Emerging from the challenge to reconstruct sonic and spatial experiences of the deep past, this multidisciplinary collection of ten essays explores the intersection of liturgy, acoustics, and art in the churches of Constantinople, Jerusalem, Rome and Armenia, and reflects on the role digital technology can play in re-creating aspects of the sensually rich performance of the divine word. Engaging the material fabric of the buildings in relationship to the liturgical ritual, the book studies the structure of the rite, revealing the important role chant plays in it, and confronts both the acoustics of the physical spaces and the hermeneutic system of reception of the religious services. By then drawing on audio software modelling tools in order to reproduce some of the visual and aural aspects of these multi-sensory public rituals, it inaugurates a synthetic approach to the study of the premodern sacred space, which bridges humanities with exact sciences. The result is a rich contribution to the growing discipline of sound studies and an innovative convergence of the medieval and the digital.
Explorations of perception using GIS have traditionally been based on vision and analysis confined to the computer laboratory. In contrast, phenomenological analyses of archaeological landscapes are normally carried out within the particular landscape itself; and computer analysis away from the landscape in question is often seen as anathema to such attempts. This paper presents initial research that aims to bridge this gap by using augmented reality (AR). AR gives us the opportunity to merge the real world with virtual elements, including 3D models, soundscapes, and social media. In this way, aspects of GIS analysis that would usually keep us chained to the desk can be experienced directly in the field at the time of investigation.
Couples exhibit special communication practices, but apps rarely offer couple-specific functionality. Research shows that sharing streams of contextual information (e.g. location, motion) helps couples coordinate and feel more connected. Most studies explored a single, ephemeral stream; we study how couples' communication changes when sharing multiple, persistent streams. We designed Lifelines, a mobile-app technology probe that visualizes up to six streams on a shared timeline: closeness to home, battery level, steps, media playing, texts and calls. A month-long study with nine couples showed that partners interpreted information mostly from individual streams, but also combined them for more nuanced interpretations. Persistent streams allowed missing data to become meaningful and provided new ways of understanding each other. Unexpected patterns from any stream can trigger calls and texts, whereas seeing expected data can replace direct communication, which may improve or disrupt established communication practices. We conclude with design implications for mediating awareness within couples.
During the annual survey campaigns of Villa Adriana in Tivoli (Rome), in collaboration with the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Lazio, a fruitful scientific collaboration for the study of the whole complex emerged that could become the field of sperimentation of the latest techniques of Digital Survey, whose outputs can be configured as photorealistic 3D models navigable and searchable. The applications and scientific results accrued through years of experiments conducted by the Laboratory of Survey of Department of Architecture of University of Florence have allowed to develop applications of the most advanced digital technologies in the field of survey for the digital documentation of architectural and archaeological heritage thanks to augmented reality. The campaign involved the Palace Area, the first nucleus of the imperial residence built where there was a pre-existing republican villa. The first part of the work led to the generation of a three dimensional point cloud of the area generated with the use of laser scanners; later was created a photogrammetric model of the entire complex, scaled and oriented through the cloud of points itself. The generated model was finally put online and was created a planimetry, which can be read by any mobile device with a camera and internet connection, which acts as a key to access to the view of the virtual model in augmented reality. The construction of such project conceived on a larger scale would allow to make available the information for different levels of users and, could be aimed to both technical experts and a wider audience, highlighting thematic routes also for tourism; the activities of systematizing the information and data by creating cognitive structures that, resubmitting the complexity of reality, make it possible to develop experiments and development forecasts congruous with the Management Plan of the site.
The aim of this paper was to highlight the augmented reality’s potentialities, depicting its main characteristics and focusing attention on what its goal should be in order to have a new technology completely different from those that already exist. From a technological point of view, augmented reality is still in its infancy and so even the general idea of what a good augmented reality should be is still uncertain. Commonly, augmented reality is identified as opposed to the virtual reality because augmented reality merges digital information with the real environment. However, there is another technology, with a different history, which has this same basic goal: ubiquitous computing. The absence of a clear distinction between ubiquitous computing and augmented reality makes it difficult to identify what these two technologies should pursue. I will analyse the main aspects of ubiquitous computing and augmented reality from a phenomenological point of view in order to highlight the main differences and to shed light on the real potentialities of augmented reality, focusing attention on what its goal should be.
