Institute for Mediterranean Studies

Sikyon Survey Project

Sikyon Survey Project

The project is concerned with the geophysical investigations which are being carried out at the archaeological site of Sikyon.

2004 (Phase I)

The geophysical investigations which took place at the archaeological site of Sikyon (10-15 October 2004), were carried out as a collaboration between I.M.S. - F.O.R.T.H. (A. Sarris, Th. Kalpaxis, E. Kappa, E. Kokkinou, N. Papadopoulos, G. Stamatis & V. Trigas), the University of Thessaly (Y. Lolos & D. Dimitriadis) and the Local Archaeological Service of Korinth (A. Mantis).

Geophysical investigations were concentrated on the NW part of the site, south of the Roman Baths.  An area of 10.800m2 was scanned through magnetic and soil resistance techniques.  Part of the site was also covered using the multiplexer resistivity techniques, allowing the mapping of the archaeological relics at different depths.  A large number of subsurface targets was suggested by the corresponding measurements, with a high correlation degree between the geophysical methods.

2005 (Phase II)

The 2nd phase of the geophysical investigations in the archaeological site of Sikyon took place during the period of 17-26 June 2005. The investigations constitute part of the collaboration agenda among I.M.S. - F.O.R.T.H. (A. Sarris, Th. Kalpaxis, N. Papadopoulos, D. Alexakis, G. Aresti, E. de Marco, M. Karaouli, M. Katifori, K. Simirdani & V. Trigas), the University of Thessaly (Y. Lolos & D. Dimitriadis) and the Local Archaeological Service of Korinth (A. Mantis). Geophysical investigations were focused to the north and east sections of the archaeological site, to the south of the Roman Baths. Magnetic and soil resistance techniques covered an area of 9.320m2. Part of the site was covered with multiplexer Twin probe array, allowing the mapping of the site at different depths. Controlled experiments using the GPR and surface ERT were also carried out in the area of the basilica which was revealed in the 1st phase of the geophysical investigations.

Measurements of the soil resistance and the vertical magnetic gradient indicated the continuation of the architectural relics of the site. Part of the borders of the ancient Agora has been also suggested by the above techniques. A 450MHz antenna and an EKKO 1000 GPR unit were employed to obtain stratigraphic information along 55 parallel transects above the region of basilica. Horizontal slices were created for different depths allowing the 3D reconstruction of the basilica ruins.

Based on the above, it was suggested that the architectural features extend at a depth less than 150-160cm below the current surface of the ground. The above were also verified through the use of electrical tomography measurements, which were carried out using SYSCAL Pro and its multiplexer along 28 parallel profiles, 1m apart, using the Dipole-Dipole configuration of electrodes.