The Greek Culture Ministry issued an official statement on the geophysical and geological mapping of the Casta hill in Amphipolis where the Alexander the Great era tomb was discovered. “The geophysical and geological mapping of Casta hill in Amphipolis started on November 11, 2014, and was conducted with interruptions due to unfavorable weather conditions,” started the statement. The research team is headed by Gregorios Tsokas, Director of the Laboratory of Applied Geophysics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Professor Panagiotis Tsourlos, Associate Professor George Vargemezis, graduate students and other scientific staff from the laboratory. The research focused on modeling the soil according to the era before the intervention for the dome’s construction. For this purpose, geological and tectonic observations were performed along with several electrical tomographies. Recent dirt removals and earlier excavations have created room to observe the geological formations’ position and characteristics. The subsoil around the dome area was investigated. Area prospecting was conducted by applying the method of electrical resistivity tomography and, to a very small extent, the method of subsurface radar (known as GPR – Ground Penetrating Radar) due to the specific geological and archaeological conditions. The geophysical survey gave illustrations of the hill’s interior where static structures were identified, which were further investigated. In one case, north of the dome, the removal of soil revealed that the subsurface structure illustrated with electrical scans was a natural formation. “Some other points that have been identified require further excavation research. The research continues, when weather conditions permit,” the official report concluded.
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