A significant number of Ancient Musical Instruments (AMIs) are exhibited in archaeological museums all over the world. Organized sound (music and songs) was the prominent factor in the process of both formulating and addressing intellectual activity and artistic creation. Thus, the way AMIs sound is a key element of study for many scientific fields such as anthropology, archaeology, and archaeomusicology. Most of the time, the excavated instruments are not in good condition and rather fragile to move around (in order to perform studio recordings or exhibit them). Building replicas was the only way to study their performance. Unfortunately, replicas are not trivial to build and, once built, not modifiable. On the other hand, digitally simulated instruments are easier to build and modify (e.g., in terms of geometry, material, etc.), which is a rather important feature in order to study them. Moreover, the audio stimulus and the digital interaction with an AMI through a Graphical User Interface would give more engagement and knowledge to the museum’s visitor. In this work, we show the simulation methods of wind (classes: Aulos, Plagiaulos, Syrinx, and Salpinx) and string (classes: Phorminx, Chelys, Barbitos, Kithara, and Trigonon) Greek AMIs and the relevant built-applications useful to scientists and broader audience. We here propose a user-friendly, adaptable, and expandable digital tool which reproduces the sound of the above classes of AMIs and will: a) allow the museum scientists to create specific Auditory Virtual Musical Instruments and b) enrich the experience of a museum visitor (either in situ or on line) through a digital sound reconstruction and a 3D visual representation of AMIs, allowing real-time interaction and even music creation.
This introduction places the forum contributions in the wider context of the "spatial turn" within the humanities and social sciences. Following a survey of the historical trajectories of the field, a review of impulses from different disciplines, and a sketch of general developments over the last few decades, the editors exemplify key approaches, methods, and conceptual advances with reference to gender studies. The focus then turns to the structure, main themes, and specific contents of this collection, which features both case studies and theoretical reflections. In conclusion, the essay underlines the significance and further potential of the "spatial turn."
A Companion to Assyria is a collection of original essays on ancient Assyria written by key international scholars. These new scholarly contributions have substantially reshaped contemporary understanding of society and life in this ancient civilization.The only detailed up-to-date introduction providing a scholarly overview of ancient Assyria in English within the last fifty yearsOriginal essays written and edited by a team of respected Assyriology scholars from around the worldAn in-depth exploration of Assyrian society and life, including the latest thought on cities, art, religion, literature, economy, and technology, and political and military history
This chapter seeks to describe and analyze the relations between Assyria and Babylonia as they unfolded over time. Like all of Upper Mesopotamia, the “Assyrian triangle”, demarcated in historical times by the cities Ashur, Nineveh, and Arbela, experienced a phase of pronounced regionalization and ruralization during the first centuries of the third millennium BCE, with little evidence for economic, cultural, or political interaction with the south. From ca. 2700 onwards, however, there are indications of a growing urbanization in the region, and southern influences began to play a more significant role. For several decades, Assyria had to focus its military attention on other regions, especially Urartu, and besides skirmishes with Aramaean semi-nomads in the Assyro-Babylonian border area, little Assyrian activity in the south is recorded. All this changed with the accession of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727), when Assyro-Babylonian relations entered an entirely new phase.
Music-archaeology can show exemplarily the potential as well as the dangers of digital approaches. Both are here illustrated using case studies from the field of virtual modelling the intended scales of ancient reed instruments, with a focus on the requirement of the closest possible collaboration between music-archaeologists and programmers from the planning stages of a project and throughout its development. On the one hand, the potential robustness of predictive algorithms is shown, on the other, methodological fallacies are exposed that have led to redundant results and consequently misguided interpretations, which however, due to the ubiquitous partition of expertise, have slipped through reviewing processes. Finally, the author amends a problematic detail in the approach underlying previous publications of his own, showing how reflecting the physiology of aulos playing more accurately may enhance the harmonicity of modelled pitch sets, which in turn lends further credibility to the general method.
Structured light scanners for three-dimensional surface acquisition (SL scanners) are increasingly used for dimensional metrology. The optical configuration of SL scanners (focal length and baseline distance) influences the triangulation process, on which the scanners’ measurement principle relies. So far, only a limited number of studies has investigated the optical configuration’s influence on the accuracy of a SL scanner. To close this gap, this work presents a design of experiment in which the optical configuration of a SL scanner is systematically varied and its influence on the accuracy evaluated. Further, tactile reference measurements allow to separate random from systematical errors, while a special test specimen is used in two different configurations to ensure general applicability of the findings. Thus, this work provides support when designing a SL scanner by highlighting which optical configuration maximizes accuracy.
