The Role of Resistivity Survey in Historic Site Assessment and Management: An Example from Fort Riley, Kansas

An electrical resistivity survey of the Army City site exemplifies how geophysics can enhance the investigation and management of large historic sites. Army City was a civilian-owned commercial complex that provided goods and services to World War I era troops training at Fort Riley, Kansas. The use of resistivity at Army City enhanced the reliability of inferences about the nature and integrity of deposits, reduced the long-term costs of site management, and helped identify biases in historic maps. Geophysical techniques have the potential to play an important role in cultural resource management. Archaeologists in the United States need to develop a better understanding of the applicability and reliability of various geophysical techniques and to identify ground-truthing strategies that achieve the best balance of information return, cost, and impact to the site.