Articles by Subject
Subject field
Data dissemination and education
‘Ritorno a Vulci’. New tools for the study of the south-eastern necropolises
Alessandro Conti, Christian Mazet, Laura Maria Michetti
Abstract
The project ‘Ritorno a Vulci’ focuses on specific sectors of the south-eastern necropolis of Vulci, where excavations have been conducted since the 1800s. One of the primary objectives of this project is to create a dedicated WebGIS that will generate and manage new topographical documentation of the area. This will serve as a collaborative digital research platform, making document consultation more accessible and contributing to their preservation. Another significant digital project is ‘Vulci nel Mondo’ (VNM), which is conceived as a Virtual Museum. The Authors illustrate this highly versatile tool as an online space to bring together a permanent collection on Vulci. The standard virtual tour model is built on two key aspects: navigation, providing access to the collections and other information on the museum’s website, and interaction, simulating a physical space with which visitors can engage.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.1, 67-80; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.1.2024.06
L’archivio di comunità del Monte Baldo come esempio delle potenzialità di uMap-OSM per lo sviluppo di progetti partecipati sui beni culturali
Alexandra Chavarría Arnau, Marco Bertuccelli
Abstract
The paper presents the use of the Free OpenSource Software uMap-OSM as a solution for the online implementation and dissemination of the Community Archive of Monte Baldo, a project consisting in the participatory identification and cataloging of Cultural Heritage from this territory located in the provinces of Trento and Verona. The paper offers a concise comparison of user-friendly alternatives and evaluates strategies for database creation using uMap-OSM. The final section validates the selected methods and customization plans, aimed at fulfilling divulgation, accessibility and sustainability goals, while adhering to archaeological documentation standards. The Community Archive of Monte Baldo also aligns with the objectives of local authorities and stakeholders in land-use planning and human development, contributing to the preparation of a UNESCO candidacy dossier for the Monte Baldo territory.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.1, 491-512; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.1.2024.29
Amplifying archaeological outreach: the impact of Wikipedia and collaborative initiatives on cultural tourism
Piergiovanna Grossi, Serge Plata
Abstract
This paper examines the impact of Wikipedia and Wikimedia Foundation projects on archaeological heritage dissemination and cultural tourism enhancement. It focuses on two initiatives: a 2017 Public Archaeology event and a 2023 project extending into 2024. The 2017 initiative, in collaboration with the University of Verona and the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le Province di Verona, Rovigo e Vicenza, involved creating Wikipedia entries for key archaeological sites in Verona. Visitor data analysis, from these sites, showed an increased number of visits after the entry creation. The ongoing 2023 project, backed by Wikimedia Italia and the Superintendency, aims to refine Wikipedia entries for all supervised sites. Preliminary assessments indicate enhanced visitor engagement correlating with article updates. The study particularly analyzes visitor data for Corte Sgarzerie (Verona) and Criptoportico Romano (Vicenza), assessing both electronic and physical visits. Results indicate a significant statistical increase in site visits, following the availability of Wikipedia articles. Further, a significant correlation was found between electronic access to articles and actual visits to these sites. The findings suggest a substantial impact of Wikipedia on cultural tourism, highlighting the role of open access, free software, and open data in promoting and preserving knowledge.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 19-28; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.03
Dati aperti in archeologia: una riflessione sullo stato dell’arte nell’ambito del Ministero della Cultura
Valeria Acconcia, Valeria Boi, Annalisa Falcone, Ilaria Di Cocco, Mirella Serlorenzi
Abstract
The National Geoportal for Archeology (GNA), started in 2017 by the Central Institute for Archeology (Istituto Centrale per l’Archeologia – ICA) of the Italian Ministry of Culture, has the primary goal of making data resulting from all archaeological investigations carried out on the national territory freely accessible online. The project is part of the activities carried out by the Institute regarding the register and digitalization of archaeological research data. Its primary function is the creation of a dynamic archaeological map, easily implementable over time, free to access and easy to consult, open to reuse and integration by all users. The data-entry according to the GNA standard is entrusted to the use of a pre-set GIS project (template) developed using the open source software QGIS. GNA also receives data from other projects designed or managed by the Superintendencies in some areas of Italy, with the aim of preserving good practices already tested locally.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 29-38; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.04
The good, the bad and the ugly: evaluating Open Science practices in archaeology
Alessio Palmisano, Andrea Titolo
Abstract
In the past decade, archaeology has witnessed a surge in digital data and methodologies made accessible through online repositories, databases, collaborative platforms like GitHub, and library collections. While this ‘digital revolution’ has lead to notable advancements in data accessibility and dissemination, it has also presented several challenges. These include developing effective data management strategies, defining scientific publication modalities, addressing ethical concerns regarding the protection of cultural heritage, and bridging the gap between rich and poor research institutions. Taking these challenges into account, this paper aims to outline best practices for data sharing, dissemination, and reproducibility in archaeology, underscoring their benefits to researchers and the wider public. Through a range of approaches and practical examples drawn from everyday research scenarios, we will demonstrate how these practices promote transparency and foster open science.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 75-84; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.09
Dealing with doubts: site georeferencing in archaeology and in the geosciences
Florian Thiery, Fiona Schenk, Stefanie Baars
Abstract
Archaeological research must handle issues such as vagueness and uncertainty in data modelling. Especially vagueness and uncertainty must be modelled to work with geodata. However, for linking data and FAIRification graph-based modelling as Linked Open Data (LOD) proposed by Berners-Lee is the method and technique of choice. This paper discusses three data-driven interdisciplinary use cases of dealing with and modelling vague and uncertain geo-references (here especially findspots) based on literature as LOD from the archaeological and geosciences domain (Irish Ogham Stones, Campanian Ignimbrite, and Silver Coinage of Croton), implementing three modelling strategies using Wikidata, Linked Open Data and Wikibase.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 97-106; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.11
Extended Matrix Narratives: teaching and engaging through the past
Paola Frigerio, Caterina Previato, Emanuel Demetrescu
Abstract
Digital reconstructions for valorization projects are becoming increasingly popular and the creation of narratives that catches the user’s attention and instigates their curiosity is the key to edutainment. However, as shown by interviews and related work, there is still a lack of a working methodology for a balanced and fruitful collaboration between academia and creative industries. Even though this work is still in its early stages, in this paper we propose a methodology for bridging the gap between academia and creative industries through the development of the Extended Matrix Narratives (EMN) tool. It allows academics and creative people to construct narratives, characters, dialogues, and scenes in a schematic way, helping to ensure that the virtual reconstruction is both accurate and engaging for the target audience. The main step is to compile a dossier documentative, a collection of all the information that may be necessary for the creation of context, setting, narrative, or characters. This document provides a solid scientific basis for the final product and helps to direct the creative team. The result is a narrative that is both accurate and engaging, and that can be used for a variety of purposes, such as education, entertainment, and cultural heritage preservation.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 177-186; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.19
Engaging the public: reviving history through the Social Simulacra model in participatory Public History projects
Lorenzo Gigli, Marco Montanari, Lucia Marsicano
Abstract
Public history and participatory history initiatives are rapidly gaining momentum as they aim to democratize the historical narrative, involving communities and individuals in shaping their own historical experiences. This paper introduces a novel approach to these accomplishments by harnessing the power of the Social Simulacra Model. The model offers an innovative and participatory framework for public history projects, enabling individuals to actively engage with and contribute to historical narratives. By integrating the Social Simulacra Model into public history, this paper seeks to transform the traditional approach to historical storytelling. This model facilitates the creation of immersive, interactive historical simulations that enable participants to become part of the historical landscape. It fosters a deeper connection between individuals and the past by allowing them to take on roles, explore social dynamics, and make decisions within historical contexts. This paper also illustrates the potential of the Social Simulacra Model in enriching public history and participatory history projects by offering a new dimension of engagement and interaction with the past. It paves the way for a more inclusive, engaging, and participatory approach to historical storytelling, bridging the gap between academic history and public engagement.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 197-202; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.21
Zotero2Map: sviluppo di un nuovo strumento ITC per la condivisione e la pubblicazione dei dati bibliografici per la ricerca storica e archeologica
Abstract
Zotero2map is a web application for sharing bibliographic data from various collaborators who want to share their bibliographic collections, using the Zotero software with the specificity of displaying and querying data also on a geographical map. With this tool the LAD: Laboratory of Digital Archeology at Sapienza (http://purl.org/lad) aims to facilitate the exchange of information relating to different historical and archaeological contexts, to speed up their retrieval and ensure constant updating of the data entered into the system. The webApp allows you to view and search for bibliographic data within an online map, using keywords (tags) that define the contents that are archived within the Zotero Libraries, which individual researchers already use for own scientific production. By simply clicking on the map it will therefore be possible to go back to the titles of the contributions, giving the possibility to individual users/researchers to always be updated on the scientific debate and on the publications concerning a certain area. The international vocation of the project presented is given not only by usability and open distribution, but also by the development of the cross-language functionality of keywords, a system that will allow the association of terms related to the same research topic but treated in different languages. The use of shared, multilingual dictionaries will allow not only to break down language barriers, but also to define an articulated taxonomy of relationships between the terms used. Individual researchers therefore do not have to adapt to pre-established vocabularies, but are invited to align their taxonomy with the shared one, making use of simple but powerful ontologies, such as SKOS or FOAF. Currently the software has been used on the specific case of Caonia, Northern Epirus.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 245-254; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.26
I progetti Wikimedia e gli enti culturali
Elena Marangoni, Oriana Bozzarelli
Abstract
The paper focuses on cooperation between GLAMs (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) and Wikimedia projects. Cultural institutions that share content, data and images of cultural heritage with free licence can make their collections accessible to a broad audience, while Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects benefit from these content as sources for the online encyclopedia. Wikimedia Italia, local chapter of the Wikimedia movement and of the OpenStreetMap Foundation, supports the partnerships with cultural institutions in different ways. The association organizes Wiki Loves Monuments in Italy, a photographic contest that invites citizens to document cultural heritage and represents an instrument to face the Italian legal restrictions on sharing images of cultural heritage. A funding program supports each year GLAMs and volunteers’ projects and a wide project, Empowering Italian GLAMs, aims at addressing all Italian museums and heritage institutions in using open tools and sharing their digital collections.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 263-272; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.28
A new website for the journal «Archeologia e Calcolatori»
Abstract
Over the course of 35 years since its foundation, the open access journal «Archeologia e Calcolatori» has been providing its publications online via the website, as well as open access metadata since 2005 through the OAI-PMH repository. In 2024, the website underwent a major update and restyling, including the addition of modern interoperability features, most notably the newly implemented JSON REST API. This paper is concerned with the technical description of the design and development of the new website and additional functionalities for «Archeologia e Calcolatori», while also giving a short overview of how the journal’s online presence has evolved over time. The exchange of data between the journal’s REST API and the Open Archaeology Hub (ArchaeoHub) currently being developed in the context of the H2IOSC project is described as well. Finally, some future perspectives for further improvement are presented.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2024, 35.2, 471-482; doi: 10.19282/ac.35.2.2024.49
On the road to open access: insights from French antiquity journals and databases
Gaëlle Coqueugniot, Virginie Fromageot-Laniepce
Abstract
This paper proposes an overview of practices ensuring the gradual transition of printed archaeological journals, already internationalised, to new models of online scientific publishing. It also examines the economic and organisational means that guarantee the sustainability of these models. Our two research units, the Pôle éditorial of the Maison des Sciences de l’Homme Mondes and the team Archéologie du monde grec et systèmes d’information of the ArScAn équipe, are both based in the campus of Nanterre, and collaborative discussions between the numerous professionals based there give us a precious glimpse at the evolutions of practices in terms of data management and publication, in a context of Open Science where scholarly publications and data tend to be open more widely and faster.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2023, 34.1, 115-124; doi: 10.19282/ac.34.1.2023.13
Peer Community In Archaeology: a community-driven free and transparent system for preprints peer-reviewing
Alain Queffelec, Bruno Maureille, Marta Arzarello, Ruth Blasco, Otis Crandell, Luc Doyon, Siân Halcrow, Emma Karoune, Aitor Ruiz-Redondo, Philip Van Peer
Abstract
The number of scientific articles published each year is on the rise, but the current system, which is dominated by a few for-profit publishers, has become prohibitively expensive for many institutions. This model of publishing is increasingly being criticized for its serious flaws. The deposit of preprints in open archives is a solution for the rapid dissemination of research. However, the quality of these preprints must be ensured. This is where Peer Community In (PCI) comes in, by organizing communities of researchers to assess the quality of the work deposited in open archives. In 2020, a PCI dedicated to Archaeology was established, with over 100 archaeologists acting as recommenders. These recommenders handle the submitted preprints as associate editors would in traditional journals, but at the end of the process, they write a recommendation text, and the entire editorial process is published with it. So far, PCI Archaeology has received 45 submissions, mostly pertaining to Prehistoric periods, and from authors located in different regions of the world. This open process has been widely accepted by reviewers, but there is still a need to promote the use of preprints in the community of archaeologists.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2023, 34.1, 125-134; doi: 10.19282/ac.34.1.2023.14
IADI: an open Interactive Atlas of Digital Images for the journal «Archeologia e Calcolatori»
Abstract
Scientific literature understanding benefits from visual resources, which is even more evident in the case of material cultural heritage. In recent years, journals and publishing platforms have been increasingly offering extensive access to publications via the contextual provision of visual media, such as images and 3D models. The diamond open access journal ‘Archeologia e Calcolatori’, founded in 1990, started publishing its articles in 2005 on its website and has always paid attention to giving proper value and presentation to visual contents related to publications. Indeed, it maintained an online image gallery displaying colour plates from volumes until coloured images started being embedded in the articles’ PDFs (since 2009). Then, in 2021, the journal added images and 3D models as resources together with publications and displayed them both as standalone content and in relation to articles. However, this later work did not include the previous thirty-year-long history of the journal, since it required close cooperation with authors. Thus a new dedicated web application was specifically developed to present a structured and visually appealing archive of about 4000 images. The paper illustrates this application, entitled A&C_IADI (Interactive Atlas of Digital Images).