Nonlinear data visualization methods, such as t-distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t-SNE) and uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP), summarize the complex transcriptomic landscape of single cells in two dimensions or three dimensions, but they neglect the local density of data points in the original space, often resulting in misleading visualizations where densely populated subsets of cells are given more visual space than warranted by their transcriptional diversity in the dataset. Here we present den-SNE and densMAP, which are density-preserving visualization tools based on t-SNE and UMAP, respectively, and demonstrate their ability to accurately incorporate information about transcriptomic variability into the visual interpretation of single-cell RNA sequencing data. Applied to recently published datasets, our methods reveal significant changes in transcriptomic variability in a range of biological processes, including heterogeneity in transcriptomic variability of immune cells in blood and tumor, human immune cell specialization and the developmental trajectory of Caenorhabditis elegans. Our methods are readily applicable to visualizing high-dimensional data in other scientific domains.
Assassin's Creed Origins is the latest title in the long-running Assassin's Creed series of videogames. The story of the main character is fictional, but it takes place within the places and historical events of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. The French software company Ubisoft undoubtedly created the game to appeal to fans of the series, most of whom are experienced gamers, but the game's creators also went to great lengths to recreate the setting as accurately as possible.
The article summarizes the ethical implications in the following areas: a) open access of data and results related to cultural heritage; b) recognition/loss of intellectual property and paternity of moral rights; c) dissemination of the results of knowledge according to the article 30 of the Second Additional Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 and the Faro Convention.
Among the many results achieved by the Land of Nineveh Archaeological Project (LoNAP), one of the most notable was the discovery of a number of Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites distributed especially in the Plain of Navkur. One of these, Asingeran, is of particular significance due to considerable evidence of occupation dating to both periods, with a substantial continuation during the second millennium BCE (in particular during the Mitannian and Middle Assyrian period). Since 2018, Asingeran has been investigated by a joint archaeological project conducted by the University of Udine and the Directorate of Antiquities of Dohuk, which aims to throw light on its extensive archaeological sequence and in particular the late Neolithic - Chalcolithic periods. This paper discusses the results of the first archaeological campaign: albeit preliminary, the data to hand reveal Asingeran’s important contribution to our understanding of the development dynamics that characterised Northern Mesopotamia during the late 5th - early 4th millennium BCE. The study of Asingeran has furnished information that explains the site’s formation, its visibility in the plain and the existence of a hidden archaeological landscape that may characterise much of the plain of Navkur and probably a significant portion of Northern Mesopotamia.
We have tried to scrutinize the results of the excavations at Ashdod and the widely accepted interpretation of the finds. Our main proposals are summarized below (see Table 2): 1. Most of the remains dating to the terminal Late Bronze Age should be ascribed to general Stratum XV and dated to the late 13th century BCE. What we would describe as Stratum XIV is represented mainly by local Stratum H6. It is contemporary with Level VI at Lachish and was likewise destroyed in the mid-12th century BCE. The Ramses III scarab that was found in a later context in Area G originated in this city, which was partially (that is, not overwhelmingly) destroyed by fire. 2. Both the Late Bronze and the Iron I settlements were unfortified. What was described as a Stratum XII city wall in Area G is a section of an elaborate building. 3. The Qasile X phase is apparently missing from the Ashdod sequence. It should have been found between Strata XI and X. This means that there was probably an occupational gap at Ashdod for most of the 10th century BCE. 4. The Stratum X City Wall 4014 of Area G should be reassigned to Stratum VIII. It was constructed in the 8th century BCE or a short while earlier. 5. Stratum IX at Ashdod cannot be interpreted as an independent layer. It was created because of possible evidence for constructional phases in the Stratum VIII-VII continuum and boosted in order to provide a pre-8th century date for the four-entry gate in Area M. All remains which were ascribed to this stratum should be assigned to the city of Stratum VIII. 6. We have endorsed Ussishkin's interpretation of the stratigraphy of the gate in Area M. The four-entry gate of Ashdod was erected in the time of Stratum VIII. 7. The site of Tel Ashdod was not inhabited (except for possibly squatters activity) in the 7th century BCE. The typical 7th century pottery types of Philistia are missing. But Ashdod is mentioned in the historical records throughout the 7th century BCE. We have argued that 7th century Ashdod should be sought at Ashdod-Yam. Sargon II conquered Ashdod, deported its population and established a major Assyrian centre at Ashdod-Yam – until then probably a relatively small settlement on the seashore. This analysis emphasizes once more the correct order of archaeological investigation: it should start with a careful method in the field, then proceed to establishing a well-controlled stratigraphy and reconstructing safe assemblages of finds. Only then can one engage in historical reconstruction.
