This study outlines the circulation of Phoenician-Punic amphorae in northern coastal Etruria, with a particular focus on Pisa (Italy), where their presence has been attested since the mid-eighth century BCE. A set of specimens from Piazza del Duomo was analysed by minero-petrographic and geochemical techniques. The results were compared with literature data from Mediterranean production areas. The research allowed a better definition of the role of Etruscan Pisa in the frame of commercial and cultural routes in the Mediterranean, specifically in the Tyrrhenian area, also providing the opportunity to review the attestations of Phoenician-Punic amphora on a regional scale.

AbstractL'oggetto che si presenta in questo contributo costituisce un'integrazione al corpus relativamente poco cospicuo di orologi solari miniaturistici greco-romani. Si tratta di una meridiana conica in avorio di elefante, rinvenuta in giacitura secondaria all'interno di un contesto residenziale di età augustea nella Piazza del Duomo di Pisa. Al di là dell'unicità dell'esemplare, per il quale si fornisce un accurato studio gnomonico, unitamente a un approfondito apprezzamento dei relativi aspetti culturali, sociali e tipologici, tale scoperta contribuisce a meglio definire il livello sociale di quest'area della città tra il II e il I sec. a.C.

This paper presents the preliminary report of the 2018 season of the expedition of the University of Pisa in the area of tomb M.I.D.A.N.05, at Dra Abu el-Naga (Theban Necropolis). The work focused on the archaeological investigation of two small tombs, T1 and T2, previously discovered during the 2010 season on the northern side of the forecourt of M.I.D.A.N.05 and probably contemporary or slightly later than the latter. During the 2018 campaign, the chapel of T1 and most of the first room of T2 were excavated, revealing two different life-stories, which depend on the events and transformations which affected M.I.D.A.N.05 and its forecourt through the centuries. T1, soon sealed by debris and flashfloods, proved to have been solely used in the New Kingdom. Between the end of the Eighteenth and the early Nineteenth Dynasty, the tomb was occupied by the “Chief of the mrw-servants of Amun”, Nany, whose name appears on some sandstone fragments of a lintel and on a beautiful but regrettably fragmentary pair statue, found in pieces. T2 is larger and probably composed of two rooms. It remained accessible for many centuries, until the flood deposits filled it, covering a layer containing at least ten burials, partly cut by robbers’ pits. Only scanty elements of the funerary assemblages were found with the bodies, but various painted plaster fragments, pertaining to anthropoid coffins, date the re-use of the tomb to the Third Intermediate Period.

This article describes an interdisciplinary study carried out by a team of archaeologists, 3D surveyors and experts of new technologies applied to cultural heritage. The research was aimed at developing a virtual reality experience dedicated to Etruscan hypogean tombs in the city of Volterra. The application, intended for non-expert users, has been implemented in a touch screen version (mobile devices) as well as in VR mode (Samsung Gear Headset). In both versions, the user can easily interact with the immersive virtual context, browsing through the necropolises and/or underground tombs, and acquire textual and multimedia information.

L'oggetto che si presenta in questo contributo costituisce un'integrazione al corpus relativamente poco cospicuo di orologi solari miniaturistici greco-romani. Si tratta di una meridiana conica in avorio di elefante, rinvenuta in giacitura secondaria all'interno di un contesto residenziale di eta augustea nella Piazza del Duomo di Pisa. Al di la dell'unicita dell'esemplare, per il quale si fornisce un accurato studio gnomonico, unitamente a un approfondito apprezzamento dei relativi aspetti culturali, sociali e tipologici, tale scoperta contribuisce a meglio definire il livello sociale di quest'area della citta tra il II e il I sec. a.C.

Purchase online the PDF of Topography and 3D Survey in the Tomb of Khunes at Zawyet Sultan, Egypt : Preliminary Results, Taccola, Emanuele,Tiribilli, Elena,Bussmann, Richard,Miniaci, Gianluca - Pisa University Press - Article

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.

