Search
7067 resources
-
The large-scale recording and investigation of standing archaeological monuments by conventional methods presents considerable problems of labour and expense. Modern techniques provide cost-effective methods applied in Pompeii, using widely available technology in digital imaging, computer hardware and software. These approaches provide important benefits both for research and for conservation policies. They facilitate the analysis of the structural history of the buildings, which forms a crucial part of the research programme of the Anglo-American Pompeii Project. However their advantages for the speedy documentation of the current condition of extensive areas of standing monuments are of more general application.
-
The paper presents a new method in analysing archaeological data using computer programs-mainly AUTOCAD with AME. The method combines recording of archaeological field work (such as survey topographical maps, drawing plans and sections) - with analysing layers, strata and artifacts in 3-D view. It was also used in other projects in this region, mainly for studying large architectural elements. Our method provides a more accurate device, and opens new possibilities in examining current archaeological issues.
-
A discussion is made about the problem of the graphic registering of a large mural, symbol of the Mexican culture of the fifties. Vantages of digital information are well known. Nevertheless, digitization of a 3712 m2 mural in order to capture information of the state of the mural before and after restoration, and analyse damages applying image processing tools, oblige to a solution that takes into account the particularities of the problem. The solution must ensure high precision of the survey to be a tool for restorators and must control general snapshot conditions to obtain images with equal characteristic that will allow the repetition of the same algorithm for the "Computer Aided Restoration" step. How were selected pixel definition, image size, camera location, image acquisition and digitization systems, and enlightenment condition was controlled? These are the topics developed in the present work.
-
This article describes work and experience in the computer documentation of restoration work. The final aim of this project is to develop a new standardized methodology for manipulating data relating to the process of conservation and restoration. The authors are members of an ICCROM/ICR special research group on graphic documentation and a NORMAL Commission sub-group for graphic documentation of mural paintings. The concept of standards is paramount. Standardization, information transfer and communication are stressed, especially in the area of training. Indeed, this approach unifies the description of documentation of restoration treatments performed by professional restorers and trainees from the two partner institutions. In view of the escalating use of computers in the field of conservation, it seems that little has been done to evaluate their impact and appropriate fields of application: the new converts have photographed themselves sitting at the computer keyboard much as our forebears were depicted with a prize buck. The attempt here is to plan for practical use by suggesting a method and specific operating techniques. Our aim is to supply user-friendly procedures (which help run more complex applications) to those who, with good reason, are neither expert in graphics software nor interested in becoming so. The quality of a computer system is not measured by spectacular rainbow effects but by the quantity of information available, its quality and retrievability. The diverse operating environments are defined - the open system and the closed system - analogous to the restoration worksite and the laboratory for chemico-physical analyses. On the one hand is the restoration worksite, the open system, where data are obtained; on the other is the laboratory, or closed system, where one collects and studies the data. What, then, is represented, and how? What is the structure of the information in relation to the model of the information and the model of the object? How should the graphic material be imported into the computer? How can one navigate through the various types of information while protecting the specific nature of each type? Information on hardware is scarce; there is not enough on software; there is a great deal on abstruse theoretical implications. In essence, hardware should allow software to run - no more than that. The principal idea is that the organization of information is the value-added factor produced in the process of registering data in a computer. These notes also describe some attempts at personalizing menus (icons, hatching, etc.) in AutoCAD (and other related software) and multimedia experiments using ToolsBook on a cycle of mural paintings in the Roman Forum.
-
The use of a scanner in archaeological excavation is a powerful tool for electronic documentation. A precise method to take advantage of this new hardware peripheral has been documented. There are four essential components: a camera, a portable personal computer, one handy-scanner (at least) and good software for image processing (bitmap and vector). The main advantages offered by this collection are that one obtains high metric precision, quick recording times and wide flexibility in data manipulation. A very complex structure (a knapping floor) from the archaeological excavation of Riparo Tagliente (VR), dating to the Epigravettian (late Upper Palaeolithic), was used to conduct the test. Starting with a mosaic of photographic images, it was possible to obtain the morphology of the paleosurface in an electronic format. After the automatic electronic input it is then possible to modify the shapes and qualities (thickness, colour, position . . .) of single objects like flints, bones, stones and so on. It is also possible to enhance the images with the application of filters to optimise contrast, brightness or clarity, to zoom into particular areas or to magnify a single object, and to work on different layers. The output on paper may be the partial or total restitution of the final image, or the print of a single group of objects in different formats and scale drawings. However, the main advantage is that of obtaining documentation during the excavation and building a complete database of alphanumerical, statistical and distribution data and object images.
-
The authors, who have been working since 1987 in Sphakia (Sw Crete), present some practical thoughts about how to use computers to improve the production of archaeological maps for publication. The research project, carried out by a multidisciplinary team of researchers, has foreseen an intensive survey work in the eparchy and the subsequent production of period maps for the final publication and of maps to display details of sherd find spots and other transect data. The computerized recording processing and enhancing of these maps was undertaken using the program SuperPaint 3.0. On the basis of their practical experience, the authors show how computers can help in the topographic and cartographic analysis of information and offer greater flexibility in the final presentation of results.
-
The purpose of this paper is to describe algorithms for constructing and drawing Harris Matrix. These algorithms are incorporated into a system that reads stratigraphic unit cards, checks consistency of physical relationships, constructs and draws the matrix and allows inspection of information supplied for each unit by navigating on the matrix and pointing to the desired unit. The paper also contains a brief description of this system.
-
Commencing with a review of the application of information processing to epigraphy, the use of image analysis and pattern recognition for the identification of epigraphic workshops is proposed. The project consists of the following steps: a) the collection of coeval documents from one and the same region (e.g., an ancient community); b) the extrapolation of single characters to be superimposed on the same texts in order to proceed to a statistical analysis of variations; c) the development of an “average” pattern; d) the superimposition (manual or automatic) of the pattern within the single texts, so as to ascribe them to the different workshops. An application of the method by the Centre for Textual Studies, Oxford, is described. The application allows rapid access to the PHI CD-ROM, developed and distributed by the Packard Humanities Institute, Los Altos, California.
-
In archaeology, when data is gathered directly at the digging, we face a long series of steps that slow down and complicate this process. In general, they are inconveniences assumed by the archaeologist with no further ado; they are a drawback associated with or inherent in field work. But these circumstances may or may not be acceptable; they may or may not influence the quality of the interpretation, enable short term review or have unintentionally manipulated it by selecting what and how we document at the digging. When we work with serious time restrictions, with a limited budget and in poor conditions and at the same time want to get the best documentation to safeguard for the future and to be able to use during the development and study process, our attitude changes and we would wish to have an option that streamlines those vexatiously slow moments. That is when we ponder the options for automating as many processes as possible in the field. Since 1985, we have been working on a digging, the uniqueness of which makes us wish to document each step with total accuracy. The information arises, sometimes, after many square meters of opened surface. Therefore we cannot fail to document anything. Add to this the fact that che digging itself and the interpretation of the place gave rise to a flood of controversy. Therefore there exists a double need to document the site completely. The work involved in drawing the charts and profiles soon became vexatiously, slow. The very numerous elements of interest that we wanted and the succession of layers of information were a "bottleneck" where the economic budget vaporised. It was at the beginning of the work when we thought about "streamlining" through selective gathering of data. But we did not do so; we looked for alternatives, we tried them out and we substantially improved the performance. In the final analysis, we had only improved the results in the field. We still had two steps left in the laboratory and, at the end, we would have only one rigid and modifiable chart at a very high cost. We all know how economic fluctuations effect budgets for digging. We needed to reduce our drawing costs in the field as well as in the laboratory in order to be able to destine that time and money to other segments of the research. Since 1993, an interdisciplinary team has been working on the ARCHEOGRAF project. Right from the start we focused on obtaining a tool that would assist drawing for diggings and that would reduce cost and time within a framework of four basic requirements: 1) be as universal as possible, 2) be totally computerised, 3) be easy and accurate and 4) be accessible for archaeologists. Today this tool is a reality meeting all the requirements that we had set out and opening new expectations for more advanced versions.
-
Ceramigraph is an electronic and mechanical system designed to draw pottery through automatic processing and therefore excluding the problems of manual drawing. The system, particularly suitable for large quantities of pieces, is composed of a high precision 3D pantograph, connected with a Personal Computer and a digital tablet. The main features of the drawings are the following: digital; vectorial; processed by software; classifiable (on the basis, for example, of the Freeman code); printable on normal or glossy paper at any scale; recordable on databases, CD rom, syquest, floppy disks, and so on (the size of vector files is very small; for example on a 1.44 floppy disk, 100 drawings can be recorded). The classification and the representation of the graphical information processed in this way are fundamental for the typological and typometric interpretations.
-
The main advantages of archaeological excavation electronic video documentation are to be found in the highly informative potential of recording sound and movement with respect to documentation. This opens up the many potentials of electronic image management, both in data acquisition and processing. The first benefit deals with the possibility of direct computer interfacing, the real-time control (via the monitor) of each frame sequence, and more generally the useful tendency of video devices to be automated for recording. The second main benefit deals with the extended possibilities of electronic image enhancing and processing, that can be efficiently used in archaeological research.
-
Photogrammetric display gives the archaeologist the possibility of personally constructing maps to meet his needs through the selection of features shown, prominence assigned to them and through the accurate and detailed rendering of relief. The aid of computers is very important, both for database construction and for the full utilisation of analytical photogrammetric systems.
-
While the branch of Classical studies on Greek figured pottery focused for decades on the development of Beazley’s lifework (i.e. attributions of Greek vases to anonymous painters), the study of the potter’s work, the organization of workshops, their networks and relative chronology (although sporadically studied by several scholars, e.g. Haspels, Bloesh, Mackay, Jubier-Galinier) remained broadly neglected and were never systematically analysed. Yet, Beazley was perfectly aware of the need to restore the potter and his/her wheel to the centre of the workshop. In this paper, we first outline the history of the research on the shapes of Greek vases and their attributions to anonymous potters, showing why this work is fundamental to understand the organization of potters’ quarters (in Greece and elsewhere) and describing the most recent methodologies which we developed in this regard. In the second part, we build on case studies to move past stylistic attribution in order to show how the study of vase shapes in general can help archaeologists understand broader questions like the mechanisms of intercultural exchanges in the ancient Mediterranean.
