Articles by Emanuele Taccola

The contribution aims to illustrate the potential of digital cartography in reconstructing the funerary landscape of Pisa and Volterra. These study cases represent different scenarios, albeit within the northern-Etruscan context. While in Pisa, the visible remains are almost non-existent, and the documentation is sparse and fragmented, the available information for Volterra is more complete and accurate. The research has resulted in two different databases integrating archaeological and cartographic information within a geographic information system produced by public administration. The two freely accessible GIS platforms offer an overview of the collected data and enable filtering, querying, and analyzing records to meet specific objectives. The article concludes with a methodological note on the importance of information systems in analyzing archaeological data and the requirement to create standard protocols for collecting and disseminating geographic data.

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.

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.

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’Antichità (LSA) of the Scuola Normale Superiore and the Laboratorio di Disegno e Restauro (LADIRE) of the Dipartimento di Civiltà 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.