Articles by Stefano Campana

This paper reports preliminary outcomes of the 'Hidden Landscapes of Latium project', applied to the Presidential Estate of Castelporziano, an exceptionally well‑preserved coastal landscape in the central Mediterranean and, concurrently, a highly challenging forested context for landscape archaeology. The study area, about 60 km², characterized by dense and continuous vegetation cover, was surveyed by airborne LiDAR acquisition at very high point density (in average 350 pts/m²), with the goal to facilitate under‑canopy archaeological detection in a highly challenging Mediterranean environments. We provide a critical appraisal of the acquisition strategy, with particular attention to sampling density and flight design as determinative factors for the detection of subtle anthropogenic micro‑topographies. The acquired dataset was subjected to a semantic‑segmentation processing pipeline that integrates multi‑level and multi‑resolution machine‑learning techniques for the automated classification of ground, vegetation, and structural elements. Results indicate that the combination of archaeologist-addressed, high‑resolution LiDAR acquisition and advanced semantic classification substantially enhance the interpretability of forested archaeological landscapes and enables the identification of features previously obscured by vegetation. Castelporziano thus constitutes a valuable testbed for evaluating the applicability, transferability, and limitations of LiDAR‑based methodologies within Mediterranean landscape archaeology.

This paper presents an integrated geophysical and UAV-LiDAR investigation of the Rusellae (Roselle) hinterland, carried out within the Emptyscapes framework aimed at moving beyond site-based approaches toward a continuous, landscape-scale reconstruction of settlement and land-use dynamics. While extensive field survey, aerial imagery and large-scale magnetometry are effective in the open agricultural portions of the Ager Rusellanus, densely vegetated hill slopes remain a major source of knowledge bias. To address this gap, we combined (i) new magnetic prospections (ca. 70 ha) in the south-western sector of the study area with (ii) a drone-based high-density LiDAR survey (ca. 550 ha) acquired with a RIEGL miniVUX-3 at low altitude and controlled speed, achieving an average density >700-800 pts/m². Point clouds were processed through a multi-level, multi-resolution semantic segmentation workflow, using a Point Transformer deep-learning architecture to classify ground, vegetation and above-ground structures and to produce high-resolution DTMs and DFMs for GIS-based analysis. Results reveal a markedly more structured landscape in wooded areas than previously documented, including extensive terracing systems, mobility corridors, funerary districts with rock-cut hypogea, and traces of later productive activities. The study highlights both the potential and the limits of high-density UAV-LiDAR and ML-based processing, stressing the need for targeted ground validation in Mediterranean under-canopy contexts.

The application of high-resolution drone LiDAR reveals new potential to detect and interpret subtle archaeological features in Mediterranean forested landscapes, where dense vegetation and low-relief topography strongly limit traditional survey methods. This paper presents preliminary results from an integrated archaeological and geomorphological analysis of drone-derived LiDAR data over the urban landscape of Roselle and its environs (southern Tuscany). Using high-resolution digital terrain models (DTMs) and digital feature models (DFMs), supported by targeted ground verification and geomorphological mapping, we identified and mapped a previously unknown western necropolis comprising more than 50 round barrows, features that were entirely invisible in conventional aerial imagery. By contrast, a known southern necropolis shows markedly lower visibility in the LiDAR data despite comparable data quality and vegetation cover. Comparison of these two funerary areas demonstrates that funerary architecture, substrate lithology, and geomorphological processes interact to govern archaeological visibility. Round barrows cut directly into outcropping bedrock produce stable, long-lived microtopographic anomalies, whereas masonry tombs affected by colluvial processes tend to be progressively obscured and smoothed. These results underscore the necessity of integrating geomorphological analysis into LiDAR-based archaeological interpretation and highlight geomorphology as a key control on the long-term preservation and detectability of funerary landscapes in Mediterranean settings.

The reconstruction of the main features of the past landscape surrounding the archaeological site of Roselle-Salica during the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods was achieved through targeted stratigraphic sampling and detailed palynological analyses. The archaeopalynological research carried out for this study included field surveys and pollen sampling, stratigraphic descriptions, and laboratory palynological analyses. Interpretation was developed through the integration of geomorphological, chronological, archaeological, floristic, and vegetation data. The pollen samples from test excavations 1000 and 2000 (pollen series T10 and T20) made it possible to document generally low woodland cover, the widespread distribution of heathlands, the presence of wet environments and Mediterranean elements, thus delineating a partially anthropogenic landscape characterised by limited cereal cultivation and more extensive areas used for grazing. The environmental reconstruction, defining forest-cover transformation and specific landscape features, is also discussed in relation to occupational phases and land use by the populations inhabiting the area within the chronological framework of the project.

The paper presents a historical and topographical synthesis of the city of Roselle and its surrounding territory, integrating results from recent research with earlier scholarship. It emphasizes the methodological challenges arising from the different investigative approaches applied to urban and rural contexts – excavation in the city and surface survey in the countryside – and highlights the need for their integration to reconstruct coherent historical narratives. From the Archaic period, Roselle emerges as a structured landscape characterized by organized settlement patterns, funerary areas, and a significant wetland system that played a key ecological and economic role over many centuries. During the Late Republican period, the forum area underwent important transformations, including the construction of early basilica-likestructures and elite residences, while the surrounding territory saw the gradual development of villa-based production systems. A major phase of urban reorganization occurred in the Augustan and Julio-Claudian periods, marked by monumentalisation of the forum, construction of public buildings, and increased investment in infrastructure such as water supply systems. This process continued through the Flavian and Trajanic-Hadrianic periods, reflecting sustained prosperity and local elite involvement in urban development. Overall, the study offers a long-term reconstruction of the interaction between city and territory, underlining Roselle’s evolution within broader socio-economic and environmental dynamics.

The paper presents and discusses results from the integration of various methods of geophysical prospection on the plateau between the Via Appia and the Via Ardeatina on the ancient suburb of Rome. The use of large-scale magnetometry, georadar and electromagnetic survey in an area of particularly dense archaeological remains is a highly effective methodology for revealing important information on previously unknown archaeological features. Of particular interest in this case is the comparison between geophysical data and the results of previous excavations, and newly-targeted test investigations that suggest the survival of the documented but previously undiscovered basilica of Pope Damasus as well as unknown catacomb tunnels at San Callisto and elsewhere on the plateau.

The Department of Medieval Archaeology of the University of Siena has been engaged for several years in the testing of GPS survey application for landscape archaeology. In the first section of this paper we have summarised the GPS application developed for field-walking, aerial, geophysical and topographical surveys. In the second section we have discussed the fact that, since the second half of the 1990s, we have felt a progressive disjunction between work in the laboratory and work in the field. While the availability of advanced technologies has been rapidly growing, activities in the field have continued to make use of instruments and methodologies developed in the 1970s. A mobile GIS system managed through the merging of PDA and GPS technologies represents at the moment the best available solution for restoring the link. The conclusions reached in our experiments using these devices consistently go far beyond the increased fieldwork efficiency and finally make it possible to systematically apply strategies and methodologies developed in the past but rarely used up to now because they were too time consuming.