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2023, 34.1, 135-144; doi: 10.19282/ac.34.1.2023.15
La valorizzazione dei musei locali attraverso Wikipedia: il progetto MedAniene
Mariflora Caruso, Paola La Torre, Roberta Manzollino
Abstract
The aim of this contribution is to explain workflows, methodologies and impact of the ‘MedAniene Project’, that was realised through the collaborative use of Wiki platforms and coordinated by the APS ArcheoFOSS. The project involved creating or modifying Wikipedia pages for the museums of the Aniene Valley, uploading images to the Wikimedia Commons repository and structuring relational information in the Wikidata system. The goal of the work was to improve the communication and increase the visibility of those museums by providing the public with open access scientific explanations and implementing data relationships through several heuristic systems which are available to the digital audience. Building such an informative apparatus offers the opportunity to learn about shared digital cultural heritage, increasing awareness in external users and in communities. It is now possible to analyse data on views, accesses and clicks on contents and evaluate the impact of specific activities in terms of audience targeting and engagement. Indeed, this work proposes a methodology for the establishment of a digital, open and collaborative communication space, improving the connection between cultural entities and communities.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2023, 34.1, 165-174; doi: 10.19282/ac.34.1.2023.18
Strumenti per la comunicazione e la conservazione della documentazione del patrimonio archeologico: il complesso di Villa Adriana (Tivoli, RM) e il sito archeologico di Masada (Israele)
Abstract
Today we are able to produce a considerable amount of information in relation to heritage documentation thanks to the opportunities offered by remote sensing in all its aspects, from 3D laser scanner survey to the latest generation of photogrammetry. However, the remarkable ability to acquire data is not matched by methods of management, conservation and the possibility of using the generated databases at various levels. In the scientific area, not only visual techniques are experimented but also multisensory applications aimed at creating ‘intelligent’ digital models. In this work, some recent experiences carried out in the specific field of 3D digital survey documentation on sites of great archaeological interest are presented, such as Hadrian’s Villa in Tivoli, near Rome, and the Masada fortress in Israel.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2022, 33.1, 259-278; doi: 10.19282/ac.33.1.2022.14
Archaeological documentation as a service. Archaeological Information Systems in the cloud era: the BraDypUS case-study
Abstract
The paper discusses new trends in the archaeological documentation practice, heavily conditioned by the capillary diffusion of web-based technologies and cloud-based services. In this context, a close examination of BraDypUS, a libre and open source project both available for download, self-hosting and as a cloud service, is presented. The online availability of archaeological data sets and the possibility of building new original research on them, by adapting original schemas and formats to new requirements, is considered a very promising initial step towards a more collaborative research. Reducing IT barriers and setting the stage for web-based data management and publication to small-scale (single-researcher and/or highly specialized) projects, will lead to a new era for archaeological data analysis and dissemination.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2022, 33.2, 115-134; doi: 10.19282/ac.33.2.2022.07
I bronzi di Punta del Serrone (BR): dalla ricerca archeologica alla comunicazione multimediale
Giuliano De Felice, Katia Mannino
Abstract
On July 19, 1992, in the waters of Punta del Serrone (Brindisi, Italy), over 200 fragments of bronze statues of exceptional manufacture were found. This paper traces the history of the exceptional discovery and fate of the finds. The first part deals with the recovery, conservation and exhibition and the main phases of the analytical study that led to their identification and the reconstruction of the events that caused their abandonment on the seabed. The second part is dedicated to the digital acquisition and processing of the statues through laser scanning and to the virtual restoration and creative modeling of some of them, carried out on the occasion of ‘Nel mare dell’intimità/In the sea of intimacy’, an exhibition set up at the Brindisi airport between July 2019 and January 2021. The third and last part discusses the making of the computer animation video ‘Rottami preziosi. Una ballata del mare profondo/Precious scrap. A ballad from the deep sea’, created for the exhibition, and dedicated to telling the story of the bronzes, retracing the different phases of the creative process and the solutions developed to combine all the available data in a functional narrative.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2022, 33.2, 279-298; doi: 10.19282/ac.33.2.2022.15
Le temple de Karnak et les publications numériques
Abstract
The one-day workshops on ‘The Archaeological Publication in the Digital Environment', organized by Nanterre University in 2021, was the opportunity to discuss the work carried out by the Franco-Egyptian Centre for the Study of the Temples of Karnak in the years 2000. The use of digital photography in an archaeological site has allowed the creation of virtual images that modify our perception of the real world and require a digital publication form. Digital technologies, such as 3D and photogrammetry, generate new scientific imagery. Photomontages and orthomosaic photographs are similar in general appearance to reality but they are completely virtual images. The real object is virtually transformed and, at the same time, the generated virtual object strives to be as close as possible to reality. The digital edition of Paul Barguet’s work on Karnak temple was an example of a paperless approach and an attempt to dematerialize the traditional information media. Nevertheless, virtuality is anchored to the materiality of the computer world to ensure its durability and it is constrained by IT media and software obsolescence. System upgrades and hardware developments may appear the death-knell for these achievements. These images and software are products of a new discipline called ‘virtual archaeology’, ‘digital archaeology’ or ‘cyber-archaeology’, but is that the right terminology? If there is to be a cyber-archaeologist, what should be his function? In the near future, when many machines and software are no longer executable or consigned to the scrapheap, cyber-archaeology will become the science of our digital past and no longer the science of the graphic representation of our past.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2022, 33.2, 299-318; doi: 10.19282/ac.33.2.2022.16
Principi e metodi dell’archeologia ricostruttiva. Dall’approccio filologico alla ricostruzione tipologica
Abstract
In a virtual archaeology project, a full transparency in methods, techniques and documentation is necessary in order to define quality standards that are crucial for a discipline that promises to inform, amaze and fascinate with increasing effectiveness and accuracy. However, documentation is often insufficient to guarantee a level of reliability. Comparisons, deductions and methods that allow experts to retrace the reconstructive process in all its parts are always needed. Based on the results of a case study carried out on the Monte Sannace site, several methods are described in order to evaluate the level of reliability of the 3D reconstruction. This process is related to qualitative factors not always easy to weigh up, but highly important in compliance with Principle no. 7 of the Seville Charter: transparency of information and specification of the methods applied. From a theoretical point of view, analogies and differences in modern restoration methods are analysed, and the results are described in relation to the communicative and emotional objectives of the project. The reconstruction of the Monte Sannace site represents a significant step towards the full appreciation of a little-known area with important archaeological and naturalistic features.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 213-232; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.12
La statua ritrovata. Identificazione, analisi e proposta di ricostruzione virtuale di una scultura conservata presso il Museo Egizio di Torino
Elisa Brener, Giorgia Cafici, Giulia Deotto
Abstract
This article illustrates a case study from an ongoing research project on the statues and sculptural fragments from Tebtynis, discovered by Carlo Anti during the 1930-1936 excavation campaigns, in the temple dedicated to the god Soknebtynis. Specifically, it examines a non-royal statue which one of the authors has recently identified as Turin, Museo Egizio S. 19400+S. 19400/1. The authors combine a study of relevant archival records currently kept in Padua and Venice, Italy, with the virtual reconstruction of the fragment of the head and the stylistic analysis of the statue in order to shed light on the sculpture and retrace its post-excavation history.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 233-250; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.13
Dal digitale al materiale: design e tecnologie digitali per la creazione di kit esperienziali per il Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli
Maria De Falco, Maria Laura Nappi, Antonia Auletta, Carla Langella
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to explore the interaction between design and archaeology in building Museum engagement experiences. In particular, a case study from the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN) will be presented. This study was carried out as part of OBVIA - Out Of Boundaries Viral Art Dissemination, a joint public engagement project sponsored by the Museum and partners such as the Università degli Studi di Napoli ‘Federico II’ and the Università degli Studi della Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’. The target of the project was to stimulate innovative communication and promotion actions. Specific research activities carried out by the Dipartimento di Architettura e Disegno Industriale dell’Università degli Studi della Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’, were dedicated to the development of Experience Design strategies for museum engagement and audience development. This study resulted in the creation of kits to be used during hands-on laboratories for children. The kit ‘Museum Details’ focused on the observation and reproduction of details of archaeological artifacts exhibited in the Museum. These kits included a map, instruments for detailed observation, moulding clay and casts to create 3D reproductions of original archaeological details. The necessity of a high detailed reproduction of small features of archaeological findings was an opportunity to experiment with the acquisition of accurate 3D models. In particular, the work carried out by Mnemosyne3D focused on five findings from the Magna Graecia collection. The main challenge was to detect sub-millimetric details on a reflecting surface. Photogrammetry was chosen as method for 3D scanning, a structure from motion acquisition technique. The post processing, through 3D sculpting and CAD 3D software, aimed to enhance the features of the models in order to make them suitable for casting and plastic reproductions.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 251-268; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.14
PARMAUMENTATA. Ricerca archeologica, augmented reality e user experience nella ricostruzione del paesaggio urbano di Parma
Alessia Morigi, Filippo Fontana, Francesco Garbasi
Abstract
The core of the research project CittAumentata is the development of a software tool that fully uses the potential of AR as a way of understanding and improving ancient landscapes. The app links a model of collecting and processing archaeological and topographical datasets to an experience that increases users’ interaction thanks to the ease-to-use and compatibility with most of the devices (smartphones and tablets). The scalability and the certification of a data protocol allows to systematize an innovative tool that manages 3D data and offers to citizenship a new way to understand cultural heritage and historical stratification in landscapes.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 269-290; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.15
WIKI loves churches! La piattaforma WikiCARE per la catalogazione collaborativa delle chiese altomedievali in Italia
Alexandra Chavarría Arnau, Paolo Vedovetto
Abstract
The aim of the collaborative platform WikiCARE, born in 2010, is the cataloging of European churches between the 4th and the 10th centuries and the creation of a scientific community with shared research interests centered on the study of the churches. In this contribution we will first retrace the constitutive phases of the project and its purposes, and then present the structure of the information sheet, highlighting some critical issues found in its compilation by the Italian group. We will then reflect on the prospects of WikiCARE, considering its potential from the point of view of an ever wider sharing of research, not only in the academic field.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 291-306; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.16
IT applications to archaeology and the OA diamond journals’ challenge. Enhancing access and reuse of textual and visual resources
Abstract
Open Science best practices and policies have been increasingly promoted and adopted in Europe and worldwide to extend public availability of research data and publications, according to FAIR principles. In this context, the so-called ‘Diamond Open Access’ model is particularly relevant since it entails provision of scientific content entirely free of charge, both for authors and readers. The journal Archeologia e Calcolatori adopted this model at a very early stage, when - in 2005 - it started publishing online full-text PDFs and metadata of its articles according to recognised standards, as an Open Archives Initiative data provider. This paper addresses the evolution of ‘Archeologia e Calcolatori’ in the context of scientific publishing in the disciplinary domain of IT applications to archaeology. It focuses on the updates of its OAI-PMH repository, which led to the journal’s inclusion in OpenAIRE as a data provider, and on mapping its current position in the OA Diamond landscape. The paper also illustrates recent implementations of Archeologia e Calcolatori’s website to provide full access to visual and interactive resources, such as images and 3D models, related to its publications, and to relevant metadata, structured according to OpenAIRE’s most recent guidelines. The combined, contextual provision of full texts, visual and interactive resources, and structured metadata – including full annotations and relations turns out to be a pioneering publishingservice in the domain of IT applications to archaeology.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 325-347; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.18
Augmentation and enrichment of cultural exhibits via digital interactive sound reconstruction of ancient Greek musical instruments
Georgios Kouroupetroglou, Spyros Polychronopoulos, Konstantinos Bakogiannis
Abstract
A significant number of Ancient Musical Instruments (AMIs) are exhibited in archaeological museums all over the world. Organized sound (music and songs) was the prominent factor in the process of both formulating and addressing intellectual activity and artistic creation. Thus, the way AMIs sound is a key element of study for many scientific fields such as anthropology, archaeology, and archaeomusicology. Most of the time, the excavated instruments are not in good condition and rather fragile to move around (in order to perform studio recordings or exhibit them). Building replicas was the only way to study their performance. Unfortunately, replicas are not trivial to build and, once built, not modifiable. On the other hand, digitally simulated instruments are easier to build and modify (e.g., in terms of geometry, material, etc.), which is a rather important feature in order to study them. Moreover, the audio stimulus and the digital interaction with an AMI through a Graphical User Interface would give more engagement and knowledge to the museum’s visitor. In this work, we show the simulation methods of wind (classes: Aulos, Plagiaulos, Syrinx, and Salpinx) and string (classes: Phorminx, Chelys, Barbitos, Kithara, and Trigonon) Greek AMIs and the relevant built-applications useful to scientists and broader audience. We here propose a user-friendly, adaptable, and expandable digital tool which reproduces the sound of the above classes of AMIs and will: a) allow the museum scientists to create specific Auditory Virtual Musical Instruments and b) enrich the experience of a museum visitor (either in situ or on line) through a digital sound reconstruction and a 3D visual representation of AMIs, allowing real-time interaction and even music creation.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 423-438; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.23
Being a spectator in a Roman theatre: a VR APP
Maria Cristina Manzetti, Nikos Papadopoulos
Abstract
This paper aims to present the advantages of including auralisation techniques in archaeology. Archaeology can benefit from auralisation under several aspects. Not only does it offer the possibility to live a unique experience listening sounds originated within ancient buildings, but it allows to formulate subjective interpretations of the quality of the audio of a specific space. In addition, the subjective feeling evoked by the auralised audio can be further investigated through psychoacoustics analysis. The combination of archaeology and auralisation is also attractive for the general public thanks to digital applications that can be employed for educational purposes. The involvement of society through digital applications is important to bring it near to research and archaeology. After a short literature review about the implementation of archaeology, auralisation and digital applications, the final elaboration of a PhD research will be presented: the development of a virtual reality app that shows the 3D reconstruction of six Roman theatres in Crete, including the virtual auralisation from different seats within the theatres. The VR app is the ultimate product of a research that studied hypothetical reconstructions of the Roman theatres in Crete through 3D visibility analysis and virtual acoustics analysis. Through the VR app, users will not only experience an ancient performance in different Roman theatres, but they will also be able to observe the influence of architecture on the sound.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.1, 457-468; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.1.2021.25
Etruscan hypogea in 3D: a proposal for an immersive and interactive visualization of Volterra’s funerary contexts
Emanuele Taccola, Lisa Rosselli, Nicolò Albertini, Marta Martino
Abstract
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.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2021, 32.2, 135-152; doi: 10.19282/ac.32.2.2021.12
The future of the past: first perspectives for Doclea today
Lucia Alberti, Antonio D'Eredità
Abstract
The title of this section consciously recalls that of the project currently running in Doclea for 2018-2020 (‘The Future of the Past: Study and Enhancement of Ancient Doclea, Montenegro’). The Authors focus their attention not only on extracting scientific knowledge and seeking the preservation of the site, but also on considering its future development and utilisation. The final goal is the design and completion of a sustainable plan for the relaunch of the site, in order to hand it back to its community as a tool for socio-cultural and economic growth. The rediscovery of the cultural identity of the territory and the collective memory of a community can give new life to past material culture and traditions, offering to visitors and inhabitants an integrated human experience of physical and mental well-being.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, Supplemento 11, 105-111; doi: 10.19282/ACS.11.2019.09
Un itinerario "ad patres". Il cimitero delle Fontanelle a Napoli tra tecnologia e creatività
Abstract
The rapid development of digital and multimedia technologies has generated a renewed attention on a number of alternative models for facilitating and enriching the relationship between visitors and the cultural assets they are interested in, in various disciplinary areas (archaeology, sociology, economics, information technology, design). Digital technologies, and in particular mobile technology, are capable of transforming any cultural visit, improving and strengthening the ways in which visitors can enjoy it. In the most rewarding examples, the use of such technologies acts as a trigger for the development of innovative scenarios in line with the needs for improving the experience, so reigniting a sense of discovery, reality and surprise. The ViaggiArte project offers an unusual way of acquiring knowledge about the monumental Ossuary of Naples, developed by using the latest VR and Oculus Rift technology, in order to encourage potential visitors to travel in the real site. The programme designed for the Cemetery of the Fontanelle in Naples is able to transform a series of anonymous, and so difficult to appreciate, objects into an immersive and engaging travel experience. The emotional impact of the site is fuelled by the exposure to the programme, amplified by its virtual reality cinematic experience. The project also provides a paradigmatic example of innovative forms of contemporary storytelling.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, 30, 405-421; doi: 10.19282/ac.30.2019.23
La cultura materiale della necropoli di Abakainon nell'esposizione multimediale del Museo Archeologico Santi Furnari di Tripi (ME)
Abstract
The author describes the recent set up of the Archaeological Museum Santi Furnari at Tripi (ME), inaugurated in 2012, and considers it as an example of technological innovation focused on the regional territory. Thanks to the application of digital technologies during the visit, the quality and value of the archaeological exhibition has improved considerably. Recently, to complete the path of modernization, the virtual tour experience of the Museum has also been added on the web platform (http://goo.gl/maps/hqNw4). This window of innovation has stimulated a considerable increase in the number of visits which, at present, amounts to around two thousand people a year.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, 30, 423-438; doi: 10.19282/ac.30.2019.24
Gestire la geografia della complessità, dai dati alle storie: il progetto ‘percorsi biografici’ tra archeologia pubblica e rigenerazione urbana
Abstract
Percorsi BioGrafici is a project conducted by the Archaeological Department of the University of Siena in collaboration with the Municipality of Monforte San Giorgio (Messina, Italy). The project examines Monforte through time, starting from an intensive survey of the modern town and the mapping of all the building units. The method relies on a contextual approach, the use of modern technology (a GIS and a wiki platform) to register the data, and a community-based archaeological practice to foster social and economic sustainability and shared knowledge. The whole dataset was gathered in a non-invasive manner, combined with archive material, oral sources and the works of local historians. The resulting set of fresh information was circulated both through city tours and by artistic and urban regeneration projects, developed together with artists and architects. Using open source software (QGIS and Mediawiki) and a free storytelling platform (izi.TRAVEL) has allowed the local administration and community to take part in the research process.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, 30, 475-478; doi: 10.19282/ac.30.2019.33
L’Open Source per i Musei: il tour virtuale del Museo delle Origini (Sapienza Università di Roma)
Valerio De Luca, Cecilia Conati Barbaro, Chiara La Marca, Maria Lucrezia Savino, Paolo Rosati
Abstract
The project involves the setting up of a virtual tour for the Museum of the Origins, namely the Museum of Prehistory and Protohistory at the Sapienza University of Rome Museum Pole. The virtual tour has been developed through open source technologies: a low-cost approach was pursued to provide a work-flow example for other museum sites wishing to acquire this promotion tool. The final product was designed both for museum use (in-site) and for a web spread (web-site).