-
Over the years Correspondence Analysis has become a valuable tool for archaeologists because it enables them to explore patterns of associations in large contingency tables. While commercial statistical programs provide the facility to perform Correspondence Analysis, a number of packages are available for the free R statistical environment. Nonetheless, its command-line structure may be intimidating for users and prevent them from considering the technique. This article describes an R script, written by the author, which aims to free the R user from manually entering long pieces of code. By discussing two worked examples, it shows how the script can provide the user with a body of graphical and textual outputs relevant to the interpretation of data structure. It is hoped that the script will allow the user to concentrate more on the analysis results rather than the syntax of the R environment.
-
In 2008 a new excavation project started in the archaeological site of the Castle of Torre di Pordenone (Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy), thanks to the efforts of the Municipality of Pordenone. During the archaeological campaign, a new rectangular building was discovered, in connection with the Roman villa already investigated in the 1930s. This building is divided into at least nine consecutive areas and the W side has a porticus supported by 8 pillars. Given the nature of the architectural elements, which are preserved in almost all cases at the foundation level, the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici del Friuli Venezia Giulia (Nucleo Operativo di Pordenone), in cooperation with the Municipality of Pordenone and the Museo Archeologico del Friuli Occidentale, decided to test modern information technologies, in order to create a virtual tour, based on an accurate 3D reconstruction of the Roman building. The final prototype, developed for the project, has an Augmented Reality level that can be visualized through video-glasses (Head Mounted Display), thanks to the interaction with a high definition webcam and a tablet equipped with open source software.
-
The aim of this paper is to illustrate the techniques used for data collection, elaboration and interpretation during the archaeological investigation in the agora of Segesta, conducted by the Laboratorio di Scienze dell’Antichità (LSA) of the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Laboratorio di Disegno e Restauro (LADIRE) of the Dipartimento di Civiltà e Forme del Sapere of Pisa University. The use of close-range photogrammetry, both terrestrial and aerial, combined with traditional drawing techniques, allowed us to improve the quality and amount of data collected for scientific purposes. As a result, the analysis of the archaeological stratigraphy, and especially the examination of structures and architectural elements, benefitted from a wider and more detailed collection of graphic data and information concerning the ancient site of Segesta. On the one hand, the use of terrestrial photogrammetric techniques, such as the so-called Structure from Motion (SfM), allowed us to obtain 3D models of the excavated area. At the same time, by using RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) we started an up-to-date survey of the whole site. Using these new techniques, we were able to develop and improve the digital acquisition of data and create 3D models of the elements discovered and of the whole agora. Moreover,, thanks to the fundamental collaboration of the DreamsLab of the Scuola Normale Superiore, it was possible to achieve a virtual simulation of the public square of Segesta and of the most important buildings surrounding the agora. This virtual simulation of the agora in augmented reality, and the opportunity to visualize and utilize it within the Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE), will certainly make it possible to improve archaeological research and data dissemination, presentation and communication.
-
In a recently published study, a textual dataset encoding a group of scenes depicted on Mesopotamian cylinder seals from the third millennium was submitted to Procrustes Analysis, considering Correspondence Analysis variations due to progressive reductions of the forms involved. The results seemed to indicate that a slight reduction in the number of forms used to describe the raw data would improve the Correspondence Analysis results. Indeed, the actual impact of each reduction on the outcome of the analyses could not be adequately identified if the forms were not considered as elements forming segments, i.e., sub-images of the scenes. In this paper, the results of the same methodology are presented, this time applied to repeated segments within the same dataset, i.e., sequences of textual forms that may describe sub-images of the described scenes. The comparison between the progressive reductions of repeated segments showed relevant differences between small (around 10% of the rarest segments) and large reductions. Indeed, the latter may undermine a consistent interpretation of the different finding sites, yet well represented keeping 90% of segments. Moreover, a reduction performed by hand and not on the frequency of occurrences provided better results.
-
Computer graphics and three-dimensional modelling techniques have extended the possibilities of archaeologists in the creation of virtual reconstruction of ancient sites and monuments. Modern computational systems allow the implementation of computer-generated scenarios tailored on human cognitive capacities. Although Virtual Archaeology is not a novelty in the panorama of archaeological methods, there is no agreement among scholars on the minimal parameters necessary to virtually rebuild an ancient context, nor is there any requirement needed to guarantee the accuracy and the effectiveness of the final reconstruction; the strength of a model is based mainly on the capacity of the archaeologist to check the final result in terms of comparison between interpretations and hypotheses. The paper aims at exploring how the archaeologists could perform their work in a computational laboratory thanks to shared 3D models. The case study selected is the recent virtual reconstruction of the so-called Basilica in Herculaneum, a monument - 250 years after its discovery - still largely unexplained. The building is completely buried by volcanic lava save for part of its entrance porch. It was extensively explored using tunnels and looted by its early excavators. Different scholars have rebuilt the monument mainly on the basis of two plans, drawn in the 18th century, and few notes taken by the archaeologists during the exploration. The 3D model, carried out by integrating cad modelling with close-range photogrammetry, is intended to highlight some controversial parts of the reconstructions. Metadata associated to the digital replica describe the physical object and register all phases from data-acquisition to data-visualization in order to allow the validation of the model and the use or re-use of the digital resource.
-
This work arises from the collaboration between the Laboratory of Archaeological Research Methodologies and the Laboratory of Geomatics of the University of Genoa, based on a multidisciplinary approach, combining archaeological and engineering skills. Since 2016, the team of archaeologists from the University of Genoa has been working inside the Pompeii Archaeological Park in the shops of insula 14 of Regio VII, an important area within the urban context as it overlooks Via dell’Abbondanza, the most important road, and it is located in a central position, in proximity to the main public areas, such as the Forum. From the beginning of the project to the present day, the archaeology team has analysed the tabernae from a stratigraphic point of view. So, simultaneously with the excavation activity, a stratigraphic analysis of the walls and coatings was carried out, involving both the commercial establishments being excavated and the three large houses of the insula, mainly focusing on the most western one, named ‘Casa della Regina d’Inghilterra’. In September 2020, a survey campaign was carried out by geomatics engineers aiming to applying innovative survey methodologies to the architectural complex of the entire insula and, specifically, to the ‘Casa della Regina d’Inghilterra’. In particular, the survey data were collected by total station, GNSS, laser scanner, combined with terrestrial and UAV photogrammetry. This paper presents the preliminary results obtained from the geomatic survey campaign, leading to the creation of an accurate photogrammetric model which can be used as a basis for a reconstructive model, whose hypotheses will be confirmed or denied by a future structural analysis.
-
The architectural survey for the restoration of a monument is closely linked to the conservation objectives, the research methodology, and the application of multiple direct an indirect investigation techniques for the construction of adequate geometric and informative models. In particular, the paper aims to understand and evaluate a building from its structural characteristics, developing a methodology that, from the geomatic survey, deconstructs the building itself into elements and articulates them in a HBIM platform, which integrates a set of five semantic models representing the architectural components and construction abaci. The approach applies this survey method and modelling workflow to the study of some post-Byzantine monasteries in Albania with a focus on the structural conditions of the church of S. Maria in Goranxi that presents problems of instability due to phases of expansion and over construction.
-
Previous studies conducted on the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (between AD 432 and AD 450) have allowed us to identify the geometric rule used for the creation of its starry sky and to propose the initial considerations about the morphology of its pseudo-dome. At first sight, the turns of the stars describe regular circumferences that seem to lie on a plane, in reality their trend is a space curve resulting from a projection on the surface of the ceiling from a point centrally located, approximately at the height of the base of the windows. The geometry underlying this tracing is based on a series of cones whose angle at the vertex increases progressively, and whose materialization is possible thanks to the knowledge of the operating principle of the astronomical instrument called Triquetro and Ptolemy’s table of chords. Apparently irregular, the ceiling is set on a parallelogram and is not traceable to operations of revolution of a curve, a cross vault or a pavilion vault. The section of the mesh with a set of horizontal planes with a distance of 10 cm has generated a set of curves, all different from each other, which we perceive connected by an unusual rule, not yet investigated. An initial analysis allowed to verify that we are dealing with hyperbolas. The present work proposes to continue the investigation of these curves and to hypothesize a construction technique that can be adopted in the context of a building site.
-
The research expedition of the CNR-ITABC in the archaeological site of Umm Al-Rasas, near Madaba (Jordan) was partially supported by the Italian Foreign Ministry. It started in 2013 and was mainly focused on the 3D documentation of two Byzantine churches with magnificent floor mosaics, dedicated to Saint Stephen and Bishop Sergius respectively. To improve the analysis of the archaeological structures, different investigation techniques were used and reciprocally integrated, in an effort to create geometric models enabling the interpretation of data related to the masonry and floor mosaics, as well as to the documentation of the archaeological area. In order to facilitate handling and mobility, lightweight tools were chosen and Micro Photogrammetry and Close Range Photogrammetry methods were applied. A correct description of the floor warp was achieved thanks to laser scanner techniques and the resulting geometric data were integrated with the chromatic data coming from photogrammetry, obtaining a 3D restitution of the two adjacent structures and a metric and spatial analysis of their morphological features. New devices, specifically designed for the project, helped to solve some practical problems that the survey operations had to cope with during the fieldwork. This paper illustrates the results of the survey, which will be useful to develop restoration projects in order to make the whole archaeological site attractive to tourists.
-
The Authors illustrate the documentation process of a menhir not recorded in earlier studies, which was fortuitously discovered in Sa Perda Fitta, in the western landscape of Sant’Anna Arresi, a small municipality of Sulcis (south-western Sardinia). This area was the subject of a detailed study by the Authors for their PhD dissertation at the Universidad de Granada, whose purpose was the detection and analysis of settlement patterns of human communities from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. This territory, bounded on the East by the Sulcis massif and on the West by the Gulf of Palmas, is characterized by the presence of coastal ponds which have fostered the presence and the settlement of human groups since the Neolithic. The place name Sa Perda Fitta (in the Sardinian language ‘stone fixed into the ground’) has aroused a great deal of interest as it suggests the presence of at least one menhir, a widespread prehistoric monument on the island from the Neolithic to the Chalcolithic age. Morphology and typology of the monument was examined and a 3D model created by the photogrammetric processing of a digital photo dataset using Agisoft Photoscan 3D Pro, an automatic 3D reconstruction Structure from Motion (SfM) based software offering a significant and innovative contribution to the recording and dissemination of archaeological data.