The As-Built Model cannot be considered as a simple three-dimensional mould of the studied reality but as a process of analysis, synthesis and communication of architectural complexity including, in addition to geometric-dimensional aspects, also the historical, aesthetic and architectural features of the building. Consequently, the transparency and reliability issues of the digital visualization constitutes, as well as for the field of archaeology, a matter of primary importance in the modelling of cultural heritage. The increasing interest of scholars in the application of Building Information Modelling (BIM) to historical buildings has renewed the problems related to the reliability of the As-built, related not only to the relationship between the model and the measure, but also to the other information, for example the constructive technologies. Based on the survey and modelling of some case studies, the paper's aim is to define a reference standard for the reliability declaration of the As-Built HBIM models, which considers both the geometric and information aspects.
This contribute aims to provide new insight on the production and circulation of full-figure architectural terracotta images adorning temples, namely fictiles, in northern Etruria. The investigation focuses on the recent discovering of a relevant corpus of architectural terracottas in Populonia, emerged during the excavation in La Casaccia locality, on the eastern slopes of Poggio del Castello (Baratti, Livorno, Tuscany). The review of the typological study and the archaeometric analysis on a selection of representative antefixes and relief plaques disclosed a complex scenario revealing the presence of both local and imported fictiles. Future and already planned investigations of architectural terracottas from Volterra promise to enlarge the frame on the circulation of imported fictiles from the nearby Campanian areas, redrawing the dual interpretation of mobility of goods vs mobility of men for decorating public buildings in northern Etruria.
This paper describes an approach to the study and understanding of social processes which has recently become prominent: systematic experimentation with "artificial societies" created on computers. The contribution that this new research tool can make to a "cognitive" archaeology, is considered. It is particularly asked how artificial societies techniques may be used to enhance our understanding of the role played by rationality and by collettive belief and misbelief systems, including religious belief systems, in the initial emergente of certain types of social complexity. Experimental work discussed aims to explore the relevant insights of Paul Mellars and of Roy Rappaport. One particular set of computer based experiments demonstrates how, in certain circumstances, social groups with some of the characteristics of "cults" may arise, with long term benefit to their individuals involved.
Artificial neural networks are adaptive models that can be used for classification and pattern recognition purposes. ANNs do not differ from standard statistical models. The main difference between ANNs and traditional statistical models is their construction and definition process. In fact ANNs are adaptive in the sense that they can learn. Landscape Archaeology is a research area where the application of ANNs can be very useful. ANNs can be used for Landscape pattern recognition and Settlement systems modeling. This paper illustrate some aspects of the development of new tools and the application of ANNs in a raster GIS environment for archaeological predictive modeling purposes.
The integration of different approaches based on Artificial Neural Networks models has here been adopted to draw the guidelines of a map of a Mesopotamian administrative system. Two data sets concerning two different classes of findings have been contemporarily investigated using different models and procedures: a corpus of glyptic presentation scenes and group of administrative tablets from the archives of Umma. Both corpora are witnesses to the inner logics of late third millennium Mesopotamian state administration, and the investigations into them gave interesting contributions to the development of sound hypotheses for a general outline of the Ur III state bureaucratic culture. In fact, the results, obtained through different methodologies, show a large number of points of convergence, and the same features were recognized as "basic" both by Auto-CM and PST. In summary, through research on heterogeneous documents related to Ur III administrative communication, such as the relics of visual languages and traces of writing and sealing procedures, this work demonstrates how proper data mining techniques can partly reveal the very cultural background of some ancient centralized organizations and stimulate the development of new ways of considering the use and perception of those products.