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, 30, 479-482; doi: 10.19282/ac.30.2019.34
Il museo virtuale della Valle del Calore
Augusto Palombini, Bruno Fanini
Abstract
The Virtual Museum of the Upper Calore Valley is a website which allows visitors to travel in time and space through and have access to various information on monuments, towns, culture, history, wine and food of the Hirpinian territory. By accessing six fictional videos on characters drawn from local history, users can also experience a historical overview, from the Longobard invasion up to the Unification of Italy, through the troubled periods of the Kingdom of Naples. The project works by open source software for video editing, GIS elaboration, and image processing. The browsing platform is based on the earliest release of the Aton framework created by CNR ITABC for browsing large-scale geographical and architectural data, with advanced features for graphic rendering, stereoscopic view, online representation of complex geometry and resolution through powerful paging algorithms. Aton is compatible with every modern HTML5 multimedia standard and is a powerful tool for historical storytelling.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, 30, 487-490; doi: 10.19282/ac.30.2019.36
Les pratiques de la recherche en archéologie à l’heure du numérique. L’évolution de la recherche d’information et de la publication de 1955 à nos jours
Abstract
The 12th Supplement to the international open access journal ‘Archeologia e Calcolatori’ is dedicated to the history of archaeological research in the digital age, with particular reference to the evolution of electronic publishing from 1955 until today. In the first part of the volume, the Author, Ingénieur de recherche at the CNRS (équipe ArScAn - Monde grec et systèmes d'information), focuses on the history of applications in France in the second half of the 20th century, starting from the earliest experiments of classification and automation of documentary analysis, which then led to the creation of archaeological databases. The second part of the volume examines the development of electronic publishing in archaeology, with particular reference to the changes brought about by the advent of the Internet and the Open Access movement. Through a careful evaluation of the websites of reference for the dissemination of monographs and journals, the analysis focuses on the different digitization and online dissemination policies for archaeological publications. The results of this systematic survey offer a series of interesting ideas to better understand and satisfy the needs of the archaeological community.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2019, Supplemento 12, 2-247; doi: 10.19282/ac.12.2019.01
La diffusione della cultura scientifica: documentazione e disseminazione nei progetti di ricerca dell’ISMA
Abstract
The article illustrates the main research lines promoted at a national level by Law n. 113/1991, as amended by Law 6/2000, for the dissemination of the scientific culture and the active support and participation of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. As part of this initiative, the main CNR-ISMA projects approved and funded by Ministry of Education, University and Research are then described, including, in particular, the two projects ‘20 years of Archeologia e Calcolatori’ and ‘The Virtual Museum of Archaeological Computing’. They both are intended to offer open access resources for documenting and disseminating archaeological research data.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, 29, 93-100; doi: 10.19282/ac.29.2018.11
Un approccio multidisciplinare per documentare e visualizzare un sito archeologico: la villa d’otium di Massaciuccoli (Massarosa, LU)
Martina Giannini, Cristina Castagnetti
Abstract
The research project VisualVersilia 3D aims at offering a new method to record andvisualize the territory and its heritage by matching the traditional reading of documents and the potential use of modern communication technologies. The purpose of the project is to define a methodology that can be applied to material culture, as well as to other types of contents and contexts, to enhance the characteristic features of the territory and its heritage. The innovation of the project consists in the development of a procedure for documenting current and past historical times and integrating their 3D visualizations with rendering, capable of returning an immersive virtual reality for a successful enhancement of the heritage. The research implements the methodology in the archaeological complex of Massaciuccoli (Massarosa, LU), one of the best preserved Roman site of the Versilia area (Tuscany, Italy). The activities briefly consist in: 1) analysis of all types of available sources; 2) metric three-dimensional survey by laser scanning technology addressed to the structures and buildings of the complex; 3) laser scanning data processing; 4) realization of virtual 3D rendering related to Roman and current condition for documentation and conservation purposes; 5) creation of virtual tour of the site in its current form, on the basis of spherical images then enhanced by texts, and 3D models of the Roman age.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, 29, 279-295; doi: 10.19282/ac.29.2018.22
Le Digital Humanities per lo studio e la comunicazione di beni culturali architettonici: il caso dei mausolei di Teodorico e Galla Placidia in Ravenna
Manuela Incerti, Sara D'Amico, Stefano Giannetti, Gaia Lavoratti, Uliva Velo
Abstract
The paper presents a series of methodological reflections on the following themes: survey, restitution, analysis and communication. The objective of the research was the critical reading of two of the most famous monuments in Ravenna and UNESCO heritage sites: the Mausoleum of Theodoric (ca. 520 AD) and the Mausoleum of Galla Placidia (before 450 AD). From advanced and integrated survey data, 2D graphs and 3D models were elaborated for hypothesis testing and for the multimedia communication of the scientific contents identified during the work. This second topic of the paper is part of the experiments conducted by the research group on new modes of multimedia communication, interactive and not, based on virtual models as an edutainment tool for enjoying monuments and masterpieces of cultural importance.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, 29, 297-316; doi: 10.19282/ac.29.2018.23
Prototyping an Egyptian revival. Laser scanning, 3D prints and sculpture to support the Echoes of Egypt exhibition
Michael Anderson, Colleen M. Darnell, Alberto Urcia, Simone Zambruno, Antonino Vazzana
Abstract
This paper aims to highlight the importance of 3D printing to support Cultural Heritage and related activities. We will demonstrate the advantages that a conscious employment of techniques and methods, together with the right expertise, could offer to an exhibition. We will detail the steps we took to produce a 1:1 copy of a medieval sphinx for the exhibition Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs which took place at the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History (USA). This paper highlights the project’s workflow, from the digital 3D scan, data processing, 3D printing, to the artistic finishing to prepare the object for display.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, 29, 317-332; doi: 10.19282/ac.29.2018.24
Recovering the architectural patrimony of South Italy: The Medieval Kingdom of Sicily Image Database
Caroline Bruzelius, Paola Vitolo
Abstract
The Medieval Kingdom of Sicily Image Database uses new media technologies to reframe our understanding of medieval Europe by focusing on the role of the built environment for the formation of State identity in the medieval Kingdom of Sicily during the Norman, Swabian, Angevin and Aragonese dynasties (c. 950-1420). The material in the database is important for two reasons: the significance of South Italy as a prototype of multicultural State formation and the highly fragmentary condition (war bombardment, earthquakes, urban transformation) of the sites that played a central role in the power structures of the Kingdom. A comprehensive database of historical images of monuments and cities (prints, drawings, maps, photographs) made by scholars, artists and travellers from the fifteenth century to the twentieth century, can enable scholars and the public to recover the appearance of the landscape, cities, and individual monuments prior to radical renovation or destructions. An interdisciplinary research team is conducting a systematic survey and critical cataloguing of images dispersed in the archives, museums and libraries of Italy, Europe and US.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 15-28; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.02
L’OMCI - Ontology of Medieval Christianity in Images de l’INHA. Une encyclopédie par l’image
Sébastien Biay, Antoine Courtin, Isabelle Marchesin
Abstract
The French Institut national d’histoire de l’art (INHA) has launched a project for scholars and the broader public that proposes an innovative way of accessing Medieval Christian images. The relationship between pictorial content and religious ideology in Medieval Christian images is much more nuanced, and more expressive, than simple storytelling. Ontology of Medieval Christianity in Images (OMCI) is concerned with this ontological level of analysis. The OMCI team of art historians, graduate students, and technology experts intends to build a web resource that will identify concepts and iconographical themes linked to Medieval Christian knowledge and belief systems. These will be augmented by visual examples from the art of that period. By building nuanced vocabularies, OMCI will allow databases and scholars to better represent how such images depict philosophical and spiritual themes that have been diminished in current approaches.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 29-47; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.03
El archivo digital DANAEM: Danza y Arte en la larga Edad Media
Licia Buttà, Maria del Mar Valls Fusté, Sara Sánchez Roig
Abstract
The digital archive DANAEM: Dance and Art in the long Middle Ages is one of the scientific results of the project 'Traces and figure of dance in the long Middle Ages. Iconographic, textual and ethnographic corpus in the Iberian Peninsula and its projection in Latin America (FFI2013-42939-P)’, financed by the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (2014-2017). The archive gathers, in several databases, a literary and artistic corpus of dance in the Iberian Peninsula during the long Middle Ages, as well as five documentary videos of short duration about traditional modern dances whose origin can be traced back to the medieval and post-medieval period. Performances represented in works of art, literary descriptions and references to dance with an ethical-moral character are listed and organised in a webpage based on 3 sections: literary space, performative stage and contemporary geography. The technical specifications of the works of art and literary references go with introductions referring to each field. Once online (from April 2018), the web will work as a continually growing tool for Dance Studies.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 49-63; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.04
Firenze scomparsa: le chiese di Santa Chiara e San Pier Maggiore e la loro ricostruzione digitale presso i musei di Londra
Abstract
This paper focuses on two digital projects that have attempted to reconstitute Renaissance altarpieces within virtual church interiors. Both concern Florentine churches that are no longer extant: the Clarissan nunnery church of Santa Chiara in the southern Oltrarno quarter and the Benedictine convent church of San Pier Maggiore to the east of the Cathedral. Both reconstructions were commissioned in conjunction with London institutions: Santa Chiara for the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2009; San Pier Maggiore for the National Gallery in 2015. The two virtual reconstructions were, however, very different - in part because the nature of the available data suggested different solutions in each case, in part because the more recent project on San Pier Maggiore was able to build on our experience of the older reconstruction of Santa Chiara. As well as presenting these projects, the paper offers an auto-critical evaluation of them, acknowledging where the final reconstructions could not realize their authors’ original ambitions, and hopefully drawing some lessons to help future work in this area. Key concerns remain the embedding of ‘paradata’ and degrees of uncertainty within 3D visualizations following the guidance of the London Charter, a widely shared but rarely realised aspiration. Meanwhile, new opportunities are offered by the integration of photogrammetry, LIDAR scanning, augmented reality and geo-radar data.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 67-80; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.05
L’eco delle pietre: history, modeling, and GPR as tools in reconstructing the choir screen at Sta. Chiara in Naples
Caroline Bruzelius, Andrea Giordano, Lucas Giles, Leopoldo Repola, Emanuela De Feo, Andrea Basso, Elisa Castagna
Abstract
This essay describes the use of Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) to establish the location and dimensions of the destroyed choir screen at the church of Sta. Chiara in Naples. On the basis of this new evidence, inserted within a laser scan of the church that provides its exact dimensions, the authors have been able to reconstruct a hypothetical model of the screen’s original appearance. The model, if correct, suggests that the choir screen not only contained altars to Saints Francis and Claire (now present in the flanking side chapels), but also that it supported an upper gallery that connected the wide tribunes on either side of the nave. It is hoped that this hypothetical model will stimulate new research on the décor, liturgy, and ceremonial functions of this important Neapolitan church.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 81-103; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.06
Carolingian culture at Reichenau and St. Gall
Abstract
Carolingian Culture at Reichenau and St. Gall is a digital research tool providing access to the material and intellectual cultures of Carolingian monasteries. The website was produced at the University of California, Los Angeles between 2003 and 2009 with the financial sponsorship of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The first phase focuses on the Plan of St. Gall (CSG 1092) and provides high-resolution imaging of the Plan and related data bases on Carolingian material culture. The second phase reconstitutes virtually the ninth century libraries of St. Gall and of Reichenau including 170 complete manuscripts today found in 17 European libraries. For each manuscript, in addition to high-resolution access to the manuscript itself, metadata provides information on the contents, codicology, and bibliography. Finally, a series of commissioned essays introduce users to Carolingian monastic culture.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 107-122; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.07
CENOBIUM 10 years after: an evolving platform for Digital Humanities
Ute Dercks, Federico Ponchio, Roberto Scopigno
Abstract
The Authors present CENOBIUM, a web-based system designed to support the work of art historians. It provides access to multimedia content and related descriptive text on a specific topic: capitals in Romanesque cloisters. This paper discusses the motivation behind the decision to develop this web resource, taken more than ten years ago. It describes the initial design of the often system and how it evolved to keep pace with technological developments. In a context where the results of ICT-CH projects (digital tools, websites) have life span barely exceeding the timeframe of the actual project, CENOBIUM can be considered a success. It has been operating and steadily been updated with new content and latest technologies throughout its decade-long life.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 123-141; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.08
Mapping Gothic
Stephen Murray, Andrew Tallon, Rory O’Neill, Stefaan van Liefferinge
Abstract
Mapping Gothic (http://www.mappinggothic.com/) first began in summer 2008 as Mapping Gothic France. Funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the project was initiated at the Columbia University, Department of Art History and Archaeology. The team conducted five expeditions to gather high-resolution images and other data from great Gothic churches, which in this ambitious website project were located both in space and time. As work pro- gressed the geographical scope was widened to include England and hopefully also Spain and Germany. Whereas pictures can be satisfactorily represented in two dimensions in a book or on a computer screen, space - especially Gothic space - demands a different approach, one which embraces not only the architectonic volume but also time and narrative. The intention has been not just to develop a more appropriate way of representing the spaciousness of indi- vidual monuments, but also to provide the user of the site with new ways to understand the relationship of hundreds of buildings conventionally described as ‘Gothic’.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 143-153; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.09
De CLAUSTRA a PAISAJES ESPIRITUALES: proyectos de Digital Humanities sobre el espacio monástico medieval (siglos XI-XV)
Blanca Garí, Gemma T. Colesanti, Maria Soler-Sala, Leopoldo Repola
Abstract
This paper aims to present two projects carried out within the Digital Humanities field and related to the study of medieval feminine spirituality: the Atlas CLAUSTRA and the SPIRITUAL LANDSCAPES project. Both headed by the University of Barcelona, in collaboration with researchers at a large number of internationally renowned universities and research centres, they aim to study the medieval spiritual landscapes. The first does so through the creation of an Atlas and Catalogue of female spirituality spaces in Mediterranean Europe between the 11th and 16th centuries, and the second, through the study of the territorial impact of the foundation of monasteries on rural and urban landscapes during the Middle Ages. All this is based on the design, implementation and development of two powerful digital platforms that constitute a shared work space, scientific study tool, and instrument for the dissemination of the knowledge gained through the research.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2018, Supplemento 10, 155-171; doi: 10.19282/ACS.10.2018.10
Le risorse bibliografiche di archeologia in rete. Un panorama in evoluzione
Abstract
The article describes some bibliographic works carried out as part of the research line devoted to archaeological computing at the Istituto di Studi sul Mediterraneo Antico (ISMA), CNR. The work analyses, in particular, the rich bibliography on archaeological computing in the 1990s published on the website Virtual Museum of Archaeological Computing (http://archaeologicalcomputing.lincei.it/) and the digital bibliographies of Massimo Pallottino, Sabatino Moscati and Mauro Cristofani, some leading figures in our Institute’s history. Next, the text explores some examples of bibliographic resources available online (those relating to open texts and those relating to simple bibliographic references) and also describes some recently launched projects dedicated to virtual libraries and digital infrastructures in the field of human sciences.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.1, 257-270; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.1.2017.15
“Let’s do it together!” Indagare, progettare, sviluppare la web archaeology con l’aiuto di un questionario
Abstract
In this paper the Author presents the results of a survey, which was created as a preliminary study that was part of the ARCA Project, a Ph.D. research project which started in November 2015. The purpose of the interview was to gather information about web sites related to archaeological projects and research, directly collecting feedback from users in order to analyze real world experiences and expectations. The questionnaire was prepared in collaboration with experts from other disciplines (psychologists, UX and UI experts, etc.), in order to promote an objective and scientifically valid approach, and obtain meaningful results. It is structured in 7 sections, for a total amount of 50 questions and practical experiences. One hundred and twenty people were invited to take part in this evaluation process; in a preliminary phase the interview was submitted to users coming exclusively from the Cultural Heritage Department of Padua University. Subsequently, it was opened to a wider audience from other universities and in other countries, to gather as much anonymous evidence as possible about functional feedback and user needs, also trying to map perception changes depending on origin, age, occupation and education. The collection and analysis of data allowed us to proceed further in the study and to develop software suitable for the presentation of different types of data from archaeological research. The final prototype will be evaluated through two case studies: the excavation of Nora and the Ca’Tron Project.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.1, 271-290; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.1.2017.16
Understanding Etruscan art and architecture through 3D modeling: the case of Volterra
Emanuele Taccola, Lisa Rosselli
Abstract
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.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 243-252; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.18
The Iberian town of Ullastret (Catalonia). An Iron Age urban agglomeration reconstructed virtually
Ferran Codina, Gabriel de Prado, Isis Ruiz, Albert Sierra
Abstract
The Iberian town of Ullastret (6th-2nd centuries BC), in the NE of the Iberian Peninsula, is one of the most important Iron Age archaeological sites in the north-western Mediterranean. It consists of two residential areas, Puig de Sant Andreu and Illa d’enReixac. Separated by only 300 m, together they make up the capital of the Iberian tribe known as the Indiketes, mentioned by classical authors such as Avienus, Ptolemy and Strabo. Decades of continuous archaeological investigation, and especially the geophysics surveys undertaken in recent years, have given us an overall view of the urban structure of this dipolis and its immediate territory, which was occupied and exploited intensively starting mainly in the 4th century BC. This high degree of theoretical knowledge led us to propose the creation of a virtual reconstruction of the whole complex, as well as its contextualisation in its geomorphologic and landscape surroundings. This 3D modelling is an excellent research tool that permits the formulation-validation of hypotheses for architectural reconstruction. It is also especially useful for the creation of applications that add to our knowledge of this heritage site and aid in its presentation and dissemination.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 311-320; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.24
Engaging visitors of archaeological sites through ‘emotive’ storytelling experiences: a pilot at the Ancient Agora of Athens
Maria Roussou, Francesco Ripanti, Katerina Servi
Abstract
The use of interactive storytelling by museums and heritage sites lends to the creation of experiences that support visitors in engaging emotionally with the objects on display. Finding ways to connect to the cultural content is even more important for visitors of archaeological sites due to the often fragmentary nature of the exhibits, which can leave them wondering what was once there and how it relates to them. In this paper, we describe the creation of a prototype mobile storytelling experience that attempts to explore a more emotive kind of storytelling in cultural contexts. The prototype was evaluated in a preliminary study that took place at the archaeological site of the Ancient Agora of Athens. The observations provide insights for the design of future iterations of such emotive storytelling experiences.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 405-420; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.33
Management and communication of archaeological artefacts and architectural heritage using digital IS. What today? What next?
