The large-scale archaeological prospection surveys at Uppåkra and Birka are conducted by the
Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology (LBI-ArchPro). The LBI-ArchPro is a scientific research institute founded in April 2010 in Austria. It is dedicated to the development of new techniques and methodological concepts for landscape archaeology. Together with eight European
partner organizations new methods are tested in the framework of large scale
case studies.
In the United Kingdom the entire landscape visible from
Stonehenge monument (the so called "envelope") is being mapped. The first fieldwork campaign in 2010 resulted in the discovery of a new
henge structure some 900 m from the main document.
In
Sweden two large scale case studies are conducted: the Iron Age settlement site Uppåkra and the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site Birka-Hovgården will be subject to large scale archaeological prospection. Collaboration partners are the Swedish LBI-ArchPro partner
Riksantikvarieämbetet UV, the University of Lund and
MALÅ Geoscience.
The first surveys were conducted at Uppåkra in September 2010. The second large scale magnetometer survey was conducted in
April 2011. In total 175 interconnected hectares (=1.75 square kilometres) have been mapped with dense magnetometer measurements and some 40 hectares were mapped with high definition ground penetrating radar (GPR).
The considerable amount of collected data is being analysed and interpreted archaeologically. New methods for data analysis and interpretation are being developed as part of the research programme. Subsequently, results will be published, both in form of scientific publications as well as for the general public.
In Uppåkra museum there are currently four posters on display explaining the project and the methods used (magnetometry, GPR, LiDAR) as well as showing first results from the 2010 survey.
At Birka public presentations of the project and the latest results have been ongoing for the past two weeks both in Swedish and English language. These presentations will continue until Wednesday.