-
The study of the Attic-figured pottery is closely connected to the “Beazley method”, which consists in the possibility of recognizing a painter’s hand exclusively on a stylistic basis. Although it has suffered some criticism, the Beazley method is still considered substantially valid. The need to collect images which can be analyzed from a stylistic point of view convinced us to combine 3D photogrammetry (Agisoft Photoscan) with 3D modelling (Luxology Modo) software in order to transfer the figured frieze from a vase to paper, thus avoiding the limitations of traditional direct drawing. These tools allowed us to contribute to the debate on the Beazley method; in fact, new research showed that Beazley over-divided Attic pottery, identifying many more painters than actually existed. This paper deals with the potential of 3D modeling applied to the Attic-figured pottery and focuses on the case of the Painter of Syracuse 19861, to whom Beazley attributed only two lekythoi (both belonging to the Lauricella collection from Gela and today displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse). The use of the 3D modelling process allowed us to obtain images proving that the two objects belong to the Ethiop Painter’s final production instead of to a different painter.
-
This paper reports an aspect of the on-going project of my dissertation thesis at the Institute for Classical Archaeology at Charles University in Prague and concerns the application of multi-image photogrammetry technique in the documentation of the Etruscan rock-cut tomb façades. Etruscan rock-cut tombs with decorated façades are located in the inland area of Southern Etruria (currently Tuscany and Lazio, Italy). This paper focuses on the architecture of the tombs dated to the Hellenistic period (from the 4th century BC to the end of the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd century BC), when a significant change in architecture of the tombs took place. The aim of this paper is to show how 3D models acquired with the multi-image photogrammetry technique can serve as a tool for the archaeological analysis of the tomb façades. The acquired data and 3D models can be used for the documentation and digital preservation of the tomb decorations, which are exposed to heavy erosion mainly caused by water and vegetation. This paper also explains how acquired data can serve as well for the creation of the virtual reconstruction and virtual anastylosis of the tomb façades with missing fragments of decorations or fragments scattered around sites or in museums.
-
This paper demonstrates how low cost 3D visualization techniques can be easily used for the transmission of historical and cultural content in museum communication strategy. Specifically, we used computer 3D animation graphics to present information about Queen Nefertari, the Maya chapel and the tomb of Kha in the specific exhibition in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Movie documentaries support the thematic itineraries of the rooms and offer a virtual trip to the places where the goods displayed were found. The same approach was used for the virtual reconstruction of two Pompeian contexts: the House of the Golden Bracelet and the House of Octavius Quartio. Our research allowed us to create an accurate representation of gardens, statues, architectural spaces, and pools with fountains and frescoed rooms, all virtually reproduced in their original context, using communication methods that combine technology with a synthetic and emotional approach. Techniques of close range photogrammetry made it possible to conduct a 3D survey of sixteen statues and other architectural elements; lost artefacts were reconstructed and areas destroyed by the eruption of 79 AD were evoked. The eruption was partially represented, with fluid dynamic simulations and computer graphics effects in order to transmit accurate scientific information in a simple and immediate language developed by lengthy technical experiments. The synthesis imposed by the short duration of the movie required matching all this information with a self-explanatory approach, which allows the visitor to understand the characteristics of the archaeological goods displayed in the exhibition in a general view that repeats colours, sounds and suggestions of the environments destroyed two thousand years ago.
-
This work originated from a simple question: is it possible to reconstruct a destroyed architectural decorative element starting from documents that describe its details, shape and constitutive materials? An important limitation in the past was the lack of technologies and materials that could replicate an object like this in detail. Only a few years ago technology was not yet able to ensure accurate reconstruction characterized by an adequate formal aesthetic level both in terms of materials and finishes. Nowadays, this gap has been filled thanks to the development of Computer Numerical Control machines (CNC) in production processes. In this contribution, we present part of the restoration of Villino Florio in Palermo, built by the architect Ernesto Basile on behalf of the Florio family between 1899 and 1902 and partially destroyed by a fire in 1962: it is one of Italy’s first architectural works in the Art Nouveau style, and is considered a masterwork within the European panorama. The restoration, directed by the Soprintendenza BB.CC.AA. Di Palermo, also involved the monumental staircase, with a complex wooden floral pattern (‘ramage’) used to decorate the ceiling. Starting from the relief of the environment and from the old photographic documents, a 3D model of the ramage was retrieved. This formed the basis of information necessary for the subsequent reproduction of the subject with CNC machines on oak modules, assembled and finished just as they appeared in the photographs before the fire. A numerical approach made it possible to control the entire process by adopting structural solutions to avoid overloading the ceiling with excessive weight.
-
The Catacombs of Santa Lucia are one of the oldest and most important monuments in the Christian communities of Siracusa and Sicily in the late Roman period. The name of the complex derives from a tradition, according to which Saint Lucy was buried here, after her martyrdom in the early 4th century AD, under the reign of Diocletian. A large underground cemetery extends beneath the homonymous square. The cemetery gradually expanded from the 3rd to the 5th century AD, as it incorporated pre-existing constructions once used for funerary, religious and industrial purposes, by transforming them into monumental burial chambers. One of the most significant structures is the so-called ‘Pagan Shrine’: a chamber that is dated between the 3rd century BC and 1st century AD, prior to the foundation of the cemetery and frescoed with worldly themes and pagan deities. The Shrine is located in the South-western corner of Regio C, an area that is hard and rather dangerous to reach, never opened to the public and visited only by few scholars over the past decades. The excavation project undertaken in the years 2011-2015 by the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, in association with the Arcadia University and the University of Catania, led to the development of the first virtual replica of the Shrine, using Digital Photogrammetry. This new approach facilitated an accurate examination of both its structure and its decoration, allowing us to propose a new theory about the original purpose of the room, traditionally regarded by scholars as a place for worshipping Zeus Peloros.
-
The ancient city of Nora was a Phoenician, Punic and Roman settlement rising on a peninsula in the south-western coast of Sardinia. Since 1990, the University of Padova has been carrying on an interdisciplinary research project of excavation, architectural analysis, historical reconstruction and cultural promotion of tourism in this site. The excavations allow us to increase our knowledge of Middle Imperial Roman urban planning and to get a better understanding of the whole city and its history; the restoration of excavated monuments using gravels with different colours helps more than 60,000 tourists every year to recognize the function of different areas. In spite of this, visitors experience difficulty in understanding a landscape of ruins with barely visible evidence. Thus, a complete virtual reconstruction of the ancient city has become essential. 3D models of the Phoenician and Roman settlement have been developed, reshaping archaeological plans produced in 25 years by Universities that work in the site. The main monuments of the Roman city and the major crossroads have been rendered in greater detail, using sample-based textures that give a photorealistic effect and implementing the models with furniture and decorations selected through reliable sources of information. 3D reconstructions are now available for tourist groups led by a guide in the Nora Virtual Tour: stereoscopic images have been rendered and uploaded in an app for mobile headsets that provides immersive virtual reality for the users. The guide controls the devices with a tablet using a Bluetooth connection: at the beginning of the visit, the tourists can view equirectangular panoramas of the ruins taken from a helicopter, then they are accompanied to hot-spots where the ancient monuments are shown in an evocative Roman reconstruction.
-
This study explores the integration of photogrammetry, laser-scanning, GIS (Geographical Information Systems), and textual analysis to create a more holistic understanding of the effect of the landscape on medieval fortress design, position, and strategy in the area of Kaiserslautern, Germany, during the Middle Ages. The case study is composed of six defensive structures that served as key components to a larger network of fortresses built throughout the region of the Pfalz from 1050-1300 AD during the period of the High Middle Ages. All six structures will be modelled and linked into the digital landscape in GIS, with contextual information derived from historical documents creating a more complete depiction of the medieval territory once controlled by these prominent structures. The interdisciplinary nature of the project spanning art history, archaeology, anthropology, and computer science makes it both innovative and experimental. Access to high resolution models of the structures without having to be physically present at the sites is a significant advantage both for researching the architecture of the structures and for digital preservation efforts. The integrative technological approach will help determine the historical environment and efficacy of the buildings, potentially shedding light on the original designs that have been lost throughout the centuries.
-
The paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary project related to the 3D documentation, dissemination and valorisation of archaeological sites. The project has two goals: to test a novel and economic pipeline for the acquisition of survey data, and to promote the study and appreciation of archaeological areas, among public and scientists, using the HBIM workflow. The 3D survey of archaeological sites is still an expensive and time-consuming task. In this project, a low-cost approach to 3D survey is presented and compared to a standard photogrammetry pipeline based on high-resolution photographs. The pipeline is based on a consumer-level hand-held RGB-D sensor as Microsoft Kinect. The quality of the digitized raw 3D models is evaluated by comparing them to a photogrammetry-based reconstruction and then the acquired data is elaborated in software BIM in order to create a semantically enriched model of the archaeological site. This method has been verified on the archaeological park of Liternum (Campania, Italy), a Roman forum that includes a capitolium, a theatre, a basilica and some others commercial spaces. Using a reflex camera for the photogrammetric survey, it was compared to the Kinect acquisition. In this way, we obtained a 3D model that is imported in a BIM software such as Autodesk Revit. Every element is modelled as a parametric object so the final model is enriched with additional information: geometric dimensions, material, text documents, CAAD reconstruction hypotheses, drawings, photos, etc. These methods allowed us to better understand the site, perform analyses, see interpretative processes, communicate historical information and promote the heritage location.
-
Archaeological site monitoring and updating can nowadays benefit from the contribution of geomatic techniques. In recent times, image-based and range-based measurement systems have become increasingly interesting in excavation processes for monitoring purposes and large scale mapping, both from a terrestrial and aerial point of view. The paper will focus on the great challenge of monitoring sites over time, integrating and conforming multiple data coming from previous metric survey projects and image data collected in the past for different purposes. The test-site was the complex archaeological landscape of the ancient city of Hierapolis in Phrygia on which the MAIER – Italian Archaeological Mission of Hierapolis has operated since the 1960s and where the Politecnico di Torino conducted several survey campaigns. A set of multi-temporal datasets acquired in a series of campaigns in 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2015 are presented, as well as their 3D multi-sensor models; the older dense models generated with archival images are intended to be compared and integrated with newer models generated by the LiDAR scans in 2012 and the UAV systems employed in the last mission in 2015. In particular, the case study was the massive complex of the ancient Bath-Church in the northern part of the city below the Northern Necropolis, and Building A of the Apollo Sanctuary, in the central Sacred Area near the Ancient Theatre. In these sites, many different sensors have been experimented with over the years and preliminary multi-temporal data integration has been tested in order to up-date and improve older archival records based on collected images and related to newer and updated documentation projects.