Abstract
In this paper, we reviewed 20 years of development of 3D based IS to support archaeological and AH artefact knowledge, management and communication and their theoretical work basis. In detail, we illustrated our experiences showing the advantages and limits we had observed after extensive use. In conclusion, we have illustrated a new paradigm based on IoT-related technologies, potentially able to overcome existing problems, and the theoretical foundation of the new framework that has been designed, the concept of the Smart Cultural Object, sources and recipients of advanced information and related technological underpinning.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 421-435; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.34
A 3D environment to rebuild virtually the so-called Augusteum in Herculaneum
Andrea D'Andrea, Angela Bosco, Marco Barbarino
Abstract
Computer graphics and three-dimensional modelling techniques have extended the possibilities of archaeologists in the creation of virtual reconstruction of ancient sites and monuments. Modern computational systems allow the implementation of computer-generated scenarios tailored on human cognitive capacities. Although Virtual Archaeology is not a novelty in the panorama of archaeological methods, there is no agreement among scholars on the minimal parameters necessary to virtually rebuild an ancient context, nor is there any requirement needed to guarantee the accuracy and the effectiveness of the final reconstruction; the strength of a model is based mainly on the capacity of the archaeologist to check the final result in terms of comparison between interpretations and hypotheses. The paper aims at exploring how the archaeologists could perform their work in a computational laboratory thanks to shared 3D models. The case study selected is the recent virtual reconstruction of the so-called Basilica in Herculaneum, a monument - 250 years after its discovery - still largely unexplained. The building is completely buried by volcanic lava save for part of its entrance porch. It was extensively explored using tunnels and looted by its early excavators. Different scholars have rebuilt the monument mainly on the basis of two plans, drawn in the 18th century, and few notes taken by the archaeologists during the exploration. The 3D model, carried out by integrating cad modelling with close-range photogrammetry, is intended to highlight some controversial parts of the reconstructions. Metadata associated to the digital replica describe the physical object and register all phases from data-acquisition to data-visualization in order to allow the validation of the model and the use or re-use of the digital resource.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 437-446; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.35
Multimedia digital solutions from image and range based models for ancient landscapes communication
Elisabetta Donadio, Riccardo Mazza, Federico Barello
Abstract
The paper presents the results of an interdisciplinary project which aimed at the dissemination of some archaeological remains producing multimedia contents from multisensor surveyed 3D data. The scope of this application pertained to the use of 3D detailed models as a base for some video-installations with the aim to arouse the visitors’ emotions and improve their museum experience. This work has been applied to the Arch of Augustus located in the archaeological site of Susa and to two ancient Roman marble statues, found in the city of Susa in 1802 and now displayed in the Archaeological Museum of Turin. The Arch of Augustus is in a remarkable state of conservation. Its decorated frieze tells about the peace between the Romans and the Celts but it is difficult to see for visitors at the ground level. A multisensor 3D survey, by means of laser scanning technique and photogrammetric method, made it possible to process a detailed 3D textured model, which provided the base for the creation of a life-size model to be placed in the Museum of Susa on which a designed didactic video map is projected, which explains the meaning of the frieze. The two statues, known as ‘busti loricati di Susa’ and representing two Roman emperors, were surveyed with a photogrammetric method with the aim of processing two 3D models representing the statues before the 19th century restoration, on the basis of archival sources. These models provided the base for a video installation for the museum which simulates a holographic projection and explains the different armour parts highlighting them in sequence. Nowadays modern metric survey technologies allow us to collect and process very detailed 3D models able to satisfy a wide variety of applications field, from specialized representation to didactic final uses in museums exhibitions.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 485-496; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.39
The Nora Virtual Tour: an immersive visit in the ancient city
Abstract
The ancient city of Nora was a Phoenician, Punic and Roman settlement rising on a peninsula in the south-western coast of Sardinia. Since 1990, the University of Padova has been carrying on an interdisciplinary research project of excavation, architectural analysis, historical reconstruction and cultural promotion of tourism in this site. The excavations allow us to increase our knowledge of Middle Imperial Roman urban planning and to get a better understanding of the whole city and its history; the restoration of excavated monuments using gravels with different colours helps more than 60,000 tourists every year to recognize the function of different areas. In spite of this, visitors experience difficulty in understanding a landscape of ruins with barely visible evidence. Thus, a complete virtual reconstruction of the ancient city has become essential. 3D models of the Phoenician and Roman settlement have been developed, reshaping archaeological plans produced in 25 years by Universities that work in the site. The main monuments of the Roman city and the major crossroads have been rendered in greater detail, using sample-based textures that give a photorealistic effect and implementing the models with furniture and decorations selected through reliable sources of information. 3D reconstructions are now available for tourist groups led by a guide in the Nora Virtual Tour: stereoscopic images have been rendered and uploaded in an app for mobile headsets that provides immersive virtual reality for the users. The guide controls the devices with a tablet using a Bluetooth connection: at the beginning of the visit, the tourists can view equirectangular panoramas of the ruins taken from a helicopter, then they are accompanied to hot-spots where the ancient monuments are shown in an evocative Roman reconstruction.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 531-538; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.43
Open History Map
Silvia Bernardoni, Massimiliano Montanari, Raffaele Trojanis
Abstract
OpenHistoryMap aspires to become the open source geographical system for archaeological information, both from an academic and an educational point of view. There are many fragmented online web-GIS experiences targeted at very specific projects, but no tool enables a broader overview of both research and studies. For these reasons, in order to create an Open Access platform, one of the most important aspects is the creation of tools that can facilitate both the sharing of archaeological spatial and temporal information as well as the easy reuse of the generated data. OpenHistoryMap is supposed to create a tool that is both a map of the archaeological world as well as a repository for the connected data within structured research papers. The project finds its roots first of all within the collective experience of ‘archaeology’ that refers to non-expert users, and in the second place within the academic scientific experience of research centres and universities. While the first approach gives an integrated and reliable picture of the cultural item, the second provides consistent and solid datasets with a perspective on the mixture of specific types of information.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 539-548; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.44
The archaeological settlement of Monte Bibele (Bologna)
Annachiara Penzo, Federica Proni, Antonio Gottarelli
Abstract
Monte Bibele is an archaeological settlement of the 4th and 3rd century BC with a village, a necropolis and a votive deposit. Earlier, during the 14th and 13th century BC, in the same area there was a small village of sub-Apennine facies attributable to the late Bronze Age. The Second Iron Age settlement is just a part of a larger demographic reorganization of the Apennines, as is also proved by the recent discovery of the Monterenzio Vecchio necropolis and votive deposit, on the opposite side of Idice Valley. These are small settlements located close to the main routes of both sides of the Apennines and populated by Italic (Etruscans, Umbrians, Ligurians, etc.) and transalpine peoples (Celts) allied to control the surroundings. Of the architectural structures of Monte Bibele, the best known are those of the village, in the part of the massive called ‘Pianella di Monte Savino’. It has an Etruscan foundation, over an area of about 7,000 m2, in part still to be explored, and documented in its final phase in the late 3rd century BC, when the village was sealed by a sudden fire. Archaeologists of Te.M.P.L.A. (Research Center for Multimedia Technologies Applied to Archaeology of Bologna University’s Department of History and Cultures) over the last decade, have made many models of houses at Pianella. Reconstructions are based on direct feedbacks (archaeological data) and indirect comparisons (historical sources, traditional architecture). The first model was virtual, followed by a real one made near the Museum of Monterenzio, and by the two new houses made directly in situ, thanks to EU funds for the development of Emilia Romagna used for renovating the archaeological and naturalistic area of Monte Bibele (Por Fesr 2007/2013).
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 571-580; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.47
3D digital technologies for architectural analysis. The case of the ‘Pagan Shrine’ in the Catacombs of Santa Lucia (Siracusa, Sicily)
Ilenia Gradante, Davide Tanasi
Abstract
The Catacombs of Santa Lucia are one of the oldest and most important monuments in the Christian communities of Siracusa and Sicily in the late Roman period. The name of the complex derives from a tradition, according to which Saint Lucy was buried here, after her martyrdom in the early 4th century AD, under the reign of Diocletian. A large underground cemetery extends beneath the homonymous square. The cemetery gradually expanded from the 3rd to the 5th century AD, as it incorporated pre-existing constructions once used for funerary, religious and industrial purposes, by transforming them into monumental burial chambers. One of the most significant structures is the so-called ‘Pagan Shrine’: a chamber that is dated between the 3rd century BC and 1st century AD, prior to the foundation of the cemetery and frescoed with worldly themes and pagan deities. The Shrine is located in the South-western corner of Regio C, an area that is hard and rather dangerous to reach, never opened to the public and visited only by few scholars over the past decades. The excavation project undertaken in the years 2011-2015 by the Pontifical Commission of Sacred Archaeology, in association with the Arcadia University and the University of Catania, led to the development of the first virtual replica of the Shrine, using Digital Photogrammetry. This new approach facilitated an accurate examination of both its structure and its decoration, allowing us to propose a new theory about the original purpose of the room, traditionally regarded by scholars as a place for worshipping Zeus Peloros.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 581-586; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.48
3D technologies for a critical reading and philological presentation of ancient contexts
Francesco Gabellone, Ivan Ferrari, Francesco Giuri, Maria Chiffi
Abstract
This paper demonstrates how low cost 3D visualization techniques can be easily used for the transmission of historical and cultural content in museum communication strategy. Specifically, we used computer 3D animation graphics to present information about Queen Nefertari, the Maya chapel and the tomb of Kha in the specific exhibition in the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Movie documentaries support the thematic itineraries of the rooms and offer a virtual trip to the places where the goods displayed were found. The same approach was used for the virtual reconstruction of two Pompeian contexts: the House of the Golden Bracelet and the House of Octavius Quartio. Our research allowed us to create an accurate representation of gardens, statues, architectural spaces, and pools with fountains and frescoed rooms, all virtually reproduced in their original context, using communication methods that combine technology with a synthetic and emotional approach. Techniques of close range photogrammetry made it possible to conduct a 3D survey of sixteen statues and other architectural elements; lost artefacts were reconstructed and areas destroyed by the eruption of 79 AD were evoked. The eruption was partially represented, with fluid dynamic simulations and computer graphics effects in order to transmit accurate scientific information in a simple and immediate language developed by lengthy technical experiments. The synthesis imposed by the short duration of the movie required matching all this information with a self-explanatory approach, which allows the visitor to understand the characteristics of the archaeological goods displayed in the exhibition in a general view that repeats colours, sounds and suggestions of the environments destroyed two thousand years ago.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 591-595; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.50
Heron Visualisation Engine. Visualisation and dissemination of semantic cultural heritage data
Abstract
Over the past two decades, there has been a proliferation of software to create great 3D models of archaeological sites and objects, and there has been plenty of thought and discussion on data models for finds. The results of those efforts have been made public through institutional websites and specific portals, but now, a further step is necessary: the cultural heritage data and (meta)data need to be taken into the semantic web. The Heritage Online Visualisation Engine (further: Heron VE) provides tools for documenting, visualising and disseminating the semantic relations between sites, objects, documentation and narratives. Heron VE is scalable: it can be used to tell the story of a particular archaeological complex, but it can also illustrate relations between sites and objects which are widely separated in both time and space. With Heron VE, dissemination of (meta)data can take many different forms: Heron VE contains modules for presenting and reporting on data, but it can also be used to provide data only, for example in several XML-formats or in N-triples. The designer of Heron VE has 25 years of experience with cultural heritage data in the field of archaeology, museums and libraries and has been working on the structured dissemination of cultural heritage data, first in the semantic web and now within the framework of linked data. This paper will illustrate the journey towards Heron VE, including considerations regarding the adoption, adaptation or rejection of existing data models and ontologies. It will also contain examples. These will mainly be based on data regarding sites of former castles and stately homes in the Netherlands, but it will become very clear that the Heron VE can be applied to many different cultural heritage datasets, including those regarding ancient urban areas.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, 28.2, 603-607; doi: 10.19282/AC.28.2.2017.52
Lavorare insieme in un mondo digitale
Abstract
Thanks to the world wide web, we now have at our disposal a huge mass of information and a large number of research tools on line. But what we do need is to put all these resources together in order to transform accessible data into real knowledge.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, Supplemento 9, 21-23; doi: 10.19282/ACS.9.2017.03
Rete a banda ultralarga e nuovi servizi per la condivisione e l’innovazione
Federico Ruggieri, Sabrina Tomassini, Carlo Volpe
Abstract
The Italian Research and Education Network, known as GARR, has a long tradition of supporting institutions for the protection and promotion of cultural heritage. GARR provides the community of its users with an advanced network infrastructure and innovative tools for international collaboration with universities and research institutes, for transmitting and sharing large amounts of data, and for the use of web applications such as virtual museums, virtual archaeology, and geographic information systems. In recent years, the use of the network in the cultural heritage sector has grown significantly. Besides connectivity, GARR has created a cloud infrastructure for computing and storage of great amounts of data. This infrastructure has been designed with a federated approach in order to encourage the sharing of resources within the academic and research sectors. The availability of optic fiber connections in several cultural heritage sites has given GARR the opportunity to extend the benefits of network technology also to performing arts professionals. An example of this collaboration is the theatre play Innovating Colosseum, a geographically distributed performance to celebrate the inauguration of the new GARR connection of several sites of the Superintendence for the Colosseum and the archeological area of central Rome.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, Supplemento 9, 25-33; doi: 10.19282/ACS.9.2017.04
La diffusione del patrimonio culturale digitale: aspetti giuridici e culturali
Abstract
By introducing the second session of the SITAR Conference, the Author focuses on the importance of the issue relevant to the virtuous balance between content dissemination and compliance with the existing technical and legal rules or administrative guidelines on data opening process.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, Supplemento 9, 63-65; doi: 10.19282/ACS.9.2017.08
Open Data, Open Knowledge, Open Science: quali prospettive?
