LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology offers a non-invasive approach to remote sensing, crucial in archaeological studies. This article explores its application in investigating medieval castle settlements, in a hilly site covered by vegetation. Using LiDAR carried out by the Italian Ministry of the Environment (MATTM) the study aims to enhance visibility and interpret archaeological features through filtering, classification and visualization algorithms. Additionally, it evaluates the historicaltopographic potential of LiDAR data obtained via aerial surveys (Airborne Laser Scanning - ALS). Results demonstrate the effectiveness of this type of data in detecting microtopographical features, aiding in the interpretation of archaeological elements. However, limitations in spatial resolution pose challenges, particularly for smaller archaeological remains. Nonetheless, the study showcases the extraction of key features of the medieval site of Torre Palazzo, illustrating LiDAR’s utility in reconstructing structures and identifying constituent elements.
The Emilia-Romagna regional branch of the Italian Ministry of Culture (MiC) developed the ArcheoDB geodatabase to facilitate comprehensive and real-time mapping of archaeological sites and activities. The project, initiated in 2019 as part of a PhD research, is based exclusively on open-source technology; it has become the primary research tool for field archaeologists and Ministry officers. The regional Soprintendenze of the MiC actively participates in the retrieval of historical data stored in archives, which are progressively digitized. As of 2023, the cataloging process was mandatory for submitting new excavation documentation. This system is fully compatible with the Geoportale Nazionale per l’Archeologia (GNA - National Archaeological Geoportal) and collects regional data. It offers real-time updates and allows citizens, government entities, professional archaeologists, and researchers to access the open data collected through a web-based platform.
This paper presents results from a GIS-based approach applied in the archaeological study of Atella (Campania, Italy). The project integrates both new and legacy data using GIS technology, including a geophysical survey conducted at Sant’Arpino in 2006, and analyzes both field and proximal sensing data. The study, part of the Atella Archaeological Excavation Project led by University of Naples, aims to understand the city’s urban topography. It emphasizes the integration of various methods considering complexity, cost and data visualization challenges related to the archaeological surface record.
This paper summarises the results obtained between 2020 and 2022 during the topographic study carried out in the northeastern sector of Perugia as part of my master’s thesis at the University of Siena. The study involved the collection of published documentation followed by field-survey activities using Mobile GIS (QField) and aerial survey with UAVs. The data collected were managed and processed in a GIS environment, thus contributing to the analysis of the high archaeological potential of this territory and its settlement dynamics as well as past human-environment interactions, in a long-term perspective. The collected data also contributed to the expansion of the Archaeological Map of Umbria (CAU).
This paper presents the technological innovations introduced to the Archaeological Map of Ancona (Italy) in 2024, when the platform was first published online. The new IT structure is based on the use of two open-source software: Directus for database management and Geonode for the open access distribution of archaeological datasets supported by relevant metadata.
This short paper presents an overview of the methodology, fieldwork and activities of the FortNet Project, a joint collaborative effort of the University of Bologna and Sapienza University of Rome. Aiming to fill gaps in the research of hillfort settlements in southern Albania, the project utilizes cuttingedge methodologies to investigate settlement patterns, construction techniques, and material culture from the Bronze Age to the medieval period. Through non-invasive techniques and the development of a shared geodatabase, FortNet contributes to the preservation and sustainable development of the region’s cultural heritage while fostering public engagement and academic exchange.
Ravenna is one of the two case study of the MAPS Project (Sapienza University of Rome-University of Bologna), focusing on long-lasting ancient urban settlements. This contribution presents the aims of the project and the preliminary results regarding activities carried out in collaboration with the local Superintendence for archaeology. These have consisted in collection of legacy data, analysis of core samples from the area of Santa Croce, and studying of unpublished excavation context in the southern sector of the city. All data collected will be managed and shared through a digital infrastructure with a GIS interface.