-
The remains of the medieval town of Castelmonardo (Calabria, Italy) are located on a hill, a few kilometers SE from the modern town of Filadelfia (Vibo Valentia). Since the 1970s archaeological excavations have been carried out in selected areas of the hill. However, a systematic archaeological investigation of the whole archaeological site has never been conducted before. The paper presents the preliminary results of the first archaeological prospection conducted in Castelmonardo by means of advanced remote sensing techniques, with the goal of achieving a first GIS-based digital mapping of the archaeological site. The recently developed UAV LiDAR technology, consisting in the use of high precision laser scanners mounted on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), commonly known as drones, was applied to realize a high resolution digital terrain model (DTM) of the site. Integrating the LiDAR data with web GIS based aerial images, a preliminary archaeological interpretation of the whole archaeological site was conducted, offering a suitable base for further analysis and virtual reconstructions. The work presented here was conducted as part of a recently initiated research project focused on Castelmonardo, led by the Department of Art History and Performing Arts - Sapienza University of Rome, and conducted in cooperation with DigiLab Research and Services - Sapienza University of Rome, Istituzione Comunale Castelmonardo - Filadelfia (Italy), the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Archaeological Prospection and Virtual Archaeology - Vienna (Austria), Virtutim srls and the Italian company OBEN s.r.l.
-
In Valencia, near the Cathedral, the Almoina Archaeological Center is the most important excavation area in the city. The buildings dated to Late Antiquity found here were the main ones of this period. The Cathedral, the Baptistery, the Mausoleum, the Memorial of Saint Vincent martyrdom, some reused Roman buildings (Curia, Asklepieion), some necropoleis and other minor constructions have been identified. We are also aware of a large but incomplete Episcopal Complex (we have not yet identified the bishop’s palace). Little by little this important quarter of the town has been reconstructed infographically. The virtual reconstruction project of Valencia was begun in 1999. In that year we presented the first proposal of the reconstruction of the city during the Roman Republican, Roman Empire and Late Antiquity periods. New and up-dated versions with new archaeological remains and the applications of technological advances were made in 2003 and 2007. For this work, which is still in progress, we have always followed the same methodology. We are now able to present the latest proposal (2016-2017) about the exterior and interior appearance of the main important quarter in Valentia around 600 AD.
-
In 2015 the Department of History and Cultures of the Bologna University took part in the Grande Progetto Pompei - Piano della Conoscenza, with the task of providing a modern and complete documentation of the so-called Lotto 3 in Pompeii. The new survey was carried out by means of integrated innovative diagnostic survey techniques in order to provide a total documentary research of the whole sector. In 2016 a new project was started in agreement with the competent Superintendency, and focused on the study and preservation of the House of Obellio Firmo, included in the Lotto 3 of the Roman city. The new research contemplates an in-depth analysis of the building, employing systematic laser scanning and photogrammetry methods to generate an accurate 3D model of the house. This model is going to constitute the starting point for the further analysis of the wall stratigraphies and for the mapping and monitoring of the structures’ state of decay. The full-scale analytical documentation of the building also includes a detailed geophysical mapping of all the accessible domestic spaces, by using the ground penetrating radar technique. The preliminary results achieved by the non-invasive prospecting survey, integrated with the analysis of the surviving walls and building techniques, supply valid information for the archaeological interpretation of the house’s history. In order to allow the management and sharing of the information collected, the data are going to be organised within a building information model (BIM) with a triple objective: the reconstruction of a fragment of the ancient urban landscape in Pompeii during the oldest phase, with particular attention directed to the Samnitic period; the outlining of a precise strategy of intervention for the restoration and preservation of the House of Obellio Firmo; the re-opening of the building to sightseeing tours and its restitution to public use.
-
The Agrigento: insula III Project began in 2016 thanks to an agreement between the Parco Archeologico e Paesaggistico Valle dei Templi di Agrigento and DiSCi - Bologna University; it aims to document an entire sector of the Hellenistic-Roman quarter, in a three-year period. The main goal is to start a systematic study of private housing from the Archaic period to Late Antiquity and, at the same time, provide a critical understanding of the town planning scheme in this part of the town, which still lacks a modern archaeological and topographical documentation. The interpretation of the previous documentation is the starting point, along with new mapping with laser scanning and a systematic campaign of geophysical investigations to obtain a BIM. As the Bologna University tradition teaches, modern technologies can answer precise historical and archaeological questions: what are the primary phases of the town map? Which one is the starting module of each lot and what are the changes in different ages? Is it possible to reconstruct the original architecture of Hellenistic houses? What is the relationship between this quarter and the rest of the town? The integration of traditional investigational techniques with more recent ones is the methodological assumption of the project, in order to solve the analysis of the complex stratigraphy of the setting, which was inhabited for at least a millennium, from the Archaic to the Middle Ages.
-
The project described in this paper was started in 2012 and concerns the study of the relationship between the urban and suburban districts of the Phoenician and Punic city of Tharros (Cabras, Oristano). The structures of Phoenician and Punic Tharros have been largely cancelled by the Roman occupation. For this reason it is very difficult to determine the original function of many of the neighbourhoods during the Carthaginian period. The archaeological excavation primarily involved the southern necropolis of Capo San Marco. The cemetery must still be fully explored and understood under several aspects, mainly because of the devastation of the site caused by the repeated plundering of the ancient tombs which occurred during the 19th century. In addition to the new dig activities, a 3D topographical survey aimed at the complete documentation of the site and at the virtual rebuilding of the Phoenician and Punic funerary landscape was completed. Another goal of the project is the insertion of this sector of the promontory into the usual tourist route, in order to foster the public fruition of Capo San Marco, while continuing to adopt proper scientific methods and modern techniques. In this direction, geophysical prospecting surveys were carried out in the southern sector of the Capo San Marco, near the so-called ‘Rustic Temple’, in order to assess human presence in the farthest point of the Sinis peninsula (characterised by the presence of the Late Punic ruins of a probable light-house with sacred functions), and across the whole isthmus Sa Codriola towards the hill of San Giovanni, with the aim of analysing the northern boundary of the cemetery and its relationship to the city. The Punic-Roman settlement is now enclosed in the archaeological park, which is a fraction of what was supposed to be the administrative capital of Carthage in Sardinia. 3D modelling and virtual reconstructions were focused also on the residential Punic and Roman area inside the park. The integrated application of the most advanced topographical and geophysical techniques to the site greatly contributed to the recording and understanding of the ancient landscape.
-
The Iberian town of Ullastret (6th-2nd centuries BC), in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, is one of the most important Iron Age archaeological sites in the north-western Mediterranean. It consists of two residential areas, Puig de Sant Andreu and Illa d’enReixac. Separated by only 300 m, together they make up the capital of the Iberian tribe known as the Indiketes, mentioned by classical authors such as Avienus, Ptolemy and Strabo. Decades of continuous archaeological investigation, and especially the geophysics surveys undertaken in recent years, have given us an overall view of the urban structure of this dipolis and its immediate territory, which was occupied and exploited intensively starting mainly in the 4th century BC. This high degree of theoretical knowledge led us to propose the creation of a virtual reconstruction of the whole complex, as well as its contextualisation in its geomorphologic and landscape surroundings. This 3D modelling is an excellent research tool that permits the formulation-validation of hypotheses for architectural reconstruction. It is also especially useful for the creation of applications that add to our knowledge of this heritage site and aid in its presentation and dissemination.
-
Since 2000 a team from Ghent University has achieved intensive non-invasive intra-site prospections on four abandoned Roman towns in central Adriatic Italy (Marche Region): the coastal colony of Potentia and the inland municipia of Ricina, Trea and Septempeda. These urban surveys include total coverage geophysical prospections (such as GPR, geomagnetic and earth resistance approaches), low altitude aerial photography (including NIR photography with drone and helikite), geomorphological augerings, surface artifact collection, and micro-topographical field measurements. A GIS-based integration of all survey data, maps and re-studied legacy data has procured a formidable database for the computer-aided digital 3D mapping and interpretation of these complex ancient sites. The methodological acquisitions and archaeological results not only contribute to the understanding of Roman urbanization in this part of Italy, but also support and innovate the use of integrated approaches to geospatial mapping and analysis of ancient urban environments. Based on earlier experiences with 3D visualizations of the abandoned Roman town of Ammaia in Lusitania, as part of the EC funded Project ‘Radiography of the Past’ (http://www2.radiopast.eu/), the project in Adriatic Italy moves now towards presenting the new data in digital formats that allow specialists from archaeology and cultural heritage management, as well as the wider public to immerse into the visual world of Roman Late Republican and Imperial townscapes of a whole valley and its coastal environment.
-
Nowadays, archaeology and modern 3D modelling and representation technologies form an unbreakable bond, considered essential and indispensable by many experts and scholars. Although with different goals and purposes, new hardware and software available and specially designed web platforms allow the archaeologist adequately trained to create, visualize, analyze, and share 3D data derived from computer graphics or from image- and range-based acquisition procedures. Currently, a very important topic is the relationship between user and 3D model: from the simple passive fruition, we are moving increasingly towards a real interaction within immersive virtual environments. In this sense, the contribution of the archaeologist is critical to determine what to display and what to interact with, according to the end user and his skills and knowledge. In fact, the following case studies related to sites, monuments and artefacts of the Etruscan town of Volterra represent the evolution of this interaction/relationship, helping to make the fruition of archaeological evidence, that at present is still difficult to access and understanding, easier and more interesting.
-
Digital techniques and cultural heritage connect, in an innovative way, new and old within the Humanities. In this new project, an Etruscan townscape will be recreated; modelled results created by the 4D Research Lab will be integrated in an Archaeological Park and Museum in such a way that international scholars and visitors can acknowledge and study 3D reconstructions of a series of Etruscan houses within their successive phases of creation, function, reception, destruction, and reconstruction. Acquarossa is an Etruscan town near Viterbo, Italy. Excavations carried out by the Swedish Institute in Rome revealed a series of Etruscan houses, inhabited from the 8th century BC until the middle of the 6th century BC, when the town was suddenly and inexplicably abandoned. The houses were left to crumble and the remains of the foundations, the walls and the decorated roofs, as well as the thousands of household utensils, were all found in situ. It is one of the very few examples of an intact Etruscan townscape, with a unique set of family dwellings from the past. The remnants of the houses were partially reconstructed in the 1980s and covered with soil, but others were left to be destroyed by weather conditions. The site was left to vanish completely. Since 2014, the 4D Research Lab of the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Amsterdam has been involved in an interdisciplinary research project, in collaboration with the private partner Azienda Agrituristica Raffaele Rocchi, the proprietor of the site, which focuses on the reconstruction of a set of houses in annotated 3D models. The 3D models will be used to build ‘actual’ guesthouses at the site itself, for which permission from the Soprintendenza per i Beni archeologici del Lazio e dell’Etruria Meridionale has been granted. The project aims to analyse the house architecture, roof decoration and building processes through 3D modelling and scanning.