Abstract
In this report, the Author focuses on the SITAR Conference session devoted to good practices for developing open data, open knowledge, and open science in archaeology. A concise account of the most accredited national and international policies and actions to promote the open science movement introduces some comments on future research and publishing perspectives.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, Supplemento 9, 137-140; doi: 10.19282/ACS.9.2017.12
ARIADNE e gli Open Data: come trasformare i dati archeologici da open a “FAIR”
Abstract
In its four years of activity the ARIADNE project has created a catalogue of European digital archives which offers a portal that makes it possible to search the repository, where about two million datasets are recorded. The project has implemented an Open Data system applying the FAIR principles (Findable-Accessible-Interoperable-Reusable), and making available a concrete re-use of these important information sources, which otherwise would be difficult to access as most of the contents are unpublished.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2017, Supplemento 9, 141-150; doi: 10.19282/ACS.9.2017.13
Voci ritrovate. Archeologi italiani del Novecento: l’esperienza di una mostra
Abstract
The author illustrates some recent events promoted in Orvieto (the ancient Etruscan town of Volsinii) by the Fondazione per il Museo ‘Claudio Faina’. After a brief description of the scope and aims of the Foundation, which was established in 1957, attention is focused on some exhibition projects that make use of computer-based technologies to illustrate and disseminate information on the Museum collections, encouraging a greater interaction between scholars and the general public. In particular, the author focuses upon the recent exhibition ‘Voci ritrovate. Archeologi italiani del Novecento’. The exhibition was conceived by ‘digging’ in the Archives of the Foundation, a research work that enabled the ‘discovery’ of a series of tapes in which the voice of some of the greatest Italian archaeologists and historians of the last century were collected and preserved. Original Rai radio recordings of the Sixties and Seventies of the 20th century enrich the collection and a dedicated website allows visitors to listen to some valuable considerations on the profession of archaeologist. The scope of the Foundation is now to implement the website and create a digital sound archive.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2016, 27, 317-330; doi: 10.19282/AC.27.2016.16
Strategie di divulgazione dell’archeologia online: metodologie, strumenti e obiettivi. Dalla redazione del piano editoriale alla misurazione dei risultati
Astrid D'Eredità, Antonia Falcone, Domenica Pate, Paola Romi
Abstract
Promoting archaeology online for the general public can be considered one of the new jobs archaeologists are called upon in present day society. Thanks to modern technologies, it is possible to reach out to different groups than those who regularly follow traditional media, such as books or television. Social media and digital platforms, in fact, disrupt the dynamics of mass media communication, changing it from a ‘one-to-many’ approach to a new ‘many-to-many’ form, in which complex networks are created and it is possible to involve a wider segment of public. Any kind of audience development strategy based on digital social media requires a carefully crafted approach with mid- to long-term goals. This paper focuses on the methodologies, the tools and the aims on which an effective communication plan for archaeological museums, institutions and research groups should be based. The paper starts with a brief overview of digital public archaeology in Italy and proceeds with a close examination of the most common social media currently used to promote archaeology online, illustrating their specific characteristics and features, and introducing ways to integrate them within a wide-ranging communication plan. The paper stresses the importance of outlining clear objectives, defining specific targets accordingly, and thus choosing the best digital platform or platforms. Finally, the paper examines some of the most useful measurement tools for social media and websites, which allow gathering and analysing quantitative data on the engagement of our online public, but also provide significant qualitative data that can help address any kind of issues in our communication and better understand our audience.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2016, 27, 331-352; doi: 10.19282/AC.27.2016.17
Uno strumento webGIS per lo studio e l'analisi dei percorsi spazio-temporali del patrimonio culturale di Cipro
Valentina Vassallo, Niki Kyriacou, Sorin Hermon, Ioannis Eliades
Abstract
The Byzantine Museum of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation in Nicosia (Cyprus) hosts numerous artefacts, dating from the 6th to the 20th centuries A.D. Some were looted from the Turkish-occupied areas of the island and have recently been repatriated. A webGIS tool under development, stores information regarding these artefacts and their spatial and temporal characteristics. The user can navigate through the history of the artefacts and have different views of the area. The GIS structure is based on micro geographical scale and it will be expanded to macro. In the micro scale the artefacts originally located within the city walls of Nicosia have been mapped. The macro scale project will cover Cyprus and other countries, where the artworks were initially located and to which they ‘travelled’. The aim is to visualize the spatial and temporal movement of the artefacts and retrieve some statistical data regarding their original provenance and the places where they were located after being illegally exported. The users can visualize information through the artefacts metadata documentation.
Making movies: nuove frontiere per la comunicazione audiovisiva del passato
Emanuel Demetrescu, Augusto Palombini, Eva Pietroni, Massimiliano Forlani, Claudio Rufa
Abstract
The paper presents some of the work performed by the VH Lab of CNR-ITABC team in the last ten years, by analyzing the state of the art of video making for Cultural Heritage. Today it is possible to obtain high quality movies on low budgets. Moreover, scholars have the advantage, in comparison to the movie industry, of the easy availability of a large number of highly skilled specialists with specific expertise and know-how. New tools and methods now available are shaping innovative creative languages and will lead to new types of jobs and working opportunities.
Le API di Europeana come esempio di integrazione e rappresentazione delle risorse culturali
Abstract
During the last years, the production of digital datasets in the Cultural Heritage domain, has seen an exponential increase and the structured repositories have become the most used infrastructure for knowledge management and consultation with different kinds of systems and platforms ensuring a complete interoperability and reach ability of data. Furthermore, the dataset products represent a great resource from which it is possible to extract and deduce new knowledge. In cultural heritage, thanks to the technology related to semantic web, we are able to manage and enrich our data using formalisms and data standards: digital libraries and digital archives, SPARQL-endpoint are some examples. This work, starting from the analysis of Europeana’s data model, discusses the integration and use of semantic data in third parts using the API system as a framework.
Archeologia in 140 caratteri: l’esperienza su Twitter di due musei archeologici nazionali
Marina Lo Blundo, Anna Maria Marras
Abstract
The 2014 Barcamp conference, the first in Italy dedicated to this topic, was focused on the way two archaeological museums are using Twitter and the 140 word limit to share their collections and experiences. The social networks have become important communication tools for museums, however, having an account is not enoughto be social. It is necessary to have an organized structure, competent persons, and a communication strategy planned according to the knowledge of a specific audience and, of course, according to which social tools are used.
Il riuso dei dati in archeologia. II Barcamp
Valeria Boi, Luca Corsato, Anna Maria Marras, Maurizio Napolitano, Cettina Santagati
Abstract
The 2014 edition of the Barcamp on the re-use of data in archaeology reflected discussions that took place during the ArcheoFOSS workshop in 2013. The discussion focused on the main themes related to the re-use of data, such as: online accessibility (open access), the use of open formats (open format) and, of course, the real data re-use (open data). In 2014 the discussion moved on to the production of data, on the dynamics of their re-use and on the role played by the different professionals involved. In order to provide a complete overview of this theme two of the main figures in the Italian open data scenario, Luca Corsato and Maurizio Napolitano, were invited to join the Barcamp. Their contribution addressed the various aspects related to data re-use more comprehensively. In this brief report the protagonists and the issues raised during the discussion are presented. The liveliness of the discussion underlines the need for these questions and the related issues to be addressed in institutional offices.
Torre dei Sicconi: progetto di ricostruzione e valorizzazione di un antico sito castellare trentino
Nicoletta Pisu, Alessandro Bezzi, Luca Bezzi, Cicero Moraes
Abstract
The old castle of Torre Sicconi was founded in 1201 by the Caldonazzo family on the hill (Monte Rive, TN) which rises above the village. In 1385 the fortress was badly damaged during the conflict against enemy troops from Vicenza and Verona. The castle was partially rebuilt in the same place, but during 16th century the political and social changes led to a progressive abandonment of the site. The ruins were definitively destroyed in 1915 by the Austro-Hungarian army. In 2005 the city council of Caldonazzo and the Archaeological Superintendency of Trento started a project to restore the site of Torre Sicconi. The project was divided into three phases: first, the castle was investigated by archaeologists who discovered many of the original buildings; then, the walls were consolidated and repaired and, in the meantime, the entire hill was converted from a wood to a botanical garden; lastly, all the data collected from the different research projects (historical, archaeological, architectural, survey, remote sensing, etc.) were used to rebuild the castle in a Virtual Reality World.
FACCE. I molti volti della storia umana. Una mostra open source
Telmo Pievani, Moreno Tiziani, Alessandro Bezzi, Luca Bezzi, Cicero Moraes, Nicola Carrara
Abstract
In 2012 a partnership between Arc-Team s.r.l., Antrocom onlus and the Museum of Anthropology (University of Padua) started the Taung project, whose aim was the facial reconstruction of the fossil known as Taung child, a specimen of Australopithecus africanus discovered by Raymond Dart in 1924. It was a perfect pilot project of open research, developed with open tools and focused on sharing knowledge and data. On the basis of this experience, three years later the same partnership organized the exhibition called FACCE. I molti volti della storia umana, which opened to the general public in Padua on the 14th of February 2015. The main topics of this exhibition were the human face and the reconstruction of 27 skulls, 22 of them related to human evolution and 5 related to famous people connected to Padua (St. Anthony of Padua, Luca Belludi, Francesco Petrarca, Giovanni Battista Morgagni and the mummy of an Egyptian priest preserved in the museum’s collection). The common thread of this exhibition offers an opportunity to address well-known anthropology issues, highlighting how the boundaries of the study of this discipline have changed a lot over time, often coming to overturn today what was affirmed in the past. The main characteristic of this event is the fact that it can be considered an open source exhibition, maybe the first of its kind. All processes, from the scanning of skulls using Computer Vision techniques to the modelling of the faces and presentation of the results to the media, were performed using only Free and Open Source Software. Moreover, all the products (images, videos and augmented reality apps) will be released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution, which is a kind of license approved for free cultural work.
Archaeological computing and ISMA projects
Abstract
Paper presented at the Italic inscriptions and databases workshop.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2015, 26, 17-18; doi: 10.19282/ac.26.2015.04
La gestione della conoscenza per DATABENC
Francesco Bifulco, Angelo Chianese, Fiammetta Marulli, Francesco Piccialli, Isabella Valente
Abstract
The main goal of the DATABENC project is to make the cultural heritage of the Campania Region available to a wider audience. This project aims at creating and promoting new economic, social and cultural opportunities, which can positively influence each other and enable further developments. DATABENC is based on the use of the most advanced ICT solutions and its main goal is to create real innovation in the Cultural Heritage field: the most important objective is to develop an infrastructure with a strong, well defined, territorial and cultural connotation which can generate well targeted measures. After introducing the project’s aims, the paper illustrates its operational program and intervention models: in particular, its application scenario (Cultural Heritage domain), and its scientific framework (Internet of Things). Finally, a preliminary application (OPS Cricket) will be presented.
Smart cities e identità culturale: l’approccio integrato del progetto Or.C.He.S.T.R.A
Francesca Cantone, Massimo Marrelli, Emanuela Motta
Abstract
The Or.C.He.S.T.R.A. project focuses on the development of a set of ICT solutions supporting the smart valorization of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the Campania Region, in particular the city of Naples and its historic center, for citizens/visitors/tourists while fulfilling the principles of sustainability and eco-friendliness. The project investigates the perspectives of applying the Smart City paradigm in the Cultural Heritage field. Thus, this research outlines the emerging concept of Smart Cultural Heritage and proposes a new integrated approach, in which the fundamental value of the cultural framework is acknowledged in the complexity of the smart model. The studies on Cultural Commons are invoked as a basis for the analysis on the advantages of sharing common cultural resources (such as cultural heritage and the related digital information) within the Communities, identified in their inclination to innovation by means of the Evolving Networks model. In this context the Or.C.He.S.T.R.A. project aims at defining a new model of an integrated multidisciplinary approach to Naples’ historic center: a participatory, cooperative, complex system of heterogeneous information on the identified area, ranging from mobility, to health, energy, cultural heritage. The integration of different aspects increases their potential, affecting the values of cohesion and density of the networks of shared contents, goods and services in the area, and supporting the availability of culture and innovation in the community, facilitating their assumption and thus contributing to the generation of value on the territory.
Comunicare la conoscenza archeologica. Alcuni esempi di divulgazione fra creatività e tecnologie
Abstract
In this paper two experimental projects conducted in recent years by the Digital Archaeology Laboratory at Foggia University are described. The projects are oriented to examine possible solutions for the use of ICT in the communication of archaeology that imply specific attention towards technologies, languages and creativity. The first project described is TimeMachine, a virtual reality application realized with real-time animation technologies that allows the user to move freely inside reconstruction, hypotheses and documentation of an archaeological stratigraphic excavation. The latter is Heritouch, a multimedia system for digital storytelling regarding the huge collection of Greek pottery of the Fondazione Sicilia at Palermo. Albeit regarding very different aspects of archaeology, the common aim of the two projects was to achieve an innovative methodology for the production of digital content that, on one hand provides the use of innovative technologies for the creation and fruition of cultural resources and, on the other, tries to engage the competences of the professionals and the characteristics of the knowledge domain.
The smart city as an evolutionary network promoting cultural commons: the Or.C.He.S.T.R.A. project and Naples antique center case study
Francesca Cantone, Emanuela Motta, Massimo Marrelli
Abstract
The paper investigates the perspectives of applying the smart city paradigm in the Archaeology and Cultural Heritage field, thus outlining the emerging concept of Smart Cultural Heritage and Smart Archaeology and proposing an integrated approach, in which the fundamental value of the cultural framework is acknowledged in the complexity of the smart paradigm. The theory of Cultural Commons, moreover, is invoked as a basis for the study of the advantages of sharing common resources (such as cultural heritage and the related digital information) within the Communities, identified in their inclination to innovation by means of the Evolving Networks model. In this context, the Or.C.He.S.T.R.A. project proposes a participatory and cooperative complex system of heterogeneous information on the ancient center of Naples as a case study, ranging from mobility, to health, energy, and cultural heritage, to support the smart exploitation of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage, for citizens, visitors and tourists while fulfilling the requirements of sustainability and eco-friendliness. The first experimentations of this methodological approach are presented, with focus ranging from archaeological exploitation to participated management of cultural heritage, to educational innovation. The integration of these aspects multiplies their potential, and influences the value of cohesion and density of networks of shared goods and services in the area, supporting the spread of innovation in the community, and creating value in the territory, thus impacting the possibility of the appearance of the tragedy of cultural commons.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2014, 25, 207-222; doi: 10.19282/ac.25.2014.11
La modélisation 3D de grands ensembles monumentaux de la restitution au public à la recherche scientifique
Abstract
This paper proposes an experimental feedback on the use of various forms of 3D restorations of monumental complexes. We refer in particular to a castle (Chinon) and a monastery (Saint-Cosme in La Riche, near Tours), two historic monuments that are the property of the General Council of Indre-et-Loire. 3D restorations are generally intended for the general public, but their interest also involves archaeological research, by allowing scholars to test hypotheses and visualize buildings in their original aspect. They also impose a synthetic vision of monumental large sets that are unevenly documented, and allow a better comprehension of their general organization and evolution. Whatever their objective is, they can have several levels of detail and can be associated with databases which supply further information. According to budget, extension, archaeological knowledge of the monuments to be modelled and the desired educational aim, solutions are diverse and can go from the simple model to the dumping in the virtual image, via various levels of detail. By foreseeing all the operational questions before launching a project of 3D restoration, it is possible to reach the intended goals at the lowest cost.
Immersia, an open immersive infrastructure: doing archaeology in virtual reality
Ronan Gaugne, Valérie Gouranton, Bruno Arnaldi, Georges Dumont, Alain Chauffaut
Abstract
This paper contributes to the cross-domain mutual enrichment between archaeology and virtual reality. We are presenting here Immersia, an open high-end platform dedicated to research on immersive virtual reality and its usages. Immersia is part of the European project Visionair that offers an infrastruc¬ture for high level visualisation facilities open to research communities across Europe. In Immersia, two projects are currently active on archaeological themes. One is relative to the study of the Cairn of Carn, with the Creaah, a multidisciplinary research laboratory of archeology and archeosciences, and the other concerns the reconstitution of the Gallo-Roman villa of Bais, with the French institute Inrap.
