Shallow geophysical investigations at the Akhmim archaeological site, Suhag, Egypt

Ground penetrating radar, electromagnetic terrain conductivity, and electric tomography have proven to be effective tools if they are combined together to investigate archeological sites. We have conducted a geophysical survey at the Akhmim archaeological site, the main objective of our survey is to locate additional buried structures for further excavation. Geophysical data were acquired in the area using the GEM-300 multi-frequency terrain conductivity profiler, the SIR 2000 ground penetrating radar, and the Syscal R2 resistivity meter systems. The results of the integrated interpretation show a number of buried features and a strong linear zone about 1 m wide that coincides with the suspected trend of a buried wall. There appears to be two parallel ridges of strong reflections on either side, indicating two parallel walls extended East-West and a room is identified at the bottom left corner of the site. Moreover, the interpretation results of some selected GPR and dipole-dipole resistivity profiles adjacent to the open-air museum suggest the existence of a second statue of Ramses II to the right of the previously discovered statue which could still be buried in the sand.