Geophysical survey and archaeological data at Masseria Grasso (BN, Italy)

The use of geophysical methods in metrology is a signifcant tool within the wide research topic of landscape archaeology context. Since 2011, the Ancient Appia Landscapes Pro ject aims to recognize dynamics, shapes and layout of the ancient settlement located along the Appia road east of Benevento, and cyclical elements and human activities that infu enced the choice of landscapes. The integration of geophysical data with an archaeological infra-site analysis allowed us to investigate the area of Masseria Grasso, about 6 km from Benevento (Campania region, Italy). In this framework, an archaeogeophysical approach (Geomagnetic and Ground Penetrating Radar) was adopted for detecting anomalies poten tially correlated with buried archaeological evidences. The geomagnetic results have given a wide knowledge of buried features in a large survey highlighting signifcant anoma lies associated with the presence of buildings, roads and open spaces. These geophysi cal results permitted us to defne the frst archaeological excavations and, successively, a detailed Ground Penetrating Radar approach has been provided highlighting the rooms and paved spaces. The overlap between archaeological dataset and geophysical surveys has also allowed recognizing the path of the ancient Appia road near the city of Benevento and hypothesize the settlement organization of the investigated area, which has been identifed with the ancient Nuceriola