Solone: una banca dati delle norme per il patrimonio culturale. Roma e la Tarda Antichità
Anna Anguissola, Denise La Monica, Stefano Cresci
Abstract
The Athenian statesman, lawmaker and poet Solon has given his name to a database related to the European legislation on art and cultural heritage. The database Solone, which is currently in progress and will be published on the Internet (http://solone.sns.it/), was designed and implemented by the LARTTE Laboratory (Interdisciplinary Centre for the Research, Planning, and Management of Cultural Heritage) of the Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa. The database includes a selection of laws from the Roman period and Late Antiquity (from the 1st century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.), as well as from several countries that belong today to the European Community (Italy, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Greece), from the 19th century to 2006. In this database data on the individual norms and related institutions have been inserted. Bibliographic information was collected and the relationships between various laws, and the authorities and institutions that issued them have been considered. The database provides the full text of each law, often with one or more translations into Italian or English and a set of details regarding typologies, historical background, validity and jurisdiction, object, and sources. The database makes it possible to conduct research according to typologies, geographical areas or historical sections and institutions. In the present paper, Solone is presented from the perspective of one case study: the digital archive for the legislation on works of art, public and private buildings, roads and aqueducts enacted from the Roman Republic to the fourth Novel of Majorianus on public buildings issued in Ravenna in 459 C.E.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2013, 24, 55-74; doi: 10.19282/ac.24.2013.03
Natural interaction in VR environments for cultural heritage: the virtual reconstruction of the Regolini-Galassi tomb in Cerveteri (with an Appendix by M. Sannibale and D. Pletinckx)
Abstract
Etruscanning is a European project (Culture 2007) whose aim is to re-create and restore the original context of Etruscan graves. The main objectives are: digital acquisition, digital restoration, 3D representation and implementation of innovative VR environments related to Etruscan tombs and collections in European and Italian Museums. We focused on the Regolini-Galassi tomb in the Sorbo necropolis in Cerveteri, one of the most remarkable Etruscan graves. It was discovered still intact in 1836 and is famous not only for its rich contents but also for the objects showing the Orientalising influence. The finds from this tomb are kept in the Gregorian Etruscan Museum in the Vatican Museums and the empty grave at the site is not always open to public. By making 3D reconstructions of the tomb and the objects we can re-create the archaeological context of this Etruscan tomb. As the process of virtual reconstruction of the Regolini-Galassi tomb tries to visualize it at the moment it was closed, we needed to recompose the original placement of the objects and their ancient appearance. This was not easy as we had to reconsider some contradictory historical plans and iconographies (Grifi, Canina, etc.) and to answer some dif??cult questions. The Regolini-Galassi tomb was implemented in a VR environment and a permanent instal¬lation was presented in the Vatican Museums in April 2013. A key aspect is the development of natural interaction interfaces: visitors use body movements to explore the 3D space and to access contents without the need for any traditional interface. This solution not only makes the experience more engaging but also allows people of every level of skill to enjoy and learn. This embodiment constitutes a new frontier in the communication and learning processes and we believe that it represents a crucial element in museums.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2013, 24, 231-247; doi: 10.19282/ac.24.2013.11
Il nuovo allestimento della collezione archeologica della Fondazione Sicilia fra tecnologie e creatività
Abstract
In May 2012 in the historic center of Palermo, Sicily, thanks to the Fondazione Sicilia the Palazzo Branciforte was opened to the public after a long and costly restoration based on a project by the Italian architect Gae Aulenti (http://www.palazzobranciforte.it/). For the creation of this innovative cultural center, the University of Foggia was responsible for the execution of the archaeological museum project and the multimedia system, which is presented in this paper. The activities were conducted by a group of young experts from different fields with the assistance of researchers and technicians from the Laboratory of Digital Archaeology. The paper describes the production process of the multimedia system and the method used to create digital content for the cultural heritage that effectively uses a wide spectrum of normally underused skills and proposes an innovative approach to technologies, creativity and knowledge.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2013, 24, 249-263; doi: 10.19282/ac.24.2013.12
MOD (MAPPA Open Data). Conservare, disseminare, collaborare: un archivio open data per l’archeologia italiana
Francesca Anichini, Gabriele Gattiglia, Maria Letizia Gualandi, Valerio Noti
Abstract
An archaeological excavation is an unrepeatable practice. The only action that can be reproduced and re-analysed is the continuous use of raw data. Data sharing, therefore, is the only way to understand and re-examine the archaeological interpretative process and to answer questions regarding new surveys. Data do not circulate freely in Italian archaeology today. In order to make open data searchable (and, therefore, usable), they must be entered in open archives. Only the free access to raw data, based upon an Open Data approach, will allow a further step to be taken towards 2.0 archaeology. The idea of creating an Italian open digital archaeological archive, using data from the urban area of Pisa as case-study, originated from the MAPPA project (Methodologies Applied to Archaeological Potential Predictivity). The main objectives of the MAPPA Open Data (MOD) archive will be to allow simple and free access to all archaeological data (of any type or size) and to guarantee a digital lifecycle for as long as possible.
Wiki Loves Monuments e archeologia: condividere la conoscenza
Saverio Giulio Malatesta, Marina Milella
Abstract
Wiki Loves Monuments is an international photo contest for monuments, organized by the national chapters of Wikimedia Foundation. Wikimedia is the movement behind several projects like Wikipedia, the most famous among them, through a global collaboration authored by volunteers. Cultural heritage is an important part of the knowledge Wikipedia collects and disseminates. Everybody can contribute sending images: an image is worth a thousand words, in every language at once and local enthusiasts can (re)discover the cultural, historical, or scientific significance of their neighbourhood. Wiki Loves Monuments Italy could be more than a simple contest. Our country, in fact, although it is so rich in historical heritage that it is called a widespread museum, is suffering from disaffection by the general public, partly because of the shortage of funds that makes it difficult to take advantage of this heritage. To protect and enhance it, you have to flip the perspective with which you face the problem from the bottom up, considering the shortage of funds: WLM Italy may therefore be an opportunity to familiarize the common user with archaeological themes and history in general, becoming the main protagonist, promoter of knowledge and defender of the past.
Il progetto Futouring. Cartografia open e licenze Creative Commons per la valorizzazione del patrimonio culturale del Lazio
Abstract
This paper describes the experiments conducted by FiLaS Spa and explains the reasons behind the technology trade-offs in the implementation of the infrastructure of the District of the Technologies for Cultural Heritage of Regione Lazio. The work was divided into ten initiatives, including six projects which were developed in six cultural sites of the provinces and four others concerning the establishment of the Welcome Center in Civitavecchia, the traveling Digital Shuttle, the Futouring web portal and the Center of Excellence of research and expertise in Cultural Heritage in Lazio. Overall, it comes to applications related to multimedia fixed installations each related to an historical theme, and the web portal provides a common resource and web service repository where data resides and digital content is accessible at each site and through tablets and smartphones in mobility. The architecture of the web portal was developed based on open source, multi-platform software solutions, having in mind the metaphor of navigation on interactive maps, and access on the move. It is worthwhile mentioning that all originally produced data and the developed code are licensed under CC-BY-SA license terms.
Una volta era il webGIS. La cartografia archeologica sul web: passato, presente e prospettive future
Abstract
The aim of this paper is a critical survey of webGIS in Archaeology and its real usability. Generally, webGIS users can search, visualize, print, download and, in a few cases, upload data; so the system seems to be the ideal platform to share information. However this wonderland does not exist in the real world. First of all, because it is not easy to find projects on-line: wrong or expired links, slow page loading, system crashing. Second, because, even when it is possible to download or upload data, bridges or connections between different systems are missing. Starting from the point of view of a web user, different webGIS projects on-line were surveyed, in order to give a global overview of Internet cartography applied to archaeology.
Architetture scalabili per memorizzazione, analisi, condivisione e pubblicazione di grosse moli di dati
Abstract
In this article we discuss a possible architecture to store, analyze and share large quantities of data (also known as Big Data). This data can be structured or not and can be generated from different sources: mobile devices, servers or, in general, sensors. This infrastructure can be integrated with analysis software like R, Solr and many others; it is developed with the cloud computing and its principles in mind so it can scale out easily and is high available. It is based on the Hadoop framework and, in particular, on the HDFS - Hbase store mechanisms (a distributed file system and a NOSQL database). Those repositories are exported with Fuse and are published with a typical Apache HTTP server with the addition of WebDav module. Fault tolerance and load balancing is achieved with HAProxy and Keepalived. All those software are free and open source (FOSS), can be installed on commodity hardware and are constantly updated by a large community of users.
Ricostruzioni, 3D e narratività: strategie diversificate per la comunicazione dell’archeologia
Francesco Ripanti, Maria Sole Distefano
Abstract
This paper discusses some new perspectives about communication in archaeology. The main direction in recent years seems to go toward the increased use of new technologies by the same archaeologists who dig in a site and are not specialists in computer science and communication. So far these new technologies have been used in the search of better communications but they have been developed individually. Furthermore, the focus has been on the instruments rather than on the contents of the communication. Our proposal is to put together different media in order to enhance the potentiality of the same communication. For example, the use of 3D and docudrama together can enhance both the visual and narrative aspects of communication. In this paper we show a possible interaction of 3D and docudrama applied to the archaeological site of Vignale (Livorno, Italy), and discuss their benefits and drawbacks and the useful relationship between this creative approach of communication and the open source philosophy.
Archeologia e informatica di base: sperimentazione di approcci non trasmissivi in open source
Francesca Cantone, Angelo Chianese
Abstract
This paper examines some methodological issues related to the implementation of open approaches in teaching cultural heritage computing and archaeological informatics. The main results of experiments conducted at the Neapolitan Universities of Federico II and L’Orientale are presented, aimed at improving the overall quality of the learning experience by didactical innovation with an attempt at identifying and defining the main features, critical aspects and best practices for further case studies. The research on cultural heritage e-learning strategies, presented by the authors in the previous ArcheoFOSS workshops, lead inter alia to the proposal of a e-learning SCORM module for Archaeological Informatics didactics, a MUVE 3D model for the communication of an archaeological stratification, a whole Master Course on Multimedia Environments for Cultural Heritage in Blended Learning, and to the proposal and prototypal implementation of cultural heritage distributed and federated interdisciplinary repositories. Lifelong learning literature shows that students need to have the possibility of personalizing their learning experiences and to integrate highly specialized contents with basic skills supports. Starting from this methodological background, a shared construction of teaching materials about basic open source informatics skills was tested, as a new step in the federated repository modular construction. Methodological aspects of the processes implemented and preliminary results of the e-learning materials trial are outlined in the perspective of further research and investigation.
Corso base di free software e open source in archeologia: bilancio di un’esperienza di divulgazione pratica
Luca Bezzi, Kathrin Feistmantl, Simone Deola, Valeria Grazioli, Simone Pedron, Maura Stefani
Abstract
In February of 2012 a basic course was given at the Livelet Archaeological Park, in Revine Lago (Treviso, Italy), about free and open source software for archaeology. It was organized by members of the Studio Associato Sestante and Arc team and supported by the Archaeological Park itself. The express purpose of the course was that of providing an overview of the many possibilities offered by these types of software in the archaeological field, in order to introduce participants to an unknown world, both in the universities and at work. The analysis of the responses to a questionnaire given to the participants has produced very encouraging results.
Wiki-beta: il modus vivendi di un sistema per documentare la ricerca
Abstract
Nobody can deny the impact the web has on every possible domain and archaeology is not an exception. The Web 2.0 has put all users on the same level. Wikipedia and its software Mediawiki are an outstanding example of this process. The MediaWiki software was successfully applied to the archaeological record and its success is also due to the fact that it is always in beta format. This last feature is the characteristic that allowed the software to evolve, to respond to the necessity of the users. Chronic problems of Wiki systems, such as research and the reliability of on-line publications, and much more, could soon be solved by new software and network. In this article I will describe some of the most interesting novelties in this domain.
Wiki e dintorni, riflessioni sull’utilizzo del Web 2.0 per la gestione e la diffusione dei dati archeologici
Abstract
The subject of this poster is a survey in the territories of Web 2.0 and an excursion through the historical and archaeological data, the platforms of social networks and the cultural containers based on the Wiki philosophy. The route starts from the description of the most used web platforms, social networks as Facebook and Academia, and wiki containers as Wikipedia, passing through the experience of scientific teams that use the web to managing and disseminating the archaeological data, and the observation of the main features of each container. This preliminary survey explores the need for some reflections: on the quality and coherence of datasets, on the quality and traceability of sources, and on the needs of the scientific community and the web users.
An open source osteological database proposal
Giovanni Magno, Maurizio Marinato, Maria Letizia Pulcini, Marina Zago, Pamela Corsi, Alessandro Canci
Abstract
At the University of Padua, since 2005, after the inclusion of a course in Human Paleontology as part of the degree in archaeology, an osteo-archaeology study team has been active. In order to record in a comprehensive and systematic manner data relating to paleobiological research, an open source osteological database was developed. The database is based on LibreOffice Base, a versatile and easy to use software, as well as a multiplatform. The data is entered and stored in a table within the software, which is freely and easily exportable. The table is visually expressed through eight forms created in LibreOffice Base. The first section collects all information relating to the general biological profile (sex, age at death, stature, etc.) of each individual. The next section, developed only for adult subjects, is intended for the recording of paleobiological data and consists of two different parts, reporting of the possible presence or absence of trauma and/or pathologies. All pathologies, alterations and bone characteristics are listed in detailed form. The final form is intended for recording data about the state of dental health of adult and child subjects. Currently the database is distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - Share Alike 3.0 Italy (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).
Pubblicare uno scavo all’epoca di YouTube: comunicazione archeologica, narratività e video
Enrico Zanini, Francesco Ripanti
Abstract
Methodological reflection on communication in archaeology greatly developed over the past fifteen years. It is now widely accepted that video-narrative medium has a larger potential compared with other media commonly used up to now. The archaeological video can be divided into some different categories - documentary, video update, docudrama - each of them potentially destined to a variety of audiences when the movie is inserted into a narrative framework. By its nature, the archaeological site of Vignale, where the relative poverty of the remains on the ground sharply contrasts with the richness of the 'stories' the site itself can narrate, is an ideal place to test the docudrama-model video. Initially intended to be just an instrument for communicating with and involving local population in the archaeological project as a whole, the video-narrative proved to be a powerful tool in stimulating the research group itself towards a more thoughtful and 'multivocal' recording of the fieldwork done. The output of the project was the making of a brief 'series' of videos, with the general title of 'The Excavation and its Stories. They were initially used as an educational support for younger students in archaeology, but later obtained a wider audience through the web.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2012, 23, 7-30; doi: 10.19282/ac.23.2012.01
Archeologia in rete. Le riviste open access: risorse e prospettive
Alessandra Caravale, Alessandra Piergrossi
Abstract
This article is intended to provide an overview of archaeological open access journals, with particular reference to Italy and a general survey of the situation in France and the Anglo-Saxon countries. The Internet is now established as an important tool for the dissemination of knowledge and exchange in research; all sectors are adapting to this new environment, including that of classical studies, which more than any other remains attached to traditional forms of knowledge transmission and publication. Alongside published journals, online open access journals (of which we describe some examples related to the above mentioned geographic areas) are increasing considerably, and are acquiring an important role for the publication of research studies. The article also provides a brief overview on open access features and creative commons licenses.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2012, 23, 187-207; doi: 10.19282/ac.23.2012.11
L’utilisation de la restitution en trois dimensions au service archéologique de la Ville de Chartres
Abstract
Since 2005 the Archaeological Department of Chartres has conducted numerous activities in the metropolitan area and outside. One of the missions of the department is to present to the public the archaeological results using various media (articles in the city’s monthly magazine, newspapers, exhibitions, conferences etc.), in order to justify its activity. 3D modelling is a simple way to report archaeological observations and assumptions. Modelling tools have been applied to research on different periods (antiquity, middle ages and modern times), different scales: individual archaeological structures (kilns, graves, etc.), archaeological sites (Gallo-Roman villas and shrines, Merovingian hamlets, etc.) up to the size of a city. Virtual reconstructions can also be used to test scientific assumptions, particularly in architecture (Merovingian pit houses, for example).
Application de la restitution 3D à l’archéologie préventive. Une tuilerie du XVIIe et XVIIIe à Grisolle (Aisne)
Bastien Lefebvre, Thierry Galmiche
Abstract
The use of virtual imaging in the framework of preventive archaeology helps us understand, describe and interpret the vestiges that one finds on the terrain. 3D reproduction has often been considered as a tool for data dissemination that is intended for the general public. Nevertheless, for several years now the new tools available allow us to optimize work on the terrain as well as asking new questions about the interpretation and consequently, creating new prospects for research. The archaeological services, whose main task is related to prevention, must deal with these requirements for understanding while at the same time facing time limitations. At the archaeology office of the Département of Aisne, we were able to create a process for 3D representation on a project concerning a modern tile factory. This work made it possible for us to confirm or invalidate the hypotheses and to offer new answers to questions which had not been brought up in the field during the research project. Virtual reality in preventive archaeology is supported by a potential that is as scientific as it is communicative and which archaeologists will have to deal with.
