Non-destructive archaeology finds military fort beneath Alcatraz prison

Alcatraz prison is best known for once housing notorious criminals, but a recent discovery has revealed relics from the site’s former role as military fortification.


Located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, the penitentiary was once home to gangsters and criminals including Al Capone, Alvin ‘Creepy’ Karpis, and George ‘Machine Gun’ Kelly.

Now, archaeologists have used ground-penetrating radar data and terrestrial laser scans to non-destructively uncover a hidden military traverse underneath the prison. Led by faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York, the team also made use of georectifications – where old digitised maps are linked to a coordinate system so that they can be accurately geolocated in 3D space – to locate and assess the historical remains.

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/alcatr...e-archaeology/