During the 2013 campaign on the defended site of Fondo Paviani, ERT and SLINGRAM (FDEM) geophysical tests were undertaken in order to ascertain the possibility of using such methods on the site. The ERT was carried out along the track which separates the “Campo Nord” from the “Campo Sud”, parallel to the excavated “E-W section”.

The chosen transept intercepted a portion of the site’s interior, the embankment, and the exterior area towards the valley to the east. An IRIS Syscal Pro 72 channels was used to investigate the subsoil to a depth of about 18.5 m. Based on the analyses of the results of this test the area on which to conduct the FDEM test was chosen, so as to intercept a sector in correspondence with the transition between the areas inside and outside the embankment.
The FDEM test covered c. 5 × 47 m divided into a 1 × 1 m grid and used a CMD Conductivity Meter.

The results showed the presence of a number of interesting structures. The embankment structure was highlighted and clearly defined. The structure, situated on the 70 m progressive metric, extended as far as the 80 m progressive down to a depth of c. 3 m. The resulting resistivity values suggest the structure is built of fine materials mixed with coarser elements and/or a sandy-silt matrix. Two highly conductive zones were present in the section, one below the embankment and the other between 25 m and 55 m progressives, attributable to structures of probable interest, having a power equal to about 5 m.

In the upper part of the section, a probable natural structure was intercepted at about 4m below the ground surface, whose effects were registered down to a depth of about 15 m. Given the depth and extension it can be excluded that this is a manmade structure. The EM measurements showed a marked lateral transition of electricity conductivity in correspondence with the embankment. The measurements defined the line of the embankment. The EM test confirmed the possibility of carrying out extensive, high quality quick surveys that could provide indications of the extension and position of the embankment structures in this context.