Articles by Giovanna Liberotti

The city of Rusellae and its surrounding landscape have undergone varying degrees of transformation over the centuries. These changes are most pronounced in the coastal areas, while the inland region, where the ancient settlement once stood, has seen more limited alterations. This study examines the evolving relationship between the city and its territory through an integrated approach that combines historical and contemporary aerial photographs with a critical analysis of cartographic materials spanning from the 15th to the 19th century. The goal is to provide a diachronic reconstruction of the landscape, emphasizing both continuities and disruptions in terracing systems, road networks, and toponymy. A key aspect of this research involves the use of RT3D, an open-source software developed by the LabGeo at the SAGAS Department of the University of Florence. This tool allows for the archiving, standardization, and integration of geo-spatial data from diverse sources, including core samples, surveys, excavations, and archival research. The result is a three-dimensional visualization of stratigraphy that enhances the interpretation of archaeological contexts, offering new insights for historical and archaeological investigations. The integrated analysis enabled the identification and reinterpretation of ancient road networks, terracing systems, and potential settlement areas no longer detectable at the surface, thereby enhancing the reconstruction of the urban layout and territorial organization of Rusellae through its Etruscan and Roman phases.

This paper presents the preliminary results of a laser scanning survey carried out at the archaeological mound site of Arslantepe, located in eastern Turkey. The Italian Archaeological Expedition in Eastern Anatolia has largely brought to light its long history spanning from the 6th millennium BCE to the Byzantine period. The most outstanding evidence unearthed so far is a group of remarkably well preserved monumental buildings erected during the final centuries of the 4th millennium BCE, when the economic and political centralization reached its climax. Recently, the whole area became an open-air museum protecting the archaeological structures from climatic stress and enabling visitors to have a glimpse of the monumental complex as it was. The laser scanning survey was aimed at aiding the interpretation of the archaeological features through extremely accurate measurements as well as to provide the researchers with structural and condition monitoring of the surfaces overtime. Given the ever-changing plastic shape that mud-brick buildings take on over the time, this survey turned out to be an interesting challenge for testing laser scanner technology, since it is not easy to connect to any regular design.