Archaeological data are heterogeneous, making it difficult to correlate and combine different types. Datasheets and pictures, stratigraphic data and 3D models, time and space mixed together: these are only a few of the categories a researcher has to deal with. New technologies may be able to help in this process and trying to solve research related problems needs innovative solutions. In this paper, we describe the whole process for the design and development of a prototype application that uses an Immersive Virtual Reality system to acces archaeological excavation3Ddata through the Gesture Variation Follower (GVF) algorithm. This makes it possible to recognise which gesture is being performed and how it is performed. Archaeologist shave participated actively in the design of the interface and the set of gestures used for triggering the different tasks. Interactive machine learning techniques have been used for the real time detection of the gestures. As a case study the agora of Segesta (Sicily, Italy) has been selected. Indeed, due to the complex architectural features and the still ongoing fieldwork activities, Segesta represents an ideal context where to test and develop a research approach integrating both traditional and more innovative tools and methods.

Over the years, the World of Archaeology has looked at modern technologies of 3D data acquisition and visualization in an opposite way: from an initial suspicion and refusal, it has passed to an excessive and sometimes uncritical enthusiasm. Once accepted that the use of Digital Technologies in Archaeology might not be a goal but the way by which to create knowledge, modern archaeologists must create a strong theoretical basis, and coordinate interdisciplinary teams able to cover all the different phases of the archaeological research. In order to have a both scientifically rigorous and efficient communication, it is necessary that the archaeologists are aware of the features, both positive and negative, of the devices to be used for the dissemination and sharing of very different kinds of data. Among these new tools, virtual immersive environments play a key role for the archaeological practice, since they allow for the visualization and analysis in real-time of different types of data and the interaction with them. The case study of the agora of Segesta represents an example of these new trends.

Archaeological data are heterogeneous (i.e., data-sheets and pictures, stratigraphic data, 3D models), and innovative virtual reconstractuions helps to visualize and study those data. In this short paper, we describe our work in progress in the design of an innovative way to interact with the complexity of a virtual reconstruction, using natural gestures and advanced machine learning, in close collaboration with archeaeologists.

The paper illustrates the project of an interdisciplinary team composed of archaeologists and researchers of the Scuola Normale Superiore and the University of Pisa. The synergy between these Centres has recently allowed for a more articulated 3D simulation of the agora of Segesta. Here, the archaeological excavations have brought to light the remains of a huge public building (stoa) of the Late-Hellenistic Period. Computer graphics and image-based modeling have been used to monitor, document and record the different phases of the excavation activity (layers, findings, wall structures) and to create a 3D model of the whole site. In order to increase as much as possible the level of interaction, all the models can be managed by an application specially designed for an immersive virtual environment (CAVE-like system). By using hands tracking sensor (Leap) in a non-standard way, the application allows for a completely hand-free interaction with the simulation of the agora of Segesta and the different phases of the fieldwork activities. More specifically, the operator can use simple hand gestures to activate a natural interface, scroll and visualize the perfectly overlapped models of the archaeological layers, pop up the models of single meaningful objects discovered during the excavation, and obtain all the relative metadata (stored in a dedicated server) which are visualizable on external devices (e.g. tablets or monitors) without further wearable devices. All these functions are contextualized within the whole simulation of the agora, so that it is possible to verify old interpretations and enhance new ones in real-time, simulating within the CAVE the whole archaeological investigation, going over the different phases of the excavation in a more rapid way, getting information which could have been ignored during the fieldwork, and verifying, even ex-post, issues not correctly documented during the fieldwork. The opportunity to physically interact with the 3D model of the agora increases drastically the level of affordance between operator and 3D simulation, and to verify with a completely new approach, issues which can be hardly investigated by using traditional 2D documentation.

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'Antichita (LSA) of the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Laboratorio di Disegno e Restauro (LADIRE) of the Dipartimento di Civilta 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.

During the 2012–2013 excavations at the Sanctuary of Punta Stilo at Kaulonia, carried out by the University of Pisa and the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa, close range aerial and terrestrial photogrammetric surveys were tested for the first time. The aim of the test was to verify the accuracy of the site planimetry currently used, dating back also to a century ago. The 3D data obtained have allowed new data to be acquired for correcting and updating the mapping of the site.