Museo and Web: un kit pratico per le istituzioni culturali che vogliono realizzare un sito web di qualità
Maria Teresa Natale, Rubino Saccoccio
Abstract
Museo and Web is a best practice, the result of shared results at a European level as part of the MINERVA project (http://www.minervaeurope.org/), which produced a series of very important guidelines in the field of the quality of cultural websites. One of these results was the creation of the open source CMS (Content Management System) Museo and Web, produced and funded by the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities, especially devoted to cultural institutions (museums, libraries, archives, etc.) that want to build a website. The importance of this CMS, characterised by modules especially planned for cultural institutions, is that it is not imposed by third parties, but is designed with the contributions of the cultural institutions which participate in the enrichment of the platform by expressing their needs. The diffusion of the kit (which also includes a series of guidelines on how to build the architecture of the websites of cultural institutions) contribute to increase awareness among the stakeholders of cultural institutions dealing with communication and web publishing on accessibility, usability and quality of cultural website in general. More than 150 Italian institutions have already built their websites with Museo and Web. A few hours of training are enough to learn how it runs and how to use it. In 2010, the source codes will be made available on the SourceForge platform, in order to share these results with a larger audience.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2010, 21, 27-47; doi: 10.19282/ac.21.2010.02
Nuove tecnologie per la conoscenza e la comunicazione di Lucca romana
Lorenza Camin, Marcello Carrozzino, Rosario Leonardi, Antonella Negri
Abstract
This article describes the results of a project related to IT applied to the city of Lucca in the Roman era (Tecnologie informatiche per la conoscenza e la comunicazione di Lucca romana), which was conducted as part of a Ph.D. program in Technologies and Management of Cultural Heritage at the Institute for Advanced Studies IMT Lucca. The work done can be divided into three separate stages, each of which is distinguished by the utilization of specific surveying tools. The first to be set up was GIS LUCA (Looking at an Urban Context Archive), where all the existing documentation on Roman Lucca was archived (maps, iconography, surveys, images, descriptive data). The information processed in LUCA provided data for the creation of the three-dimensional model of Roman Lucca, whereby the walls, main monuments and arteries, which still identify the town as Roman today, are represented in a schematic yet scientifically correct way. Additional experimentation was conducted as part of the research. Using an innovative three-dimensional relief technique, the ZScan, which enables cloud points to be taken from a photographic scan, three-dimensional models of the pillars of the eastern gate were elaborated, as well as three arches of the Roman amphitheatre that have been particularly well preserved. Lastly, the website www.luccaromana.com was created to publish the results that were obtained. The site proposes numerous knowledge paths around the ancient town by means of a range of highly innovative access methods, that provide a global yet synthetic description of Roman Lucca, which is a result of the research and experimentation conducted as part of the project.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2010, 21, 49-73; doi: 10.19282/ac.21.2010.03
Correspondence Analysis in R for archaeologists: an educational account
Michael J. Baxter, Hilary E.M. Cool
Abstract
Correspondence Analysis (CA) is a popular tool for archaeological data analysis, appropriate for use with tables of non-negative number. The technique allows the visual display of the associations between the rows and between the columns of a data matrix, and the relationships between them. Archaeologists with this kind of data often have no problem in understanding the ideas behind CA, but with limited training in statistics may have problems in implementing it. Commercial, menu driven, statistical software packages of the type used for service teaching in universities are expensive and restrictive in the way results from a CA can be presented. Archaeologists outside the university sector may not have access to such software. This paper is a guide to how the open-source software R can be used to undertake CA. R is a sophisticated, ‘state-of-the-art’ package that is constantly updated. It is not menu driven and can seem forbidding to new users. The paper provides a detailed account, ranging from installation of the package through to real applications of CA, that has helped, and we hope will continue to help, encourage the use of CA among archaeologists who have previously been discouraged from engaging with it.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2010, 21, 211-228; doi: 10.19282/ac.21.2010.11
"Progetto Calvatone": dallo scavo all’edizione multimediale
Abstract
The paper presents the project for the publication of archaeological excavations conducted from 2001 to 2006 by the University of Milan in collaboration with the University of Pavia at Calvatone-Bedriacum (CR), in the area of the Domus del Labirinto. The project proposes to test a new form of communication, which permits to offer complete information on the research carried out over the years. In particular, the project aims at a more effective and immediate form of communication, mediated by the use of a multimedia support such as the DVD, with the purpose of developing a functional model for the edition of any archaeological excavation. The innovative and experimental publication on DVD, made possible by the contribution of the Regione Lombardia (Assessorato alle Culture, Identità e Autonomie della Lombardia), has allowed us not only to present the analysis and interpretation of the excavations, through a large number of images, but also to provide the full documentation of the archive - inventories, recording sheets, photographs, drawings, plans - which is usually excluded from publication, for obvious problems of space and costs.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2009, 20, 397-419; doi: 10.19282/ac.20.2009.28
Proposte per un’archeologia open in rete
Marina Milella, Paolo Vigliarolo
Abstract
Open content in archaeology requires careful consideration in our field of studies: knowledge conservation is linked to its spread, and for this purpose the web is one of the most useful and important tools. In this paper two open projects are suggested: DecArch, a wiki site dedicated to Roman architectural decoration, and ArcheoCommons, in which archaeologists can publish their research and mark it with one of the Creative Commons licenses.
Pubblico ma non pubblico: prospettive normative sulla proprietà intellettuale dei dati archeologici
Abstract
This paper is a reappraisal of the general principles of the laws on cultural heritage, with the possibilities offered by the laws on transparency and copyright, and it debates the idea of a State-exclusive on the publication of archaeological data and the granting new opportunities for freedom of research and scientific information in the interest of everyone.
Condivisione e diffusione dei dati nel settore dei beni culturali. Le potenzialità dell’integrazione tra standard, formati aperti e licenze libere
Silvana Costa, Giovanni Luca A. Pesce
Abstract
In this paper, we discuss the potentialities of the integration of open data formats (the so called “standards”), open source software and free licenses in the field of cultural heritage.
Un ambiente di realtà virtuale per l’interpretazione archeologica attraverso sistemi multi-utente on-line
Abstract
The FIRB project, “Integrated Technologies of robotics and virtual environment in archaeology”, gives us the opportunity to experiment and create a multi-user domain on the web aimed at a multidisciplinary scientific community. The state of the art in this field is still in a pioneering stage because there are very few multi-user domains for sharing and exchanging cultural and scientific contents in the field of virtual heritage. The multiuser virtual environment is conceived as an open laboratory: a place where it is possible to compare the construction and validation of interpretative processes, to investigate new relations among data in space and time.
Ambienti collaborativi 3D. Il caso di Virtual Rome
Sofia Pescarin, Augusto Palombini, Luigi Calori, Antonella Negri
Abstract
Virtual Rome Project (www.virtualrome.it) has developed a VR Web-GIS application, with front-end and back-end on line solutions, for the interpretation, reconstruction and 3D exploration of archaeological and potential historical landscapes of Rome. The paper discusses the collaborative environment developed by the project for the back-end.
Un’applicazione open source per lo studio integrato del territorio: il progetto PICA
Danilo Demarchi, Giorgio Di Gangi, Chiara Maria Lebole
Abstract
P.I.C.A. (http://www.progettopica.org) is an integrated project based on a broader strategy for the use and appreciation of the transalpine area. Its aim is to preserve and put to best advantage the cultural heritage through informatics and web applications. The territories involved are the Italian areas of the Province of Cuneo (Marchesato of Saluzzo) and the French Departments of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Isère and Hautes-Alpes. These areas not only have in common a homogenous geographic environment, but also a shared cultural substrate, where the Alpine territory always represented a link between different traditions. In a multidisciplinary context this great, the use of open source solutions was the best way to reach project goals and put together this complex scenario using different technological solutions.
Framework OS per la comunicazione storica e archeologica
Mauro Felicori, Marco Gaiani, Antonella Guidazzoli, Maria Chiara Liguori
Abstract
CINECA, for its applications dedicated to Cultural Heritage, has developed a visualization framework, Visman, which is used at present by three different projects: Certosa Virtual Museum; ARCUS and MUVI – Virtual Museum of Daily Life in Bologna.
blueOcean: un framework per la realizzazione di CMS semantici
Augusto Palombini, Fabrizio Giudici
Abstract
The so-called Web 2.0 offers good methods for sharing knowledge, but it does not provide adequate tools for performing automated, complex searches on the Internet with the quality needed for scientific research. blueOcean is a software product for managing knowledge with the technologies of “semantic web” and offers an effective solution to the problem.
Un software CMS per l’archiviazione e la documentazione di materiale archeologico
Giuseppe Maino, Silvia Massari
Abstract
In this paper we describe the design, implementation and validation of a multimedia open source database for archiving information about diagnostics, conservation and restoration of archaeological documents and artifacts. The software architecture is based on a Content Management System (CMS) and allows the development of a dynamic website. Three main applications have been implemented, all of them characteristic of a wide range of cultural assets, ranging from (i) archival documents to (ii) archaeological and artistic objects, including (iii) diagnostic analyses.
VIRO: un sistema per la navigazione assistita in ambienti virtuali
Abstract
Navigation in virtual environments and web-based Virtual Reality applications plays an important role in user interaction, quality and level of content comprehension. ViRo system has been developed as part of the Virtual Rome Project, with focus on usability providing customizable aided navigation, adaptable to various 3D scenarios.
Archeologia virtuale in blended learning. Esperienze, metodologie e strumenti all’Università “Federico II” di Napoli
Francesca Cantone, Angelo Chianese, Vincenzo Moscato
Abstract
Virtual Archaeology in Blended Learning. Experiments, methodologies and tools at the “Federico II” University of Naples. The rapid transformation of knowledge systems has changed methodologies and educational processes in a fast, continuous and substantial way. Among the various solutions, methodologies and technologies referred to by the term “e-learning”, this article focuses on experiments in “Blended Learning” in which lessons are integrated by online interaction. In particular, our experiment involved the preparation of a SCORM course of “Information Technology and Archaeology”, created using the IDEA (Instructional Designer Applications) software for Learning Objects, written, and implemented through the “Federico II” Campus platform, according to the paradigms of Computer Supported Collaborative Learn¬ing. Restructuring Virtual Archaeology didactical topics as Learning Objects led us to reflect deeply on the contents to convey and on their new organization, which had to be modular, combinable and granular in order to ensure the best re-usability in various educational contexts and the possibility to be customized according to the characteristics of students. The test covered different levels of classes (three-year degree, two-year degree, laboratory) for three academic years (2005/6-2007/2008). The number of students was limited to between ten and twenty per class in order to improve and control interaction and active participation by students. This paper describes and offers for discussion the main results of the experiment that was conducted, results of which were very encouraging in terms of: educational performance, construction of thematic e-communities, methodological innovation, preparation of re-mixable and re-usable didactical contents, testing of software/methodology IDEA available for free downloading and able to encourage and support dissemination of new teaching methods in archaeology, supporting and facilitating authors in the multimedia production workflow.
Il Sistema T.Arc.H.N.A. Per una nuova accessibilità al patrimonio culturale
Giovanna Bagnasco Gianni, Piero Mussio, Muriel Geroli
Abstract
This paper presents the preliminary results of the Project T.Arc.H.N.A., Towards Archaeological Heritage New Accessibility, partially funded by the European Union, as part of the Culture 2000 Programme. Tarchna is the Etruscan name of the ancient city of Tarquinia and T.Arc.H.N.A. is the name of a model of the virtual Museum. Thanks to the use of modern technology, combined with a deep knowledge of history and archaeology, it has been possible to create a tool useful for both scholars and the wider public, which is also available for other situations. Through the cooperation of experts from two different fields – Computer Science and Archaeology – an innovative system of accessibility to the Cultural Heritage in the field of research, education and dissemination has been designed and implemented. One of the first results of the project is the restoration in its entirety of the original Tarquinian Heritage, much of which is scattered all over the world, lacking in contexts and anthropological meanings. Scholars are thus enabled to deal with this Cultural Heritage as a whole and to bring the single document from the environment that produced it, to the environment of the modern user, thus filling the gap between the document and its interpretation. In this way the public can learn the main features of the Etruscan culture and understand the research of scholars.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2007, 18, 255-272; doi: 10.19282/ac.18.2007.13
Il sito web Impero romano e intellettuali greci
Francesca Fontanella, Davide Merlitti
Abstract
The website Impero Romano e Intellettuali Greci presents a selection of texts by Greek authors from the first imperial age on the topic of the Roman Empire. Each of these texts is tagged to identify the most important issues concerning the empire of Rome. These tags provide electronic access to the most significant passages in which some of the most important Greek intellectuals living between the first and second centuries BC published and circulated their ideas about the Roman Empire. All of the passages are presented in the original Greek and are accompanied by an abstract in Italian in which the context and content of the passage are summarized. With the presentation of each passage the larger work from which it is cited is indicated, in addition to essential information regarding the dating of and the circumstances under which each work was composed.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2007, 18, 373-382; doi: 10.19282/ac.18.2007.20
Editoriale
Abstract
Editorial to the Supplement 1, 2007.
The virtual museum: an introduction
Abstract
For several years now the concept of virtual museum has had an important role among the approaches being used for the diffusion of cultural information, as it offers an important extension to the traditional museum. In this paper, the author briefly discusses the concepts of the applications of virtual museums, by studying the transformation of a real museum into a virtual museum. The two new concepts of “the museum of museums” and that of “the imaginary museum” are also introduced. We define the portal functions and the virtual functions of a real museum, and then the functions of the “museum of museums” and of the “imaginary museum”. We also briefly summarize the technical Internet context implied in the realization of a virtual museum and its main operating principles.
Virtual museums and archaeology: an international perspective
Abstract
Current official definitions of “museum” in different countries are examined, together with their implications: the role of museums, their characteristics, the activities museums are expected to conduct. The presence of virtual museums on the Internet is also evaluated. As far as archaeology is concerned, the term “musealization” is analyzed, which denotes the operations necessary to transform a monument or a site into a tourist destination; therefore it brings in itself two opposite meanings of preservation, by means of organized actions and favoring the access and the economic exploitation of the heritage resources. The aspects of technology and virtuality available to museum and archaeological site curators are given in detail, describing dedicated international projects. The author concludes by analyzing the issue of the user’s perspective in the virtual museum as well as the requirements of specialized scholars.
Archaeological knowledge, virtual exhibitions and the social construction of meaning
Abstract
The author makes some general observations on the scope of various approaches to archaeological virtualisation, with particular reference to virtual exhibitions. He examines some interesting fully dynamic, evolving case-studies and, linking the historical development of archaeology to that of different kinds of archaeological knowledge, he highlights the possibilities offered by hypermedia applications on the World Wide Web not only for public communication, but also for archaeological meaning construction and mode of representation. The overall discussion points include virtual exhibition in the context of virtual museums, the notion of virtualisation and some ideas on content, formal representations and affordances. At the same time, the author laments the fact that virtual exhibitions are still fledgling, unstable practices, ignored by the majority of the archaeological public and, at the same time, by most mainstream archaeologists and most archaeological museums. Further work requires unification with relevant research and practice in Information and Communication Technologies, but also further reflection and research on the production of archaeological meaning through virtualisation.
Virtuality and museums. Some suggestions from the Italian National Research Council
Abstract
The “virtual experience”, with all its implications of knowledge enhancement and sharing, has involved numerous CNR researchers, through an interdisciplinary approach, which has characterised and given consistency to the applications, also from a theoretical and methodological point of view. In this special issue, in addition to the projects which are specifically dedicated to archaeology (virtual museums and 3D visualisation of ancient landscapes, towns, grave goods and objects), the contributions describe sophisticated computer tools designed and implemented in CNR laboratories and show how ICT can support the realisation of virtual museums, solving problems related to usability, accessibility and enjoyment aspects.
The virtual museum
Abstract
The author illustrates the positive and negative features of the virtual museum, and the role of visual and new interactive technologies in the cognitive processes. He then defines the concept of the virtual museum as the communicative projection of the real museum. According to this definition, the virtual museum is not a simple copy of the real museum; in fact, the radical re-organization related to the task of communication, also from the point of view of the display structure of the virtual museum, creates the possibility of exploiting powerful and effective visual means, which is the strong point of virtual construction.
The virtual museum of landscape
Maurizio Forte, Sofia Pescarin
Abstract
In this paper the authors present the approach in the study and reconstruction of archaeological landscapes that has characterized their work carried out at CINECA Supercomputing Center of Bologna, in the Visualization lab (VISIT lab), and in the Institute of Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage of CNR (CNR-ITABC). The digital pipeline defined in these years of work has lead to the reconstruction of actual landscape (and archaeological landscape is part of our contemporaneity), past landscape, and ecosystems. The presented methodological model is a relational model that uses both bottom-up (data processing from fieldwork with integrated technologies) and top-down (landscape reconstruction through conceptual models, comparative analysis and mental maps) approaches. Landscape virtual museums can be built as ecosystems made of models and dynamic behaviors, where data can be read in a transparent way because of their association with a visible ontology. The proposed digital protocol is defined by procedures, tools (hardware and software), exchangeable data/formats and technologies such as GIS, OpenGL graphic libraries, terrain generators, Open Source software. It integrates 2D spaces and 3D, raster and vector, grid and polygonal models, text and multimedia, with the goal of offering a real time access to cultural and environmental information through off-line and on-line Virtual Reality applications and, in the future, virtual communities that could share experiences in and of the same spatial 3D landscape-mindscape.