-
This paper aims to explain the creation of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of Kainua, an Etruscan city founded, following a rigorous urban plan, at the beginning of the 5th century BCE. This DTM was used as the basis for the virtual reconstruction of Kainua landscape from an urban to an architectural scale in a three-dimensional digital model, visualized in an interactive and immersive approach. The DTM was developed using different sources of elevation data, in order to take into account the geo-morphological transformations occurred in that area from the Etruscan period to the present day. The causes of these changes were natural (due to erosion phenomena) and anthropic (due to excavations for construction of transport infrastructure as well as those which occurred partly due to improvements made by landowners and partly to archaeologists who first began a systematic campaign of site studies). On positioning on the DTM, an analysis of the metrology and of the infrastructure of the ancient city (streets and sewers) made it possible to create a renewed vision and to propose a hypothesis for reconstructing the incomplete, or as yet unstudied, parts of the city, which only further excavations will confirm.
-
Excavations in the Etruscan city of Marzabotto, the ancient Kainua, have brought to light a well-developed production structure over time which, especially for the Etruscan world, makes Marzabotto an especially favourable, paradigmatic context for the study of this particular aspect. Thanks to the contributions from the most recent investigations, together with the revision of older excavation data, this theme has in recent years benefitted from a series of updated considerations. The quality and variety of the data collected permits analyses from multiple points of view, not only on an architectural and urban planning level, but also on social, economic and political-institutional levels.
-
The study of the Attic-figured pottery is closely connected with the ‘Beazley method’, which consists in the possibility of recognizing a painting ‘hand’ exclusively based on the style of the work; the Beazley method, despite having suffered some criticism, is still considered substantially valid. The need to have images which can be analyzed from a stylistic point of view, has suggested to combine the use of some open-source programs of 3D photogrammetry (such as VisualSFM and Meshlab) and 3D modeling (such as Blender), in order to shift the figured frieze from the pot to paper, avoiding the limitations associated with traditional direct drawing.
-
The general digital reconstruction of the necropolis in Numana was carried on following a methodology targeted to a quick survey at different scales: from the single ceramic or artifact to the whole archaeological landscape. Fostering the application of common computer graphics techniques, an easily replicable process was set up, in order to produce 3D models mainly adopted for archaeological analysis and collection of data that could have been acquired in different times, with different approaches.
-
The paper proposes the representation of the evolution of the Comacchio Valleys between the 11th and 16th centuries CE. The bases for this representation are provided by stratigraphic, topographical, cartographic and historical-documentary data; the frame is offered by information technology. The possibility of reconstructing the physical characteristics of a landscape in a diachronic perspective with a certain degree of detail offers valuable insights not only in order to refine our knowledge on the given topic but also in view of the evaluation of the archaeological potential and planning of research.
-
Building Information Models (BIM) are presented as a tool with interesting possibilities in the fields of knowledge, management and dissemination of architectural and archaeological Cultural Heritage. This study describes the work process and the results of the development of such a digital model for the extra-urban sanctuary of the city of Tusculum, one of the best-preserved buildings of the site, yet less known and studied. Within the framework of a new phase of research on the archaeological site, the stratigraphic and constructive analysis of the wall that delimited the original terrace of the complex has been carried out. This has allowed to determine a chronological sequence and to establish the bases for the modelling of both the current state and some of its evolution phases, thus enabling a proposal for restitution of some of the previous states of the complex. The aim was to build a model that synthesizes the current knowledge and that has open and flexible characteristics, so that future research can enhance, complement or correct it.
-
This paper is a synthesis of an experimental study on ancient topography and town-planning in a historical quarter of Rome, Trastevere. The focus is on methodological aspects, and in particular on computerized applications. Thy have been used, at first, to speed up the input and the management of data, but the results deeply influenced the methods and the logical course of the research itself. The study can therefore be considered also as a proposal for a modular application to other urban contexts. Traditional sources of information were taken into account, as in any study on ancient topography, including the archaeological map (concerning both visible and bibliographically documented elements) drawn on the basis of present-day cartography, literary and archival sources and historical cartography (from Forma Urbis Severiana to Catasto Pio-Gregoriano). In addition to the study of some important methodological consequences of this approach, the results are outlined of having applied computerised procedures of cartographical transformation, not previously adopted in any archaeological framework.
-
Review article.
-
There are marked 'incommunicability symptoms' in language with which archaeology should communicate, in particular, with urban and landscape planning, and also possible relationships with new methods of landscape interpretation and management. In a vanishing context no longer based only on historical instance, 'interdisciplinarity' is a possible solution.
-
Around the mid 1980s, the Italian sector - at the time very limited - of the archaeological sciences interested in geo-topographical problems responded eagerly to the practical and theoretical solutions offered by computer science and by advanced technologies, and became one of the most developed sectors in the European panorama in this particular subject. Twenty years later, we can observe, on one hand, the notable success of this type of applications that has, among other things, contributed to drive towards territorial studies many sectors of Italian research that had not previously been interested in it; and, on the other hand, the extreme fragmentation of the initiatives, that remains an unsolved problem for future developments. Within a single decade in fact we lost those guidelines that would have been able to transform some high but still distant peaks of quality, into a systematically coordinated approach, and, especially, in a common cognitive base, which was perhaps primitive but for this reason, "basic", not only for the development of research, but also for a diffused and shared means of safeguarding our archaeological heritage.
-
The Office for the Archaeological Map of Italy was established by Royal Decree in 1889. In 1926, as an ideal continuation of the Archaeological Map, the first volume of the Forma Italiae was published. Subsequently, with the advent of information technology, a new era of archaeological mapping began, adjusting the Forma Italiae to the latest technological developments. Inheriting this solid methodological basis, and benefitting from the latest digital innovations, we present the Sardinian node of the national archaeological computer network. This is not the proposal for the creation of yet another archaeological information system, but a project for the creation of a tool aimed at data sharing and identification of archaeological heritage property. The project intends to be a point of reference for data exchange on a national and international scale and at different levels of detail.
-
This paper aims at a comparative reading of some archaeological remains in the island of Sardinia, starting from a reflection on the UNESCO discipline, which introduces a hierarchy of cultural heritage based on the level of worthiness of protection and provides enhanced protection for the goods that are on its list. The main goal of the study is to investigate in parallel the application of this ‘selective appreciation’ on the actual context of the protection of the so-called ‘real cultural heritage’ (article 9 of the Italian Constitution). The study proceeds by comparing some important sites on the island having similar contextualization, but different strategies for protection: the Archaeological Park of Porto Torres, Su Nuraxi in Barumini, registered since 1997 in the World Heritage List of UNESCO, and the archaeological area of Neapolis (Oristano). From comparisons and analysis carried out in selected areas it was possible to focus attention on some critical aspects of the UNESCO rules and on contradictions between the operational guidelines and the objectives that the organization provides for the protection of property. In the wake of new reforms for the reorganization of the Ministry of Heritage, Culture and Tourism, the critical issues discussed in this paper appear even more evident in Sardinia. The idea of a ‘protection of the exceptional’ appears to reduce the opportunities of intervention, by isolating the evidence from its context and making the action of protection inadequate for the territory and for the same items contained therein.
-
The aim of the study is to observe space and time variations in the occupation of Sicilian funerary settlements from the 9th to the 1st century BC The data have been extracted from a complete examination of archaeological reports. They define geographical and archaeological characteristics of 240 settlements. From archaeological to statistical data there is an alteration of variable status which represents a new field for archaeologists. The matrix summarises the settlements’ occupation in 50 year periods by presence-absence; this gave rise to a Correspondence Analysis. The time of occupation has been preferred to a relative chronology based on cultural facies. One additional variable distinguishes the cemeteries where the graves with several burials dominate over those having individual burials. The results of the analysis prove that the space and time variations in the two types of funerary settlements described oddly follow the outline of historical events in relation to autochthonous and colonial spheres. In particular it shows the alterations of autochthonous funerary customs owing to more archaic cemeteries which were to be reused later on. In the historical sphere, the analysis leads us to question the acculturation phenomena. What was happening in Sicily towards the beginnings of 5th BC? Did autochthonous funerary customs disappear because of the adoption of Greek culture, or is it getting more difficult to establish a difference from the ancient colonial culture?
-
-
Applicazioni della matematica fuzzy per la selezione dei progetti conservativi nei siti archeologiciThe authors deal with the problem of a standardised but clear and easily understood framework for the strategic decisions involved in the selection among the diverse projects for the conservation and cultural and economic enhancement of archaeological sites. The aim of the paper is to explore the possibility of the use of fuzzy logic to create a hierarchy among the different projects. We propose the use of fuzzy numbers mathematics for the joint treatment of technical, landscape impact, economic and humanistic aspects in selecting the best conservation projects. The basic elements for the definition and the arithmetic of fuzzy numbers are given and a procedure based on the ordering is implemented. Finally, an application relating to an archaeological site on the Mediterranean Sea (Nora, Sardinia) is presented.
-
In the past twenty years archaeological survey has changed radically thanks to the progress in the field of technology, in particular concerning 3D massive acquisition methods. A variety of data acquisition modes, based on active and passive sensor systems, is increasingly easier to access and use to document cultural heritage. The scientific debate focuses primarily on two issues: the use of free or proprietary software, and the control over data quality, in terms of metric accuracy, by comparing 3D image-based acquisition methods with consolidated methods (laser scansion and/or topographic survey). Collecting, interpreting and filing a large amount of information helps to define a system we can use to understand our archaeological heritage. The system is based on the scientific process used to achieve a dual objective: first, to document acquisition using a heterogeneous set of data (x, y, z and RGB) and metadata (information processing) and guarantee repeatability; secondly, to ensure data quality during acquisition and processing. Data processing obtained using 3D massive acquisition methods makes it possible to build models characterized by a biunivocal correspondence to the real object, studied from a geometric and spatial point of view. The study focuses on the shift from quantitative data, acquired in a semi-automatic manner, to qualitative data, meticulously controlled as regards to uncertainty. In this framework, all branches of the Science of Representation ensure metric, spatial and formal control of the built models. The study of the 13th century Gates of the city of Bologna have so far led to the development of a scientific process providing important data about metric quality vis-à-vis, the scale of the model.