The use of mathematical models in the art history of the pre-classic Near East is still comparatively little popular, partly because of cultural as well as technical and logical problems. In the history of research, such kind of approaches have been
En el segundo volumen de la serie dedicada a la Arqueología de la construcción se publican las actas del workshop «I cantieri edili dell’Italia e delle province romane: Italia e province orientali», celebrado en Siena (Certosa di Pontignano, 13-15 de
Los dominios de Roma, a lo largo de los siglos, llegaron a extenderse un poco más de dos millones y medio de kilómetros cuadrados. Durante los años de dominio romano cada una de las regiones que estaba bajo la influencia de Roma, experimentó un cambio social, de poder, urbanístico, arquitectónico, tecnológico, etc., que queda reflejado en la epigrafía, en los edificios públicos de las ciudades romanas y en los yacimientos de materias primas hallados. En estas actas recogidas a raíz de un congreso celebrado en Padua del 22 al 24 de noviembre de 2012, los especialistas se centraron en el estudio de la arqueología de las canteras romanas analizando sus sistemas de explotación y los procesos productivos; temas, sin duda, interesantes para profundizar en la arqueología romana.
The ARKIS-NET project is focused on an innovative vision of the conservation of cultural heritage, in which the role of the access to different knowledge levels to dynamically use information is fundamental. ARKIS-NET is an evolution of ARKIS (Architecture Recovery Knowledge Information System), an Information System developed in recent years and dedicated to the management, analysis and representation of heterogeneous data, from the artefact scale to the territorial one, used as support to conservation, safeguard and fruition of cultural heritage. ARKIS-NET provides the foundation for disseminating high-end heterogeneous data, organised and represented in GIS form, and mapping services via the Internet. An user-friendly interface allows remote users to make analyses and query on data, integrating them with local data.
This volume contains the proceedings of the 35th Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) Conference, held April 2–6, 2007, in Berlin, Germany.
In recent years, Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM) methodology has strengthened the documentation and interpretation of archaeological contexts and is regarded as a breakthrough in relation to established methodologies and analyses. Change is also taking place regarding web and cloud-based solutions, and this work acknowledges the importance of cloud-based and web HBIM solutions applied to Cultural Heritage assets and archaeology. More than ever, online platforms are becoming useful services to ease data exchange and validation between collaborators and stakeholders, establishing multidisciplinary approaches. Despite the presence of different cloud-based platforms, Heritage asset documentation can hardly be managed by environments or software developed for architecture and construction design. For this reason, this project is strongly founded on four pillars: online documentation, collaboration, communication and accessibility. Cognisant of these needs, the paper is aimed at the development of a custom HBIM cloud platform for archaeology, on the basis of the BIMData open-source online environment. This platform, called ARK-BIM, can be considered a modular solution leaning on HTML, JavaScript, VueJS, XEOKIT and open-source languages.
Research e-infrastructures, digital archives, and data services have become important pillars of scientific enterprise that in recent decades have become ever more collaborative, distributed, and data intensive. The archaeological research community has been an early adopter of digital tools for data acquisition, organization, analysis, and presentation of research results of individual projects. However, the provision of e-infrastructure and services for data sharing, discovery, access, and (re)use have lagged behind. This situation is being addressed by ARIADNE, the Advanced Research Infrastructure for Archaeological Dataset Networking in Europe. This EU-funded network has developed an e-infrastructure that enables data providers to register and provide access to their resources (datasets, collections) through the ARIADNE data portal, facilitating discovery, access, and other services across the integrated resources. This article describes the current landscape of data repositories and services for archaeologists in Europe, and the issues that make interoperability between them difficult to realize. The results of the ARIADNE surveys on users’ expectations and requirements are also presented. The main section of the article describes the architecture of the e-infrastructure, core services (data registration, discovery, and access), and various other extant or experimental services. The ongoing evaluation of the data integration and services is also discussed. Finally, the article summarizes lessons learned and outlines the prospects for the wider engagement of the archaeological research community in the sharing of data through ARIADNE.
In its four years of activity the ARIADNE project has created a catalogue of European digital archives which offers a portal that makes it possible to search the repository, where about two million datasets are recorded. The project has implemented an Open Data system applying the FAIR principles (Findable-Accessible-Interoperable-Reusable), and making available a concrete re-use of these important information sources, which otherwise would be difficult to access as most of the contents are unpublished.
