Ground-Penetrating Radar investigations into the construction techniques of the Concordia Temple (Agrigento, Sicily, Italy)

Over thepastdecade,ground-penetratingradar (GPR)hasbeenrecognizedasbeingparticularlywell adapted to the non-destructive survey of archaeological sites.The present work discusses such an application of the GPR to the study of the foundation geometry of the ConcordiaTemple in Agrigento (Sicily, southern Italy). Radardatawere collectedusinga pulse EKKO1000 unit (Sensorsand Software,Inc.)with 225MHz antennae.The GPR data showa regular sequence of short reflectors alternatingwith‘signalblanked’ areaslocated at approximately 50 nsinthe peristyle and a continuoushorizontal reflectorat approximately 30 nswithintheinnerpart of thetemple (the cell).Theseresultsmayindicate that the construction technique used in the temple was not a compact and homogeneous retainingwall, consisting of an outside layer of bricks and various grouting materials, as was previously thought. The twodimensional images indicate, instead, that the Greeks made use of the geomorphology of the surrounding area, which involved exploiting the surrounding landscape to obtain foundations (artificial and natural) capable of supporting suchmonumental and stately buildings. Furthermore, the paper demonstratesthevalidityofthistechniquetoinvestigatethefoundationgeometryofanancient temple, where it is undesirable to apply a destructive technique