Concurrently, our participants will be trained in using SenSoft’s GPR analytical software application package, EKKO Project Suite, to become proficient in analyzing GPR data, maximizing the results. All the data collected will be analyzed by each GPR crew, comparing, integrating and extrapolating the data/results obtained from both 500MHz and 250MHz antennas. At the end of the 5-day Workshop, each group will be required to produce a professional report and present their results in a podium presentation setting.

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          The comparative approach between the two GPR systems (500MHz and 250MHz) and field configurations (cart and rough terrain), combined with the intensive hands-on, data oriented, results driven focus of the Workshop, as well as the low ratio participant:instructor is guaranteed to provide field GPR training of the highest quality, both in terms of data generation and analysis, and professional deployment and research. Upon completion of this program, participants will have the skill set and knowledge required to plan, conduct, analyze, and interpret successful GPR surveys in any terrestrial setting.  This process will present a variety of anthropogenic and natural challenges, from working in diverse field conditions, to dealing with sites containing a combination of known and unknown modern and ancient features.  The whole experience is intended to be intensive and collaborative, with a focus on experiential learning and application of processing, collecting, and interpreting data to real sites.

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          In terms of practical applications, the two GPR antennas and configurations we deploy during this Workshop are the systems of choice in archaeology, forensics and shallow subsurface urban mapping (SUM), for locating buried structures, graves, utilities, root systems, etc., as well as variations in pedology and geology down to about 4-6m (or 13-19ft) depth. During the 2022 field season, we will investigate 2-3 archaeological sites in Southern Transylvania (Romania), situated in or near urban settings. These sites provide an unparalleled access to a diverse set of features and conditions.  We address urban and proto-urban settlement construction, complex anthropogenic stratigraphic relationships, variation in soil structure and conditions, wide range of materials and their use/reuse, unmapped ancient and modern utilities, potential graves, modern and ancient civil works projects (including the remains of roads, aqueducts, and wells), changes in hydrogeological environment caused by modern human intervention (such as the construction and operation of a thermal power plant on the Micia site), and any additional and as-yet undiscovered features.

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          Our feature targets are as follows:

• Medieval Castle of Sanpaul. Situated just outside the village of Sanpaul, the castle was initially built in the 13th century as a fortified residence for the local nobility. It was modified several times to suit the "winds of history" until it was finally abandoned during the 19th century and the above ground parts dismantled during the 20th century to turn the area into agricultural land. As a result, we have 600 years of castle history buried less than a meter underground, a perfect environment for GPR exploration.

• Medieval Fortified Church of Meresti. During the Middle Ages, the Meresti village was the richest village in the entire region due to its commercial connections. As a consequence, they built, on a hill next to the village, a great fortified stone church during the 13th century. During the 19th century, the church was destroyed and it was removed from local memory. We have located it through archive research, followed by field surveys and a brief GPR investigation. We currently plan to have the entire Lost Church of Meresti, and its cemetery, fully mapped.

• Uroi Castle. Situated in the village of Uroi (Hunedoara County, Romania), it was a medium size medieval military fortress, aimed at controlling one of the many crossings over the Mures River, most likely along the ancient Roman road. The massive andesite walls offer different challenges to GPR exploration and interpretation, both because of the topography generated by the destruction of the castle as well as the resulting stratigraphy. It is an ideal environment to deploy and compare the two system configurations for shallow exploration and the different frequency transducers.

• Roman Castrum and Municipium of Micia. Situated in the village of Vetel (Hunedoara County, Romania), it is one of the largest and most intricate archaeological urban sites in Transylvania, featuring three centuries of intensive and extensive Roman occupation.  Beginning in 102AD as complex fortified military camps, it later expanded into a large village and then a full city, complete with amphitheater, baths, temples, manufacturing, shops, plazas, large and small habitation structures, and two cemeteries with funerary monuments.  The Roman site was then taken over by migratory people with variable architectural skill who modified the site according to their needs and perception for over four centuries.  During communist times, a thermal power plant and a couple of roads were built on the site, destroying about 20% of it, introducing a modern twist to our GPR research area in the form of unmapped buried utilities and buried support/temporary structures.

          Our Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) Field Applications Workshop is a standalone program that can be either taken on its own, as a 5-day Workshop, independently from our other existing projects, or in combination with our Roman Excavation, as a 4-week Geophysical Exploration and Roman Excavation program. Note that the basic introductory training program offered by Sensors and Software (SenSoft), one of the two leading North American companies in GPR manufacturing and research, a ONE Day GPR Short Course, costs $400. GSSI, the other leading North American GPR company, currently offer a similar TWO Day Short Course, at US$800. Their classes usually run with 10 participants (or more), room and board not included.