Articles by Claudia Pizzinato

This paper illustrates a research project aimed at testing a method of GIS-based evaluation which was conducted using specific criteria and an "objective point of view" during an archaeological impact assessment. The authors tested the use of a database, linked to a GIS platform, to assign fixed values in order to evaluate the "potential", the "value of the context" and the "risk" of single archaeological sites affected by new projects of urban development. Based on the application of the same methodology and language used by the scholars involved in the environmental impact studies and coming from other scientific fields (natural sciences, economics, etc.), the assessment idea is proposed in order to stimulate archaeologists to use not only qualitative, but also quantitative values, like the procedures for the environmental impact assessment. Some case studies relative to the Venetian Lagoon, Mestre and Comacchio (FE) conclude the paper.

This paper discusses the application of environment evaluation models, with regards to the Archaeological Component, in consideration of the rules in force for the protection and conservation of the archaeological heritage. The protection both of Cultural Heritage and of planning of infrastructures must follow the principles of «sustainable development». In the first part of the paper, the authors acknowledge the value of environmental and archaeological impact studies on the territory. These studies, which must be conducted in a preliminary phase, make it possible to acquire a more profound knowledge not only of places subject to archaeological risk, but also of the historical and environmental reconstruction that may be useful for carrying out a project. The second part of the essay tackles the methodological problem for the archaeological impact evaluation of a site; this can be developed with the following aims: a) to single out the historical periods of a territory, relevant from the archaeological point of view; b) to define the sensibility of a historical period; c) to define the level of risk. For the evaluation it is necessary to define a qualitative hierarchy of the different sensibility levels that the archaeological object can have. This hierarchy is based on the identification of the right pointers and relevant principles of interpretation. The last part of the paper is a synthesis of an applied study case, described after the explanation of the methodology of the archaeological impact evaluation. In this study case the “quali-quantitative” evaluation techniques are adopted.