The first use of a picotesla (1 pT = 0.001 nanotesla) sensitivity on the ground is reported for magnetic prospecting in archaeology. The instrument consists of two caesium magnetometers, CS2 (Scintrex, Canada), and a magnetometer processor, MEP720 (Picodas, Canada), which is interfaced to a subnotebook computer for control and data logging. Time mode sampling every 0.1 s allows resampling at 10 cm intervals. Digital image processing techniques are used for the visualization of data. The system opens a new window for magnetic prospecting in archaeology, especially by detecting archaeological structures with an extremely weak magnetization contrast, caused by biogenic magnetite.
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Helmut Becker (1995) studied this question.