-
The advent of new technologies has had a profound impact on the evolution of archaeological methodological approaches, allowing archaeologists to refine traditional assessments about the nature of past human societies and to expand their theoretical horizons. GIS-based technologies are among the new technologies aimed at reconstructing spatial-related aspects of past human communities. The paper illustrates the use of some ArcGIS tools supplemented with satellite low resolution images to produce a layered workable archaeological map suitable for analyzing specific issues such as ancient cultural ecology and landscape reconstruction. Integrated satellite imagery and GIS analyses are applied to reconstruct spatial distribution patterns of the Chalcolithic period in Central Zagros as seen from the Sarfirouzabad valley adjacent to Mahidasht inter-mountainous plain, near Kermanshah, Iran. The search for considerable changes in the settlement distribution patterns relating to the ecological attributes is one of the aims of the paper, using GIS-based methods such as Thiessen polygons analysis, site-point spatial distribution analysis and buffer analysis. The results are discussed through categories covering distribution of Chalcolithic sites over the different environs of the study area, spatial distribution of pottery styles, and spatial models of Chalcolithic distribution patterns.
-
The author illustrates the structuring that was carried out for the development of the ArchéoDATA project with the aim of forming a basis for a more general Archaeological Information System. The conception of this project was undertaken from an archaeological perspective; the subsequent use of computers, and in particular the possibilities offered by GIS, enabled the enhancement of the system. The problems of basic information are also discussed, with an attempt to overcome the traditional concepts of site, finds and features by replacing them with the more general concepts of spatial and temporal entities and interpretative grouping.
-
During the past few years we have presented and published a series of papers on the project ArchéoDATA that we have been developing in the GDR 880 of CNRS, in our quest for a methodological structure for the recording and analysis of archaeological data and the creation of a European Archaeological Information System, designed to formalise and to structure archaeological documents. The three basic components of archaeological recording and analysis are the factors “objects”, “space” and “time”. Through their interaction the archaeologist must attempt to construct an interpretation and argue his thesis. The management of data pertaining to each one of the components of “object”, “space” and “time” should be undertaken with the same elementary structure. Due to the diversity of recording methods, and to inconsistent terminology used to express what in essence are similar things, a definition based on the word “Entity” was chosen and the “Archaeological, Spatial, Temporal, Interpretative and Analytical Entities” were consequently defined. This paper presents in detail new work that has been undertaken on structuring the basic component “time”.
-
Due to the limited response to the CNR questionnaire on GIS usage in French archaeology, this paper cannot expect to give either the full extent of implementation, nor fully document its impact on this field of research. It has been possible however to extrapolate general trends, and to discuss the development of several projects and undertakings. The most important implementation of GIS is the Ministry of Culture’s nationwide SCALA program for French archaeological survey, and the most comprehensive is the CNRS’s ArchéoDATA Archaeological Information System (AIS). The majority of the smaller projects are in three sectors: regional governmental archaeological offices, the CNRS research laboratories and archaeological field units. As the majority of GIS projects are undertaken by small teams that are looking for flexibility and autonomy, the general trend in hardware/software configurations has been away from elaborate centralised systems and towards micro-computer based installations, with the combination usually being Map Info running on PCs and Macintoshs. Whilst the use of GIS is still not entirely common practice in French archaeology, it is important to note that considerable research is going into innovative ways of implementing GIS concepts in archaeology and that important results can be expected in the years to come.
-
The ArchéoDATA Archaeological Information System has been under development for some ten years and during this time considerable experience has been gained in the field of archaeological information management. At the outset, a methodological philosophy was established and based on the premise that archaeology was in essence something, somewhere, at sometime. This provided the fundamental platform for data recording and has also given rise to, through the development of the “Entities”, a singular framework for archaeological analysis. The structures necessary to achieve an efficient balance between research, administration and conservation have been worked out and then tested under the actual conditions that will prevail under normal working conditions. The problem has been that at the heart of an AIS is communication, and that the practical means of achieving this are not simple. Not only do we need to efficiently structure the theoretical model, there also has to be the physical means of achieving it. This has been for many years the Achilles heal of implementation, as cost has been seen as being of an order not commensurate with archaeological budgets. The unforeseen evolution of the Internet network into the World Wide multimedia Web has provided information based systems with vast possibilities, and in the case of archaeology, with its first opportunity towards implementing universal communication. This paper describes some of the steps being undertaken to transfer the ArchéoDATA AIS to the Internet.
-
-
Reconstructing the development of architectural complexes throughout time is often very difficult. Buildings are usually a series of constructive actions, changes from the original project, and collapses and reconstructions due to human actions (such as demolitions) and/or natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, etc.). The building’s structure records all these events, and by using a relief map gives us the chance to understand and decode them. The archaeological relief map is thus supposed to offer a complete and concise documentation. At the same time, it must be enriched with the additional information needed for a more detailed analysis of the archaeological object itself. In the last few years, the introduction and continuous improvements of many instruments (e.g. laser scanners and photogrammetric technologies) have led to a significant qualitative and quantitative change in the recording of material structures. In particular, the possibility of combining different relief technologies - obtaining high resolution, 3D geometrically correct models of buildings or of entire archaeological sites (which could be further investigated thanks to archaeological analysis or other procedures) - has modified the archaeological approach towards the material ‘datum’ and its divulgation. In order to acquire a better knowledge of contemporary technologies, the dissemination of different methodologies - through their application in research contexts - is the best way to transmit and compare them. This article is dedicated to the presentation and detailed analysis of a photogrammetric RGB point-clouds technology, used for the relief of a room during the archaeological excavation at Aiano-Torraccia di Chiusi (San Gimignano, Siena).
-
The aim of this project has been to create a GIS for the archaeological survey in Contessa Entellina (Palermo) that was conducted in 1998 by the Historic-Archaeological Topography Laboratory of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. The survey covered an area (about 42 km2) of the territory of Contessa Entellina. Like the survey, the GIS was also a model for research. During the survey Topographic Units (UT) were located with large concentrations of finds and other zones labelled “Sporadic Material” (MS) were also identified. The GIS includes only the Topographic Units. With the software ArcView GIS 3.1, UTs have been located as points on a raster map at a scale of 1:5000, the same as used for the survey. The survey data has been recorded in a relational database that holds information about the finds, the documents, the relationship between UTs, the chronology, the vegetation, etc. We focused our attention on the representation of temporal information. However, it is very difficult to represent archaeological dates in a database scheme because their limits are uncertain. Therefore, to represent this uncertainty every Topographic Unit is characterised by several periods. Each period has a beginning (field “Inizio”, meaning “Start”) and an ending (field “Fine”, meaning “End”). These two limits have a symmetrical tolerance (for example ±50 years). In the future, this system will be completed and used to analyse the spatial relations between UTs and their visibility.
-
In 1998 the Laboratory for History, Archaeology and Topography of the Ancient World of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa began an experiment with archaeological databases and GIS. Initially, we made a GIS for the Entella survey. Since then, the experiment on this sample-survey has become a more structured system for the management of archaeological data (excavations, surveys, pictures, artefacts, etc.). In particular, we have focused our attention on data normalisation. Since 2002 we have also used a GPS receiver for the Kaulonia survey in order to geo-reference the sites. At the moment, the GIS manages only survey data, but it could also include excavation data. Using this system we are able to create chronological maps, and analyse infra- and intra-site artefact distribution.
-
The lack of palethnological handbooks has been covered by book publishing for the last ten years. Two subjects were chosen for experimental teaching: prehistoric archaeology and archaeozoology. The core of the work consists of more than seven hundred images (b/w and colour reproductions coming from various sources) and more than one hour of original filming (reproduction of flint implement knapping and ceramic vessel shaping in prehistory).
-
The computer system SEMPRE (Sistema Esperto Montedison per il Restauro) was carried out as a support for the conservation of cultural heritage metal and stone objects. By two basic functions it may give information about the techniques and the products to be employed and may retrieve related examples in reference archives. The user can represent and save his knowledge of the case within the system by these two functions.
-
An information system for the management of archaeological remains is presented here; it derives from the experience of the “Laboratorio di Informatica Archeologica - Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche - Pisa”. The guidelines followed during the project phase and the characteristics that make this system a reliable tool for work and research are examined. Finally, a possible evolution of the system is foreseen in order to improve access and diffusion of the data.
-
Architectural structures are 3D volumes and their features, which are recognized in the field through archaeological investigation (stratigraphic, metric and formal data), are distributed within the three-dimensions. Stratigraphic wall analysis normally needs front elevations or photo-mosaic images to draw the boundaries between each Stratigraphic Unit (SU). The Stratigraphic 3D component is not recorded because it is not taken into account by these supporting documents. With the support of photo-modelling and stereophotogrammetry, instead, it is possible to record the perimeter and volume of each SU in 3D space and also obtain isomorphic reproductions of the detected object. These copies are high quality photo-textured models that provide a complete overview of architectural volumes and the close dimensional framework (length, depth and width) of mouldings and decorative architectural elements. Moreover, the coordinates of any point can be extracted from these models in order to obtain traditional charts (maps, sections, elevations and axonometric views, useful to understand the process of installation of building elements). The purpose of this paper is to describe different techniques capable of acquiring 3D data of wall stratigraphy in order to define new methods of documentation based on the use of photo-modelling and stereophotogrammetry. The data used for this research refer to excavated sites or high-preserved fabrics of different ages and functions such as the late medieval bell-tower of the basilica of San Severo (Classe, Ravenna), the modern tower of Monte Erno (FC) and the church of San Bartolomeo in Tipano (FC). Starting with these cases, in this article we explore some of the technical aspects of data processing like speed, measurement accuracy, information content and equipment cost.
-
It is a truism to state that the publication of the results of archaeological research in France is going through a critical phase. The increase in the need for publication, mainly of the results of excavations and the initial outcome of their analyses, has become so large that we are now facing a recurrence of the difficulties of one generation ago! Limited budgets, glutting of the editorial pathways, new qualitative demands, also on the part of the research workers, for the diffusion of their results (e.g. colour) all concur towards a situation where the edition on paper ot the traditional journals or series no longer meets present-day expectations. The introduction of the new vectors of electronic writing like the Internet, and particularly CD-ROM because or its possibilities of volumetric transcription at a lower cost, is now an unavoidable option in the editorial field of the discipline on the threshold of the XXI century.