Come si è modificata la struttura sociale dei Veneti antichi durante l’età del Ferro? Questo volume esamina la forma dei gruppi familiari attraverso un’analisi approfondita della documentazione funeraria di quattro siti: Padova, Este, Altino e Oderzo. Mette in luce lo sviluppo nel corso dei secoli ed evidenzia le differenze tra i diversi comparti della regione.
Owing to its early lead in the world of digital preservation, fostered by the creation of the Archaeology Data Service in 1996, the UK is often considered to be in an advanced position for digital archiving of archaeological data. In some ways it is, but the situation is also complex, due to a highly fragmented landscape, spread across four nations, and multiple sectors. This overview article describes the organisation and structure of archaeology across the UK, and the provision for digital preservation and access. Digital archiving is still far from standard, but the situation is improving, and rests on firm foundations.
Architecture represents the physical space built by man—in its immanent and tangible presence—and a spatial and temporal event. The architectural 3D digital model is the mediator between intellect and tangible reality, and it takes the form of a digital replica of the observable phenomenal reality. Thereby the model expresses—i.e. contains—the history and it’s passage through time; a visual narration that is part of the historical process and critical analysis. It’s an interpretable document, but also a genuine critical-historical text, expressed with the figurative language of the virtual dimension. Presupposition of this methodology for historical analysis, it’s a careful architectural surveying, a wise modeling project and an intelligent and critical use of the digital model.
During the Late Republic and Early Empire, central Adriatic Italy was one of the most urbanised regions in the Roman world and most cities were extensively equipped with monumental buildings, often lavishly decorated with imported marbles and sculptures. This contribution presents the results of an archaeological and archaeometric study of the architectural and sculptural marbles used in this central Adriatic area. The determination of the geographical origin of white and polychrome marbles was carried out through macroscopic examination and laboratory investigations (optical petrography, X-ray diffraction, oxygen and carbon stable isotopes). The analyses revealed the presence of a wide range of lithotypes from Italy, Greece (mainland and Aegean islands), Asia Minor, North Africa and Egypt, including varieties of white marble from Carrara, Proconnesos, Pentelikon, Thasos, Paros and Dokimeion.
Nato dall'esperienza di professioniste del patrimonio culturale, questo volume rappresenta la prima sintesi che definisce criteri e metodi per la corretta comunicazione online della disciplina archeologica. Una rassegna completa di suggerimenti
ARCHEOSEMA is the name of a metadisciplinary theoretical, analytical and experi¬mental research project which has recently been awarded a grant by the Sapienza University of Rome. The purpose of the research is to create a logical model based on the interaction between Geographical Information Systems and Artificial Adaptive Systems. The model is conceived as an epistemological and methodological instrument: epistemological because it requires an interdisciplinary dialogue that involves archaeology, physics, geography, linguistics and statistics, and methodological because it is intended to analyze solutions for problems of classification, seriation and organization of alpha-numerical data; to implement the dynamic simulation of the variables which compose organic and/or cultural systems; to identify new rules for spatial, economic and political organization and, moreover, to analyze physical, aes¬thetic and linguistic phenomena of the self-organization, entropy, learning and translation. This epistemological and methodological instrument which is technically programmed like a GIS combines the most advanced instruments of physics, mathematics, algebra and geometry and the first simulations made on three different databases (territorial, aesthetic, and linguistics), already show a series of preliminary results that open new possibilities for territorial archeology, cognitive archeology and computational linguistics.
This paper presents an overview on the development and use of open hardware devices in archaeology and their operation in extreme conditions. State-of-the-art technologies are analysed, based on the working experience of the Arc-Team company, which, in 2006, started up a new branch of research, informally called Archeorobotics. The research was initially focused on open hardware radio-controlled UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle); over time different devices were developed, like ROV (Remotely Operated underwater Vehicle), USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle), CNC (Computer Numerical Control) machine and other electronic and mechanical tools.
The rapid spread of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) technology confronts archaeologists with a number of opportunities and several dilemmas. Presentations and discussions at the 1996 UISPP meeting in Forlì, Italy, suggested that the current contributions of GIS to archaeological zeitgeist mixes new analytical possibilities, new data management capacities and theoretical problems. The current debate surrounding these issues is useful, yet it ignores several important areas of discussion. Many of the peculiarities of spatial data and spatial analysis have so far been overlooked, as have the changing metaphors of time and space demanded by GIS. A host of entertaining possibilities await those prepared to explore some of the remoter horizons opened by GIS.
