Articles by Guido Vannini

2013 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

Dal rilievo fotogrammetrico all'analisi dei dati. Il Progetto Shawbak

Pierre Drap, Djamal Merad, Julien Seinturier, Jean-Marc Boï, Daniela Peloso, Guido Vannini, Michele Nucciotti, Elisa Pruno

Abstract

In this paper we present an interdisciplinary project which is a work in progress towards a 3D Geographical Information System with a specific focus application on the Castle of Shawbak. The Shawbak archaeological project is a specific and integrated project between medieval archaeological research and computer vision done thanks a long-term cooperation between University of Florence and LSIS/CNRS Marseille. Focusing mainly on stratigraphical analysis of upstanding structures we conducted a survey using photogrammetry, both in a traditional way and using the most advanced techniques to obtain a dense map, and then a tool for statistical analysis. The photogrammetric survey is driven directly by archaeological data which is formalized by ontologies as a link between all the archaeological concepts which are surveyed. The 3D GIS is the last step of this chain and aims at the automatic production of 3D models through archaeological database queries: these 3D models are, in fact, a graphic image of the database and at the same time the interface through which the user is able to modify it and produce different kinds of analysis.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2013, 24, 329-340; doi: 10.19282/ac.24.2013.17

2000 Open Access Article Download PDF BibTeX

PETRA: un sistema integrato per la gestione dei dati archeologici

Marco Crescioli, Franco Niccolucci, Cristina Tonghini, Guido Vannini

Abstract

This paper describes a database management system created for organising the data which emerged during an investigation conducted by a team from the University of Florence in Petra, Jordan. The subject of the research are Crusader settlements in Transjordan and, in particular, the castle system of the Petra valley; the study employed a methodological approach based on so-called “light archaeology”, that is a set of methods typical of European Medieval archaeology like “landscape archaeology” and “standing structure archaeology”. The study, which is still in progress, has revealed the key role of Petra in the territorial organisation of Transjordan during the Crusader period. By focusing on Wu’ayra, the most important fortress of the Petra valley, by means of a series of trial trenches, the project has documented the different settlement stages of the site. It is now apparent that the site was defended by a double wall overhanging the surrounding wadi with a single access and fourteen square towers on the outer ring and the inner walls, and an extreme defence nucleus, the fortified church, inside the cassero, in the centre of the system. Of the nine stages studied so far, three concern the Crusader settlement, one a very short occupation by the Ayyubids, and five correspond to the phase of abandonment of the castle with subsequent occasional use by Bedouin communities. The investigation will eventually evolve into a wide ranging study of the Crusader border, from Antioch to Aqaba. The computer project consists of a database management system, which is based on a Java servlet, a software which uses the HTTP protocol to generate and submit HTML pages “on demand”, and which can be viewed using a common Internet browser. This helps communication and simplifies access to data, which can also be shared on-line. Future developments will include spatial information, based on freely available GIS software. A particular feature of this investigation is the close connection which is maintained between computer technology and archaeological methods, which envisages new forms of co-operation in interdisciplinary research and new skills that draw from both disciplines.

«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2000, 11, 49-67; doi: 10.19282/ac.11.2000.02