Topic

Archaeological geophysics

Use of ground-penetrating radar and related remote-sensing methods to map buried structures without excavation.

Current stories

scienceOne report1 publisher

Review of Tutankhamun tomb scans revives the hidden-chamber case ahead of a possible drill test

Mamdouh Eldamaty's team has published a review of geophysical surveys at Tutankhamun's tomb that he says suggests hidden structures beyond its walls. Other experts are cautious, and any link to Nefertiti still rests on scan readings taken through a painted wall.

Publishers:scientificamerican.com

Reality

Evidence35
Adoption: Insufficient
Hype gap+30
Incentives: Insufficient
Confidence35

scienceConfirmed2 publishers

A first microgravity survey at Tutankhamun's tomb points to a rubble-packed corridor

Mamdouh Eldamaty's team combined ground-penetrating radar with the first microgravity measurements taken at KV62 and reports a corridor about two metres wide packed with rubble, with the camera test still waiting on Egyptian permits.

Publishers:discovermagazine.comphys.org

Reality

Evidence45
Adoption: Insufficient
Hype gap+35
Incentives40
Confidence55

scienceOne report1 publisher

A German-Serbian resurvey more than triples the population estimate for the Vinca site at Opovo

Surface collection, geophysics and coring at Opovo Ugar-Bajbuk between 2022 and 2024 put the late Neolithic settlement above 9 hectares with up to 220 houses and more than 700 people at its peak. The house sizes vary too little to mark out a wealthy few.

Publishers:phys.org

Reality

Evidence62
Adoption: Insufficient
Hype gap+18
Incentives55
Confidence56

scienceOne report1 publisher

Microgravity readings suggest low-density, chamber-like structures behind Tutankhamun's north wall

Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities is weighing a proposal to drill and send camera-carrying miniature tractors through, on the strength of 1,200 gravity readings and a rereading of surveys that earlier teams called empty.

Publishers:nature.com

Reality

Evidence38
Adoption12
Hype gap+34
Incentives66
Confidence56

scienceOne report1 publisher

Radar found a 1256 convent a metre under a Roskilde pitch before the diggers arrived

Ground-penetrating radar mapped four wings of St Clare's Convent beneath a sports field earmarked for an underground car park, overturning the assumption that its remains were gone.

Publishers:discovermagazine.com

Reality

Evidence44
Adoption28
Hype gap+22
Incentives62
Confidence52