GROUND-PENETRATING RADAR SURVEY Dr. Frank Vento   Frank Vento using a resistivity meter in the Podere Funghi (above) and with the help of son Frank Vento, Jr., Robert Belanger, and Robert Vander Poppen (below). Statement by Robert Belanger Field Supervisor of Trench PF 6 The interpretation of Trench PF 6 and the Podere Funghi as a whole benefited greatly by a visit on Wednesday, 11 July 2001, from geologist and geoarcheologist Dr. Frank Vento from Clarion University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Vento's compositional analysis of the harsh soils of the Podere Funghi helped to explain why ground cracking is so prevalent and why so few faunal remains have been discovered, on account of soil acidity and water absorption tendencies of the natural geologic makeup of the field. In an attempt to better understand the dimensions of the structure, and also to explore probable habitation sites elsewhere in the Podere Funghi, Dr. Vento and his son Frank conducted a ground probing radar survey of the area to look for architectural anomalies in the soil. Results were favorable approximately one meter north of locus 2 and were confirmed by a resistivity survey in the same grid conducted by Robert Vander Poppen, Katy Blanchard, and I that morning. These non-intrusive methods may confirm the anticipated corner of an east-west running wall parallel to that in Unit PF 5, although excavation will be required to ascertain its exact location. Robert Vander Poppen assisting in the resistivity survey. Above and below: Frank Vento and Frank Vento, Jr. use ground-penetrating radar in the Podere Funghi.   Co-Directors: Gregory Warden gwarden@mail.smu.edu and Michael Thomas mlthomas@mail.utexas.edu Excavation house phone during the field season: (011-39) 055-844-9834