This paper discusses the challenges of integrating legacy and new research data in the study of the multiperiod settlement site of Montarice at Porto Recanati (Marche, Italy). The site was discovered in the early 1970s and has since seen a series of invasive and non-invasive fieldwork to document its occupation history. Until now the various data collected during these endeavors have not been integrated, and large parts of the legacy data remain unpublished. A new research collaboration between the Universities of Ghent (Belgium), Bamberg (Germany) and Sapienza – Roma (Italy), supported by the SABAP-Marche Sud, the Museo Nazionale delle Marche, and the municipality of Porto Recanati aims at collecting all available archaeological and archival records of Montarice. Our final goal is to reconstruct the longterm settlement history of this coastal hilltop, from the earliest Palaeolithic evidence to the site’s final abandonment in the Middle Ages. The most intensive period of occupation was in the Middle and Recent Bronze Age, as is attested by surface material and the records of an unpublished excavation in the 1970s. Here we present a first outlook on this new project, highlighting the various datasets we work with and how they mutually inform each other. We also discuss the first results of our studies of the protohistoric settlement phases.
The Roca Archaeological Survey has produced a wealth of new data on the landscape frequentation of the important settlement of Roca Vecchia, one of the most important hubs in the central Mediterranean from later prehistory until medieval times. This paper presents the results obtained from the analysis of the data from the ancient to the late medieval period, as a continuation of what has been published in part I in the previous volume of GROMA (Iacono et al. 2024), trying to highlight how the specific features of a mobility hub like Roca Vecchia influenced occupation trends through time.
The Roca Archaeological Survey, the archaeological survey centred on the landscape around the important settlement of Roca Vecchia (sometime spelled also Rocavecchia) in Southeastern Italy, has produced a wealth of new data on the landscape frequentation of one of the most important hubs in the central Mediterranean from later prehistory until medieval times.In this paper we present some of the results that can be drawn from the data analysed so far for each of the macro-periods of frequentation identified, trying to highlight how the specific features of a mobility hub like Roca Vecchia influenced occupation trends through time.
The generation of spatially accurate point clouds through laser scanning, combined with the extraction of high amplitude Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) reflections provides a powerful tool to examine both the sub-surface and standing remains in a holistic 3D environment. This preliminary note describes the methodology and results from the examination of two Renaissance churches in central Italy where geophysical prospection and standing building survey have been successfully integrated to support a multidisciplinary study through non-invasive technologies.
Long standing archaeological investigations in a valley of central Adriatic Italy allowed a team of Ghent University, during the past two decades, to apply systematic prospections and monitoring of more than a hundred Roman rural sites. The research presented here concerns a series of rural sites where the integration of data from surface artefact scatters, with results from geophysical prospections and remote sensing, contributes to the understanding of architectural aspects and the typology of Roman villas in this part of ancient Picenum
The hypogeum of Santa Maria in Stelle, Verona, is mainly known as a place of Christian worship,built between 4th century CE and 5th century CE. This paper traces the previous phases of the monument, through the analysis of archaeological records, ancient cartography, and historical sources, and explores the reasons for its construction and the people involved. In fact, the site was not originally a place of worship, but a service facility, acting as the caput aquae of a small aqueduct, which has been traced back to Pomponius Cornelianus, consuland curator, who lived between 2nd century CE and 3rd century CE.
The paper illustrates the 3D survey of the so-called Caseggiato dei Lottatori and the Block V, III in Ostia, where the combination of terrestrial laser scanning survey with UAS photogrammetry was employed. The result is a high-quality 3D model and a set of high-resolution images, essential tools for further research, and for its proper conservation. This article describes in detail the general workflow followed, from survey planning to data archiving. This last stage, still too often disregarded, is placed in its theoretical context by highlighting the main standards available today.
This paper presents a reconstruction study of the ‘Tappatino’, a rustic farmhouse in the Archaeological Park of the Roman city of Suasa (Castelleone di Suasa, AN). As a multi-stratified site, a wide range of data from both archive sources and archaeological research has been analysed as a starting point for this study. In addition, topographic surveys and the stratigraphic analysis of the masonry were conducted. Finally, the paper describes the application of the Extended Matrix Framework (EMF) to the 3D reconstruction of this area and suggests a reconstructive proposal for the Roman imperial age.
The archaeological site of Çuka e Ajtoit (lit. “mount of the eagle”) is located at the southern fringe of the Albanian territory, a few kilometres from the Greek border, on the top of a conical hill with very steep slopes. Its sharp profile dominates the lowland area extending from Butrint in the north, a World Heritage site by UNESCO, to the valley of Kalamas, ancient Thyamis in the south. The area, known as Cestrine or Cammania during Antiquity was located in a highly significant geographical position, along the channel of Corfu, opposite to the city of Corcyra, along the maritime route connecting Balkan Greece to Sicily and Magna Graecia.
