Warning: That excavation site near Bath changed more in 2 years than I expected

I went back to a dig I worked on in 2021, a Roman villa site close to Bath. Back then, the mosaics were still partially covered in soil and the outlines were barely visible. Now, they've been fully exposed and cleaned up, and the detail is stunning. Turns out a local university took over the project and used a new ground-penetrating radar method. Has anyone else seen a site transform that fast after new techniques were used?

2 comments

2 Comments

kellymurphy10h ago

Yeah I actually read a piece about this exact site in some archaeology newsletter a few months back. The new GPR tech they used there can map stuff like walls and floors from way deeper than the old stuff, so it makes sense the mosaics showed up better after they took a fresh look. It's wild how much a difference that radar makes compared to just digging blind and hoping for the best. I think a lot of old sites are gonna get revisited now that the equipment is cheaper too. Must've been cool to see the real thing again after all that soil came off though.

keith_henderson1h ago

Wouldn't that radar make old excavation sites worth a second look though?