In 2018 the Parco Archeologico del Colosseo set out on a three-year basis project, the ‘Risk Map of Floors Surfaces’, with the aim of preserving and monitoring all the in situ floor coverings of the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill areas (mosaics, sectile, cement floors, spicata). In order to systematically address this methodological approach a team of archaeologists, architects and restorers designed and created a comprehensive and functional information management system, the ‘Risk Map of the Mosaic and Marble Surfaces’, together with a web-based application with integrated webGIS tools. The platform is used daily to record historical-archaeological and archival data and it has become an essential tool in planning interventions in the field. This approach brings the Parco to move from emergency maintenance to a continuous cycle of systematic maintenance. At the end of the first three-year phase of the project, an interactive web map was published online in May 2022 to share selected data related to the ancient floors of the Parco with public users. At this stage, the web map (https://cdrweb.parcocolosseo.it) allows to obtain descriptive texts and a gallery of images of the ancient floors; there are plans in the next future to improve data sharing through API and web map services.
Several new tools to obtain three-dimensional information from unorganized image sets are now available for the public use. The main advantage of this software, which is based on dense stereo matching, is the possibility to generate 3D content without the need of high-cost hardware (e.g. 3D scanning devices). Nevertheless, their use in real-world application domains (like cultural heritage) is still not very diffused, due to the non-straightforward usability of the raw data produced. In this paper, we investigate the use of automatic dense stereo reconstruction tools for the monitoring of an excavation site. A methodology for the effective acquisition and processing of data is presented. In addition, the results of the data assessment demonstrate the repeatability of the data acquisition process, which is a key factor when qualitative analysis is performed. The use of three-dimensional data is integrated in an open source mesh processing tool, thus showing that a spatio-temporal analysis can be performed in a very intuitive way using off-the-shelf or free/open digital tools. Moreover, the use of peculiar rendering and the creation of snapshots from arbitrary points of view increase the amount of documentation data, and suggest a perfect integration of data produced with dense stereo matching in the future standard documentation for excavation monitoring.
The first part of the article deals with the problem of the relationship between the business world and the world of learning. In particular the author confirms the fundamental role of humanistic disciplines in the contemporary world and the necessity of the business world to recover their formative power. The second part of the article underlines archaeological trends as a “discipline” that can question the business world. The examination of computerised research undertaken up till now in the archaeological field of study shows a double purpose: the progress of scientific knowledge and the safeguard of cultural heritage. Among recent developments, the increase in the sectors devoted to didactics and the diffusion of knowledge are underlined.
The 'domus del Centenario' is one of the largest houses in Pompei, and the focus of a far-reaching project of study and valorisation, based on an agreement between the Soprintendenza Archeologica of Pompei and the University of Bologna (Department of Archaeology). Its aim is to experiment with the use of a virtual reconstructive model to better contribute to both research and instructional aspects. An approach to build virtual environments for education in archaeology is described, in which many actors are involved. The required equipment, the professional skills and the related job planning issues are discussed. Virtual Archaeology products may be directed through many channels. Virtual sets, where real actors play in virtual reconstructions, offer new education opportunities to a large audience. PDA based interactivity enhances user-centric communication. The purpose of this paper is also to discuss a user-centric multichannel system, providing access to Virtual Archaeology based contents, both on-site and off-site; while the information base is shared, the interface devices are channel-specific and are calibrated to the fruition context. The system is called MUSE and is developed by a private company (DUCATI SISTEMI S.p.A.). The key system component is Whyre, an interactive and mobile device, designed to act as a personal virtual guide and to provide knowledge through words and images, on-site. Whyre technology is hidden behind its interface and shape: it carries inside a tiny PC-like computer equipped with a 3D-graphics accelerator and augmented with location detection sensors. It is wireless connected to a site server and is context-aware, so that only location and context relevant contents are submitted for the visitor's attention. The display size is 6.4 inches and its resolution is 640x480 pixels. Several types of Virtual Archaeology based contents may be displayed. The paper reviews the Whyre architecture as well as the context production framework for the entire multichannel system. Eventually a visit experience with Whyre in Pompei, from Porta Marina to the 'domus del Centenario', is described, and the impact of delivering location-specific contents originated by virtual archaeological reconstructions is discussed.
