Comparison between GPR measurements and ultrasonic tomography with different inversion algorithms: an application to the base of an ancient Egyptian sculpture

By late 2008 one of the most important pieces of the ‘Museo delle Antichit`a Egizie’ of Turin, the sculpture of the Pharaoh with god Amun, was planned to be one of the masterpieces of a travelling exhibition in Japan. The ‘Fondazione Museo delle Antichit`a Egizie di Torino’, who manages the museum, was concerned with the integrity of the base of the statue which actually presents visible signs of restoration dating back to the early 19th century. It was required to estimate the persistence of the visible fractures, to search for unknown ones and to provide information about the overall mechanical strength of the base. To tackle the first question a GPR reflection survey along three sides of…