architecture remained unseen in surrounding areas, thus taking a first step toward determining the site's full spatial extent and archaeological potential. This survey revealed a complex of architectural ruins beneath an active agricultural field immediately west of the previously excavated features, and extending to a depth of approximately 2 m. These newly discovered features expand the known architectural footprint of the immediate site by three-fold. This GPR study is the first published archaeo-geophysical investigation on the island.