-
Forecasting statistical models are becoming increasingly important in archaeological research. One of the reasons of this popularity is that archaeological sites tend to present themselves in particular environments so that forecasting models can help in identifying areas where the probability is higher based on previously collected statistical information. In the present paper we consider a class of statistical models designed to produce maps of the probability for archaeological site location (ASL) which incorporate both deductive and inductive considerations. In the discussion we criticise the use of the logistic regression for the production of ASL probability maps, a popular approach known in archaeological literature as the “integrated strategy”. The application of the method is statistically incorrect since in archaeological studies the hypothesis of independence between sites, which is at the basis of the logistic regression model, is violated. To overcome such limitations we propose two alternative models. The first one is an autopredictive model in which the probability of ASL is modelled as a function of the observations coming from field surveys in neighbouring zones. This approach accounts for the problem of non-independency of observations, but neglects a priori auxiliary information on the archaeological area. The second approach is a more comprehensive one which overcomes the problems of logistic regressions while preserving the role of a priori information.
-
-
Data coming from necropolis excavations constitute the base of an information programme, which permits the integration between a descriptive database and a computer graphics programme. Each grave has been drawn using a system of photographic correction and recorded in a CAD programme. Therefore, these drawings are automatically positioned on a general map in their original location. The description of the graves is recorded in a relational database and every grave drawing is connected to the relative file. In this way, by performing queries to the database, it is possible to immediately visualize the corresponding graves and to realize, for example, typological and chronological maps. This paper gives examples from the medieval necropolis of Sous-le-Scex at Sion, in Switzerland.
-
The Vasa Rubra project started a couple of years ago with the aim of cataloguing and studying all the terra sigillata wares found in the ancient Roman town of Iulia Concordia, now called Concordia Sagittaria (VE). The first step in this project was the creation of a database able to respond to requirements, which were both scientific and aimed at protecting the archaeological objects. The process of creating the database, entirely dedicated to archaeologists, represented an opportunity to reflect on the use of databases in archaeology and for analysing the interaction between computers and users. Even if it continues to maintain its original meaning of tool, without becoming the final aim of the research, this database has demonstrated its usefulness for collecting data about the terra sigillata of Concordia, and has improved and facilitated the scientific study which followed.
-
The Cultural Heritage Map of Apulia, started in September 2007, is a mapping project carried out by the Regional Department of Land Management (Apulia, Italy) in collaboration with the Regional Department for Cultural Heritage, the four Regional Universities of Apulia and the Regional Central Department for Cultural and Environmental Heritage. The project aim is to create a thematic cartography in order to archive, map and describe in detail the Cultural Heritage of the territory of Apulia, superseding the traditional method of cataloguing based on a concept of Cultural Heritage as spots on a map. The other main purpose of the project is to analyze and describe the stratified historical landscapes of the regional countryside, from prehistory up to now, as long-term evidence of the identity of people and places. These aims have been achieved combining different disciplines and methodologies and a geo-database which is part of the Apulia Region GIS organized in different themes and informative layers. This is intended to be an innovative and dynamic instrument for Cultural Heritage preservation and it is expected that conformity with the Cultural Heritage Map of Apulia will be the necessary requirement for the approval of every land-planning activity in order to preserve the local Cultural Heritage.
-
The Athenian statesman, lawmaker and poet Solon has given his name to a database related to the European legislation on art and cultural heritage. The database Solone, which is currently in progress and will be published on the Internet (http://solone.sns.it/), was designed and implemented by the LARTTE Laboratory (Interdisciplinary Centre for the Research, Planning, and Management of Cultural Heritage) of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. The database includes a selection of laws from the Roman period and Late Antiquity (from the 1st century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.), as well as from several countries that belong today to the European Community (Italy, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece), from the 19th century to 2006. In this database data on the individual norms and related institutions have been inserted. Bibliographic information was collected and the relationships between various laws, and the authorities and institutions that issued them have been considered. The database provides the full text of each law, often with one or more translations into Italian or English and a set of details regarding typologies, historical background, validity and jurisdiction, object, and sources. The database makes it possible to conduct research according to typologies, geographical areas or historical sections and institutions. In the present paper, Solone is presented from the perspective of one case study: the digital archive for the legislation on works of art, public and private buildings, roads and aqueducts enacted from the Roman Republic to the fourth Novel of Majorianus on public buildings issued in Ravenna in 459 C.E.
-
The article presents the results of the GPS and photographic surveys conducted on the archaeological site of Villa Magna (Anagni, Lazio). The archaeological complex, identified as the imperial residence of Antoninus Pius, occupies an area of about 22 hectares. Presently, the visible remains are divided into two principal nuclei: the northern one, near the church of S. Pietro, and the southern one, occupied by a farmhouse. The aim of the survey was the reconstruction of the morphology of the terrain in order to produce a Digital Terrain Model and to highlight the relationship between natural elements and ancient structures. In order to speed up the work, a new procedure was used. It consists of a Differential GPS used in a kinematic way by mounting the rover antenna on a jeep. In this article the experimental method’s advantages and the problems of acquisition are analysed. Moreover, low altitude photographs of the archaeological excavations were taken using an aerostatic balloon. The photographic system was anchored to the balloon with a radio-controlled device called Picavet. Georeferenced photos can be very useful not only for documenting but also for presenting and exploiting the site.
-
The Petra monumental site is located on the left rim of the Rift Valley in central-southern Jordan. The entire valley, which is tectonic in origin, rests on Late Cambrian quartzarenite rock formations of continental origin. Past research conducted by our team has allowed us to identify the following main causes of the weathering processes: thermal expansion and shrinkage of rocks caused by the great differences in day and night temperatures contribute to the loosening of quartz grains that lead to the disintegration of the rock. Heavy rainfall and above all surface runoff contribute significantly to the removal of weathered materials from the surface. Other forms of decay are caused by the presence of salts along the fractures. Both fieldwork and laboratory analyses performed in the past in a climate chamber have demonstrated that the products usually used in conventional restoration work are not very effective, due to the “extreme” climate and the chemical and physical characteristics of the rocks. The project proposes the realization of a GIS aimed at acquiring complete knowledge of the man-made structures and hydraulic system underlying the routes of the canalisations and identifying the cisterns. This work is meant to contribute a valid support aimed at the restoration, which will involve several different disciplines, including the geological and chemical analysis of the rocks, the topography and the 3D photogrammetry.
-
Laser scanner and digital photogrammetric systems (photo scanning) must be considered at present two of the main techniques used for archaeological and architectural surveying. The integration of both 3D scanning systems allowed us to improve the scientific knowledge, the management, the use and the safeguarding of Cultural Heritage. The aim of this article is to identify analogies and differences between the two surveying techniques applied to different archaeological contexts. Starting from a general introduction to the concept of measurement and the management of the data acquired from different techniques of surveying, the article focuses on the laser scanner applications with particular attention on the intrinsic properties of the instrument, the problems of measurement and the methodology used during the survey. The second part is focused on the digital photogrammetry applied on a particular archaeological context. Digital photogrammetry was developed and experimented in order to acquire territorial data quickly. The optimization of the working speed, while maintaining accuracy of data, means cost savings and an optimal use of funds. Our workgroup decided to transfer that methodology to the archaeological excavations of Rome Metro Line C in collaboration with some public institutions and private companies. The final results have produced 2D and 3D graphic documentations of all the archaeological area up to highly-accurate ortho-recti ??ed images. Point clouds allowed us to simultaneously view a general 3D model of all open archaeological areas, providing an opportunity for observation and an analysis not possible by other means. Each area can be studied together with the others in a global view of the excavation. Every stratigraphic unit can be displayed in the same area and switched on in the same way as a layer.
-
The recent development of camera sensors, the manufacturing of lenses and the accurate algorithms of photogrammetric software allow today to acquire point clouds similar to those generated from a laser scanner. The results are similar: numerical models that contain a variety of information, useful for the final data synthesis. Thanks to the automatic points recognition of photogrammetric algorithms, it is now possible to revise part of digital data previously acquired and use them in new computing strategies. Emblematic is the example of the crusader castle of Wu'Ayra, an important medieval fortress located in the Petra valley in Jordan. Since 2000, in collaboration with the international mission of the University of Florence, a number of surveys aimed at detecting the whole monumental area, the archaeological site, the settlement and the defensive system of the castle were performed by the research team of the Italian ITABC-CNR. Different survey techniques were used during the acquisition step, in order to enhance the main information of the archaeological site and the geomorphology of an extended area particularly complex to be defined. In these 15 years, the team tested several techniques. Thanks to recent software, the team has revised old data, created a defined numerical model of Wu'Ayra, updated and improved the documentation. The Authors illustrate the results of these elaborations and compare them with the other systems used, highlighting the differences and updating the graphic documentation of an important site in the history of the Petra valley. Furthermore, latest data of the architectural structures of the formworks acquired with laser scanner will be presented.
-
Starting from the indications derived from the cartographic representation, the goal of the research project described in this paper was to experiment with different tests on the frescoed surfaces of rock-cut architecture for the visualization of the real shape of the subject. For the first time a 3D survey was carried out by the authors in the cave of San Michele on Monte Tancia to test different techniques of processing the numerical models in order to achieve the plane representation of random surfaces, including those with the frescoed plaster. This activity is part of a broader research program related to the investigation of rupestrian architecture, addressing problems of data representation.
-
In the fifties and sixties it was assumed that a generalised and detailed descriptive system for archaeological materials could be constructed, and that this system could be transferred to a computerised symbolic representation. In the early seventies this position was abandoned as it was realized that data are theory-dependent and problem-specific. As a consequence it has been widely accepted that databases containing archaeological data are bound to be highly individual and short-lived. With the increasing number of IT based archaeological recording systems, the inherent heterogeneity becomes a hindrance for archival purposes and effective management of archaeological projects. It is also, however, an obstacle for a formalized methodology, because researchers end up with pragmatic ad hoc solutions, which often shoehorn the recordings into rigid data-structures. The IDEA (the Integrated Database for Excavation Analysis) is to solve this problem. Through a database meta-structure and a user-friendly interface IDEA offers the researcher the possibility to implement a problem-specific description of archaeological objects, but at the same time stores data and data-definitions in one underlying structure, regardless of chosen solution. In this paper we describe how we have solved the problem of creating a database structure capable of holding widely diffused classifications and descriptions.
