Geophysical investigation at the Castle of Ceglie Messapica (Italy)

The castle of Ceglie Messapica was originally born as a fortification – a lookout point. According to some hypotheses, the construction of the central core, consisting of a Norman tower alongside the square tower that was built in the following centuries, dates back to around 1070-1100. The first family to live there was the Pagano family.The castle was abandoned for several years, and a restoration project was presented in 2019. Before the restoration, geophysical investigations were carried out to identify the presence of metal reinforcement bars in the structure of the castle. 58 corbels were analysed using Ground – Penetrating radar (GPR), method. GPR data were acquired along parallel profiles 5 cm spaced using the Ris Hi-Mod georadar system with the 2000MHz antenna. GPR data were processed in a 3D mode using Gpr-slice software. Results well evidenced the 3D distribution of the metal bars and their advanced corrosion that causes stability problems.