Integration of infrared thermography and high-frequency electromagnetic methods in archaeological surveys

An integration of high-resolution non-destructive techniques is presented for the inspection and evaluation of ancient architectonic structures.The attention of this work is focused on the integration of both techniques for inspection of architectonic structures. First, an integration of techniques is performed in laboratory by considering an ad hoc specimen with insertion of anomalies. Then, the techniques are used for the inspection in situ of some important Italian archaeological sites, such as Pompei (Naples) and Nora (Cagliari). In the first site, the exploration is devoted to the analysis of wall decoration of the architectonical complex of Villa Imperiale with the aim to support the hypothesis that attributes the Villa to Imperial property as well as to evaluate the state of conservation of frescoes and underneath structure. As main findings, the applied techniques allows for detection of hidden previous decorative layers and for discrimination of different types of paint used as well as for identification of areas damaged by ingression in-depth of moisture and/or by disaggregation of the constituent materials. In the archaeological area of Nora, instead, the prospecting is devised to the evaluation of the state of degradation of two significant buildings of the ancient site: the temple and the theatre. Due to the very high horizontal and vertical resolution of the performed surveys, detailed physical anomaly maps of the investigated structures are obtained. Large portions of the masonry walls appear interested by decomposition of the mortar binding the stone blocks, which sometimes propagates along the whole stone wall. The information coming from a joint interpretation of IRT and GPR data allows detailed 3D images of the two investigated buildings, which are useful for future restoration planning.