-
The emphasis of archaeological communication is no longer simply text on paper, but has moved on to encompass the expression of space and visibility. This paper discusses these new phenomena from the perspective of two recent projects, both of which presented spatial research material for dissemination on the World Wide Web. The first created a QuickTime virtual reality of Pompeii, Regio VI, and the second used an Internet based game engine to create a real-time virtual reconstruction of a Pompeian house. The paper also examines issues central to the integration of academia with the Internet and computing technology such as the advantages and disadvantages of using proprietary software and the opportunities and responsibilities presented by communication in the global community.
-
In 2008 the authors undertook a detailed statistical analysis of the dimensions of a large sample of loomweights from Insula VI.1, Pompeii. A major finding was that the weights of the loomweights appeared to have a bimodal distribution. Further analysis using loomweights that have come to light since the original work strengthens this observation. An analysis of loomweight volume has been undertaken with a view to predicting weight from volume for incomplete loomweights where sufficient information is retained to allow a volume calculation. Recently published experimental work allows an interpretation of the bimodality of the weights in terms of the loom set-up and the cloth being woven, and this is explored in some detail, along with further, tentative, observations on the chronology of the weights.
-
This paper describes a system for real-time field support to archaeological excavations, and for interaction with remote researchers, via the Internet. To this aim, a prototype system has already been field tested at the site of Poliochni in Greece. The system is composed of a wireless LAN, including one (two or more in the future) mobile unit (Telxon PTC), and a wired LAN, with at least one PC or Workstation running Windows NT and Lotus Notes Domino for groupware activities. The two LANs are connected by means of an Access Point Aironet 630 (Radio-hub). The system provides a communication link with remote workstations installed in Universities or Museums where researchers who are interested in cooperating in real-time with field operators can work. Archaeologists can use the mobile units to draw finds on the screen using a magnetic pen, to write related textual information and to send these sketches or digital snapshots to the fixed host by using suitable interfaces (serial, parallel, PCMCIA, and so on).
-
In the last few decades, urban archaeology in Naples has contributed to outline the history of the city. The discovery of a great amount of pottery gave information about the daily life of ancient Naples. It was therefore decided to draw up a thematic archaeological map of the ceramics finds to reconstruct their production and distribution from the 4th century B.C. to the 7th century A.D. The project ceraNEApolis consists of a pottery map linked to a bibliographic database, which will be made available online: a working tool for experts, useful to outline the cultural city stratification and to understand the Neapolitan archaeological sites through the material. It is useful in defining the topography of production (workshop, raw materials, and resources), distribution (communication routes, harbour, market), uses and consumption patterns (house, habitat, sacred areas, burials) in the city, even if lacking monumental evidence. It contributes to the reconstruction and analysis of the cultural and urban landscape, taking into account the geomorphological elements and the data contexts even in diachronic and transversal multi-disciplinary perspective. The analysis of some significant cases shows its validity also for potential alternative fruition. The integration of virtual reality systems is a possible extension also for the knowledge, enhancement, communication and use of cultural heritage.
-
The Lake Urmia survey project carried out from 2004 to 2006 in north-western Iran was aimed at obtaining a reliable overview of the occurrence of archaeological sites as well as to identify the spatial pattern of such sites across the area. This paper explores archaeological approaches to regional scale in dynamic landscape. Regional interpretation and the spatial statistical methods used to describe sites distribution, orientation, and pattern are often most reliant on point data. This paper also demonstrates how point pattern analysis offers quantitative information to the spatial process modeling of the natural and cultural landscape, which will aid at establishing a baseline from which other attributes of higher measurements for archaeological elements can be confidently mapped, described and modeled within a GIS. Point pattern analysis of archaeological sites has involved the advantages of visualization and iteration offered by a GIS. Therefore the significance of this study is three-fold. 1) it applies spatial analysis within a GIS to the understanding of archaeological site distributions. 2) it uses quantitative methods that are now available within a GIS to assess inferences concerning the survey data collected from the study area. Finally, this study offers insight into a methodology that is suitable to the spatial examination of more complicated surface data in landscape archaeology concept.
-
This paper presents the preliminary results of a laser scanning survey carried out at the archaeological mound site of Arslantepe, located in eastern Turkey. The Italian Archaeological Expedition in Eastern Anatolia has largely brought to light its long history spanning from the 6th millennium BCE to the Byzantine period. The most outstanding evidence unearthed so far is a group of remarkably well preserved monumental buildings erected during the final centuries of the 4th millennium BCE, when the economic and political centralization reached its climax. Recently, the whole area became an open-air museum protecting the archaeological structures from climatic stress and enabling visitors to have a glimpse of the monumental complex as it was. The laser scanning survey was aimed at aiding the interpretation of the archaeological features through extremely accurate measurements as well as to provide the researchers with structural and condition monitoring of the surfaces overtime. Given the ever-changing plastic shape that mud-brick buildings take on over the time, this survey turned out to be an interesting challenge for testing laser scanner technology, since it is not easy to connect to any regular design.
-
Archaeologists working in cultural resource management (CRM) face four major challenges. First, the work is performed under short, development-driven deadlines. Second, CRM projects often are quite large, generating more data than archaeologists traditionally encounter. Third, the results must be presented in forms that are understandable and enlighten the public. Finally, CRM archaeology must address concerns of native peoples. In this paper, I draw on case studies from the American Southwest to show how archaeologists at Statistical Research, Inc. have used the Internet and CD-ROM technology to address these challenges. I highlight a web-based system developed for a large excavation project designed to keep project sponsors, principals, and specialists from around the world abreast of the status of fieldwork and analyses, as well as a forum for dialogue. I also discuss the use of CD-ROM technology to disseminate project materials and reports in a cost-effective manner. Beyond text, these CDs include videos designed for a non professional audience. CD-ROM technology also is used to provide Native Americans with digital images of rock art and sacred sites that allows them to comment on proposed mitigation measures.
-
The aim of this study is to obtain an estimate of the volumetric capacity of a selection of ceramic vessels from the Neolithic site of Lugo di Grezzana (Verona, Italy). The method applied involved the use of Blender, a free and open source 3D computer graphics software. This program can calculate the volume from the graphic elaboration of the archaeological drawing of the artifacts. Through the calculation of volume it has been possible to obtain an estimate of the total capacity of the vessels, proposing two types of content. Volumetric estimates were then compared between the diameter and height of each ceramic vessels, to define size classes. The research shows that the internal variability of some ceramic shapes could be the consequence of different functional and/or cultural choices. The methodology tested in this paper could be applied in future research projects.
-
For the first time in the history of Venetian archaeology, this paper presents the innovative potential of the application of a non-invasive digital technique for the extensive measurement of reused sculpture (spolia) preserved in Venice and its lagoon, both in architectural contexts and as freestanding structural elements. The sample measurements were carried out to get precise digital representations of archaeologically and epigraphically meaningful items, such as ancient columns, capitals or inscriptions, which are reused in the facades of palaces on the Grand Canal, as well as inside and outside Venetian churches and bell-towers. In most cases, measurements were taken for the first time; it was also possible to test the functions of the device over considerable distances, even greater than 50 m, thus obtaining the measurement of artefacts that are difficult to access. Finally, the provision of a very detailed dataset made it possible to set up a broader, albeit still embryonic, study of the proportions of ancient artefacts, especially inscriptions.
-
-
Un Colloque 'Epigraphie et Informatique' s'est tenu à l'Université de Lausanne les 26 et 27 mai 1989 sous le haut patronage de l'AIEGL (cf. compte rendu in Epigraphica LI, 1989, p. 275-279). A l'issue du colloque, le bureau de l'AIEGL et les partecipants ont désigné une commission chargée de recueillir des reinsegnements sur l'utilisation de l'informatique dans les recherches conduites acutellement en épigraphie grecque et latine.
-
A set of related historical, geographical and cultural arguments shows that a connection exists between urban planning and territorial morphology for seven Greek colonies in Sicily, namely: Himera, Megara Hyblaea, Siracusa, Gela, Agrigento, Heraclea Minoa, Selinunte. It is discussed here how, in those cases, the neighbouring landscape justifies the geographical location, the site choice, and the displacements of functional and architectural elements in the site. The enlighted connection is concerned with both functional and aesthetical aspects of the landscape. The quantity and complexity of documents led to a different methodology of data analysis and presentation, i.e. the hypertext methodology, which, although not new, has been highly developed in the last few years thanks to the capillary diffusion of computers and especially the flourishing of programmes for the development of hypertext applications.
-
This article proposes a hypertext technology-based system for the management of archaeological documentation. The system is conceived to give archaeologists the means to have on-line all information about an archaeological context, so that this information is available to more than one workstation. In such a way the archaeologist is enabled to operate in real-time, to extract and manipulate on different levels the information on which the research is based.
-
As part of an on-going project for a London based Archaeological Information System, work on the automatic generation of stratigraphic adjacency matrices has been jointly undertaken by the Department of Urban Archaeology (MOL) and the Department of Photogrammetry and Survey (UCL). Such a program has been developed on an Apple Macintosh using SQL treewalking techniques (under Oracle RDBMS) and a Hypertext interface which handles graphic presentation and manages rule based drawing conventions (using Supercard object-oriented hypertext). The ultimate goal of this research is the creation of an interactive reporting structure which allows access to many levels of recorded and interpretive site information.
-
The article explains the theoretical aspects of a cataloguing plan financed in the context of the so-called “Giacimenti Culturali” (Lana 41/86, Art. 15). This work concerns some areas of the city of Rome, in particular, monumental and topographical survey, territorial and architectonical cataloguing techniques, that are discussed here with the aid of computer science. The subsequent development of this plan will have as a fundamental issue the drawing of a prototypal magnetic Forma Urbis, suitable for, the safeguarding of the cultural heritage or for scientific purposes.
-
Nike is a computer system to support the archaeologist’s work. It can be used from the early phases of an archaeological excavation: from information gathering, to the actual excavation, up to the elaboration of its results. Nike organises in a single data base both graphical and textual data, in order to facilitate the collection, preservation, maintenance, and retrieval of information. Nike is a highly interactive system, and the navigation in the database depends on the result of the previous choice, according to the logical links present in the data itself, and guided by the specific needs of the researcher.
-
The author describes new additional qualities of the program ARBOR which allow a less redundant object description and facilitate the setting up and the use of pictorial databases.