Articles by Giovanni Leucci

The Messapian necropolis of Monte D’Elia (used from the 6th to the 2nd cent. BC) is about 300 m S of the modern town of Alezio (Lecce, Apulia), which lays on one of the most important ancient settlements of the Salento peninsula (ancient Messapia). The site was investigated between 1981 and 1985 by the Apulian Archaeological Superintendence. In 2020, archaeological investigations have been resumed by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Salento, with the participation of researchers from the Institute of Heritage Science of the National Research Council. Their research activities focused on geophysical prospecting and topographical surveys, performed thanks to the combined use of laser scanner and digital photogrammetry by drone. This contribution illustrates these research activities, which are aimed at understanding the general plan of the necropolis, through the integration of the information published in the 1980s with data from new investigations and surveys, and, more generally, at the reconstruction of its topographic organization and extension.

The town of Catania, located in the southern part of the Sicily region, Italy, holds the remains of an ancient settlement in the city centre. One of the most important buildings is the Cathedral and the buried Achillean Baths. The Cathedral was repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt after the earthquakes and volcanic eruptions that occurred over time. The first building dates back to the period 1078-1093 and was built on the ruins of the Roman Achillean Baths, on the initiative of Count Roger, acquiring all the characteristics of an equipped (i.e. fortified) ecclesia. Already in 1169, a catastrophic earthquake demolished it almost completely, leaving intact only the apse. In 1194 a fire created considerable damage and finally in 1693 the earthquake that hit the Val di Noto destroyed it almost completely. The area around the Cathedral is today highly urbanized, but it was the locus of social and political life over the centuries for people of different cultures who have inhabited the area since the 8th century BC. Therefore, this area contains stratigraphically complex layers of buildings and other remains, which can help understand the use of this area of the town over many centuries. A ground-penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography surveys were performed inside and outside the Cathedral of Catania. Data were visualized in three-dimensions using a standard amplitude slice technique as well as the construction of isosurface images of amplitudes. These images reveal the position of architectural features whose shape, size and burial depth suggest they are Roman and earlier in age. The features mapped overlap the development of the Achillean Baths and the presence of some tombs and unknown rooms.