Iraq Project: the Virtual Museum of Baghdad
Abstract
The author describes the origin of “Iraq Project: the Virtual Museum of Baghdad”, and discusses two projects which have been approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE). As part of the humanitarian mission of stabilization and reconstruction in Iraq, they intended to contribute to the funding of activities and initiatives aimed at the reconstruction and safeguarding as well as the enhancement of the Iraqi cultural heritage. A few days after the entry of the US army into Baghdad, the looting and partial destruction of the exhibits were gradually removed to the storerooms that were sealed in 2004. Only the exhibits which were impossible to move remained in their original places. Beginning with the assumption that very few people in the world have been fortunate enough to visit the Iraq Museum and that the Museum will probably be closed for a long time, we felt that it was necessary to reconstruct it virtually so that the visitor could enter, wander through and observe the most important exhibits kept there. At the same time, the Virtual Museum makes it possible to explore and get to know the ancient civilizations and the geographical context in which these arose. The Virtual Museum should facilitate the utilization and understanding of the cultural, historic and scientific artifacts of the Museum without limits of space and time. An analytical presentation is provided that is extremely rich in content, flexible and lends itself to personalization by the user. It offers in addition the advantage of a presentation made possible by instruments for the simplification and narration required for a public of non-specialists.
From the object to the territory: image-based technologies and remote sensing for the reconstruction of ancient contexts
Francesco Gabellone, Giuseppe Scardozzi
Abstract
This paper deals with the results of an experiment that was conducted as part of the CNR Project entitled Iraq Virtual Museum, the goal of which is the construction of a Virtual Museum that will allow the public to enjoy the main archaeological treasures of the ancient civilizations that flourished in the territory of modern-day Iraq. The work was aimed at the contextualization of the ancient objects in the territory of origin. This result was achieved by recourse to image-based technologies and remote sensing. In the exemplary case of the city of Ur, the process of contextualization began with the modelling of the golden helmet of king Meskalamdug, and continued with the reconstruction of the tomb in which it had originally been placed, together with the rest of the funerary objects. This tomb was then contextualized within the Royal Cemetery and the urban layout of Ur. High resolution satellite images made it possible to observe and document the archaeological area as it is today, for a virtual visit and in preparation for a potential real visit in the future. Furthermore, research activities have made it possible to acquire new knowledge of the objects, the monuments, the urban layout and the historical landscape.
The princely cart from Eretum
Adriana Emiliozzi, Paola Moscati, Paola Santoro
Abstract
The authors present a detailed description of the project of the virtual reunification and recontextualisation of the grave goods found in a tomb of the Sabine necropolis of Colle del Forno, which held a princely burial: archaeological research, technical analyses, restoration, 3D reconstruction of the cart found inside the tomb and of its bronze decoration, and virtual reconstitution of the grave goods – constituted both by local products and objects imported from the Orient, as well as by two wheeled vehicles: a cart and a chariot) – in the framework of their original archaeological and cultural context. Besides a DVD, which shows a video at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in the room containing the exhibition of the cart and other objects from the tomb, a web site has been created (http://www.principisabini.it/): the web visitors can reconstruct the history of the discovery, walk through this 7th-6th century BC tomb, see the structural and functional mechanisms of the cart in action, and enjoy this Italic masterpiece.
High quality digital acquisition and virtual presentation of three-dimensional models
Roberto Scopigno, Paolo Cignoni, Claudio Montani
Abstract
Detailed and accurate digital 3D models can be produced with 3D scanning devices, which allow to convert reality in digital form in a cost and time effective manner. The capabilities of this technology and the global methodology are presented here in a synthetic manner. Moreover, we focus on the main issues which are preventing its wider use in contemporary applications, such as: the considerable user intervention required, the usually incomplete sampling of the artifact surface and the complexity of the models produced. Another emerging issue is how to support the visual presentation of the models (local or remote) with guaranteed interactive rendering rates. Some practical examples from the results of current projects in the cultural heritage field will be shown.
An ontological interpretation of the ICCD recommendation
Aldo Aiello, Mario Mango Furnari, Fiorenza Proto
Abstract
This paper outlines some results which have come out from the analysis of the Cultural Heritage domain, an analysis supported by the Virtual Museum of Naples project ReMuNa and SIABeC; both of these initiatives have the objective of promoting the artistic cultural inheritance of Naples. In this context, a domain ontology was developed which allows a more articulated use of the cultural heritage data available and, as it faces the crucial theme of re-contextualization, it also allows to define formal historical reconstructions. In this paper, the “upper “ontology TopLevelReMuNa, i.e. the topmost classes and properties hierarchies embodied in ReMuNaICCD v2.0, is described. According to the authors, the most remarkable features of TopLevelReMuNa are illustrated by the three ontology patterns that are reported here.
Linguistic tools for navigation in a virtual museum
Andrea Bozzi, Laura Cignoni, Giuseppe Fedele
Abstract
The advances of digital technology to the museum world have led to the development of computational tools for the classification of information as well as consultation of semantically correlated documents. The work presented here consists in an experiment, organizing the textual descriptions relative to iconographic works by means of SOM (Self-Organizing Maps), which represent the most common algorithm of artificial neural networks in the category of non-supervised learning, i.e. without the control and contribution of knowledge on the part of the human operator. The system produces a bi-dimensional map in which the words, represented graphically by means of semantically correlated nodes, are contiguous and form agglomerates. Therefore, the visit to a virtual museum containing works located in different sites can take place following pathways which are “conceptually-oriented”, independent of the learner’s cultural background.
Overcoming barriers in virtual museums
Abstract
A virtual museum is a real challenge, especially when the goal is to contextualize its content and overcome physical, cognitive and cultural hurdles. A good user interface should provide everyone with an equivalent experience, irrespective of their disabilities. On the other hand, disability is a stage in everyone’s life. Web accessibility has several components, and is not merely a technical issue. A good quality web site should be designed for usable accessibility, considering both usability and accessibility issues, giving to the disabled user the sense of inclusion and equal opportunity to participate. Web accessibility has been a concern to several governments, and in many countries accessibility is required by law. The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has provided web accessibility guidelines since the birth of the web, addressing all the web accessibility components. Presently a new release of WCAG is going to be issued, characterized by several important novelties (baseline, conformance level, etc.), which will be a big step forward from the previous WCAG. W3C Recommendations also include some accessibility features for 2D graphics and multimedia. The Rich Internet Applications are emerging, and W3C defined a roadmap towards a declarative markup. To overcome the difficulties related to different cultures, Semantic Web technologies and ontologies can give the appropriate support for exchanging and sharing knowledge.
Omero: a multimodal system that improves access to Cultural Heritage by visually impaired people
Fabio De Felice, Floriana Renna, Giovanni Attolico, Arcangelo Distante
Abstract
The paper describes a multimodal application, based on haptic/acoustic/visual interaction. A system of this kind offers two very interesting possibilities: it can be used to permit access and comprehension of cultural heritage by visually impaired people, for whom touch and hearing represent the main channels for interaction with the real world and it can also enhance the experience of cultural heritage by sighted people, making it possible to use the sense of touch, which is often forbidden in museum situations. The system not only allows the experience of touching objects which, on account of their location, dimensions, and vulnerability cannot be offered for direct haptic contact, but, in addition, it makes it possible to experience a much more flexible and powerful interaction in complex situations. In fact, virtual models can change in a very dynamic and flexible way to match the needs of the specific user and to help his/her exploration and cognitive process. The system moves the haptic experience into the virtual world where the digital potentials can be used to make communication of the cultural content of each object more effective. Multimodal interaction allows visually impaired people to access cultural heritage involving large spatial information content. The system makes it possible to interact with haptic/acoustic active objects and to select the information that must be shown on the basis of user requirements. Several tests, involving people with different types and levels of visual disabilities, were conducted. They showed that haptic/acoustic interaction and modular representation of information really do help blind people to cope with the serious and challenging task of acquiring and managing spatial data.
Les ressources d’information archéologiques sur Internet: le point de vue de l’utilisateur
Anne-Marie Guimier-Sorbets, Virginie Fromageot-Laniepce
Abstract
The Archéologie du monde grec et systèmes d’information team (CNRS – Paris X – Nanterre) presents a survey of the web resources available for Archaeology in two parts, the first dedicated to developments and use of web products, the second to information retrieval. This article is focused on practices: access to research results transposed from a traditional edition to a web site; hybrid diffusion and original contents specially designed for the Internet; retrieval tools usually used, such as Google, distinguished between “portals” designed and developed by archaeological institutions: these portals allow researchers and students to find selected and qualified information. At the end of the text, we present our web sites: Mélanges électroniques en hommage à René Ginouvès, Bibliographie de l’architecture grecque, «Cahiers des thèmes transversaux», Chronique Internet pour l’archéologie.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2006, 17, 7-24; doi: 10.19282/ac.17.2006.01
L’iconographie de la mythologie antique sur le web: le site LIMC-France et ses bases de données
Pascale Linant de Bellefonds, Anne-Violaine Szabados
Abstract
The web site LIMC-France, created by the French team of the Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC), is free and available in seven languages: English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Russian and Spanish. The site makes it possible to consult and search three different databases: – LIMCicon, the main database, gives access to file-cards gathering technical and scientific data relating to all Greek and Roman objects decorated with a mythological image that have been studied by the French team of LIMC, not only in French museums but also in several Near-Eastern, North African and East European countries. Most of the files are related to one or several digitized photographs. Each entry comprises a number of fields, all of them searchable, including bibliographical references, find-place, previous and current location, shape, iconographical description, key-words, etc. – LIMCbiblio updates the bibliography of LIMC articles from their publishing date onward. – LIMCabrev is a helpful tool giving complete titles of the abbreviations used in LIMC and in other publications of the LIMC Foundation.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2006, 17, 25-43; doi: 10.19282/ac.17.2006.02
Interactive learning activities in Greek art
Abstract
This article describes two learning activities on Greek art and my reflections on the design elements which were influenced by the principles and recommendations that are particularly useful for distance education. The project arose out of a desire to emulate online the classroom experience of studying and analysing images of Greek art and had two goals: to provide students (1) with an opportunity to practise on their own visual analysis and interpretation of Greek images and apply them to new examples; and (2) with comprehensive but progressive feedback that would guide them in their way of thinking to reach the correct answer. In the Greek Art module, the activity assists students in dating vase paintings. Each example offers a choice of chronological periods in which to place the image. Errors in selection are used constructively, with the feedback providing hints on which elements of the image to pay attention to in order to arrive at the correct dating. Correct answers are accompanied by questions guiding students to consciously justify their selection. In the Greek Mythology module, the activity assists students in the identification of figures involved in mythological depictions. By clicking on the figures students can see not only the correct answer but also a series of questions that guide them to justify their answer by referring to the specific features on which they based their identification. These interactive activities can be used at the students own pace and provide immediate and constructive feedback. At the same time, they allow reflection before the correct answers, given in small successive steps, are revealed. The activities are linked to learning outcomes and prepare students for future summative assessment. They are a pedagogically sound computermediated tool to encourage active, deep and reflective learning.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2006, 17, 71-82; doi: 10.19282/ac.17.2006.04
La guida interattiva INandOUT. Un modo nuovo di esplorare musei ed aree archeologiche
Enrico Benelli, Emanuela Todini, Maurizio Masini
Abstract
The Interactive Guide INandOUT, created as part of the project “Signs of pre-Roman cultures in land and landscape” and sponsored by the European Program “Culture 2000”, aims at experimenting new forms of comprehension by creating a direct link between site-visiting, excavations finds and archival research using the newest available technologies (notebooks, Tablet PCs, etc.). The Interactive Guide INandOUT answers the visitor’s need to contemplate the single work he is observing inside the site or museum and to observe it together with the entire site, at the same time. In short, it can place the visitor outside the site while still taking him through each single step of the excavations. Two goals have been achieved: first of all an informative net was created, covering vast open spaces (such as those found in archeological sites) and smaller indoor spaces (such as those found in museums), and using wireless technology (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, UMTS). Second, this net was filled with multi-medial contents, such as animations, movies, images, sounds and voices, in order to enhance the correspondence between inside and outside, between the single object and its original environment. The visitor’s position is identified by means of tags RFid (Radio Frequency Identification). These simple and quite “invisible” radio transmitters, spread all over the site, interact with the client-driver (the Tablet PC) given to the visitor. By receiving different specific codes the Guide recognizes where the visitor stands and sends him the most specific and contextual information. Last, but not least, the RFid system considerably reduces both operation and maintenance costs. The Tags used to activate the multi-medial information on the visitor’s Tablet PC are small, easily attached (even only using glue) and easily removed if necessary, long lasting, ideal for open and external spaces, and, most important, they need no power supply.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2006, 17, 229-240; doi: 10.19282/ac.17.2006.13
"Archeologia e Calcolatori": nuove strategie per la diffusione di contenuti in rete sulla base dell'OAI-PMH
Abstract
A project for digitalization and web diffusion of the journal «Archeologia e Calcolatori» contents has been recently started. While PDF seems to be the most satisfactory data format to deliver the electronic version of documents, international standards developed within the Open Archives paradigm can surely offer fascinating solutions to disseminate metadata describing their content. The most relevant protocol for Open Archives implementation is OAI-PMH. Several software applications to support OAI-PMH have been proposed by different institutions and some obtained a brilliant success. However, in certain situations the deployment of an OAI-PMH conformant repository is still problematic. The reason ranges from lack of technical expertise, cost of implementation and intrinsic complexity of web server administration. For small research institutions and university departments the most part of the existing OAI applications seems in effect not simple to implement. In this paper a simplified approach to OAI implementation for small and medium size archives is discussed. This project is based on an OAI Static Repository file (OAI-SR, i.e. an XML file based on a schema whose guidelines have been recently issued by OAI), Visual Basic, ASP, XML/XSL and Java technologies. It has been applied to the collection of abstracts coming from the articles published in «Archeologia e Calcolatori», but it can easily be adapted to other cultural subjects with small efforts.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2005, 16, 225-241; doi: 10.19282/ac.16.2005.12
JIIA "Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology" un'esperienza telematica di comunicazione scientifica
Abstract
The «Journal of Intercultural and Interdisciplinary Archaeology» (acronym JIIA), at the URL http://www.jiia.it/, online since the 10th of October 2003 is a full-text and peer reviewed journal oriented to “alternative” Open Access publishing, formed by experimental personal initiative and on a non-profit basis. The aim of the JIIA e-journal is the dissemination of scientific communications in archaeology, antiquity sciences and archaeological applied sciences: it is therefore interdisciplinary and intercultural. The Journal web site, originally static, has been completely renewed. The repository, created with open-source MyOPIA, MySQL Online Publications Index Administration , allows matching to the OAI-PMH protocol and hence metadata harvesting. The Journal appears as a novelty in a sector which, in our country, is still in its infancy. The article also discusses problems related to on-line editing and open archives.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2005, 16, 243-269; doi: 10.19282/ac.16.2005.13
Shared Technologies in archeologia: nuove prospettive di gestione e condivisione di dati in rete
Abstract
The ICT revolution in archaeological studies is producing thousands of digital data: interaction can be the key word to make more easy and efficient their access, communication, use, and analysis. It is well known that a lack of standardization is one of the most important limitations that prevent efficient interaction between different data sets. Interoperability and comparability of different archaeological data sets may increase interpretation and analysis. The paper outlines current developments in archaeological data standardization, and looks forward for an easier and more efficient process of integration of different kinds of data. The paper focuses in particular on the possibility of exploiting peer-to-peer and shared technologies to build archaeological data networks in an easy way, disseminating the standardization in a down-to-top way, avoiding technical and practical problems related to the hierarchical imposition of new formats. The paper addresses the possibility to realize and make available on the Internet a free tool to build an archaeological data community, with free access, validation, etc., to share data making the most of free text-based standards: XML, X3D, etc. The overall benefits of the proposed file-sharing solution can be summarized as follows: integration of different data typologies; standardization; interaction and networking; modularity; human readability; cooperative creation of vocabularies, graphical libraries, utilities, tools.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2005, 16, 271-290; doi: 10.19282/ac.16.2005.14
Tele-archaeology
Joan A. Barceló, Igor Bogdanović, Raquel Piqué
Abstract
Tele-archaeology, in its basic sense, may be defined as the use of telecommunications to provide archaeological information and services. Two different kinds of technology make up most of the tele-archaeology applications in use today. The first is used for transferring information from one location to another. The other is multi-way interactive knowledge distribution. In this paper we examine the possibilities of tele-archaeology, and offer a general framework to implement this technology. The main positive effect of tele-archaeology is the move towards a real 'distributed interactive archaeology', which means that archaeological knowledge building is a collective and dynamic series of tasks and processes. An individual archaeologist cannot fully explain his/her data because the explanatory process needs knowledge as raw material, and this knowledge does not exist in the individual mind of the scientist but in the research community as a global set.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2004, 15, 467-481; doi: 10.19282/ac.15.2004.28
www.beazley.ox.ac.uk, con Appendici di G. Parker e A. Parks
Abstract
This article offers a summary of the Oxford University's Beazley Archive of Classical Archaeology and Art work since 1999 (for the period 1988 to 1999 see the tenth volume of this journal). The most important developments have been the migration of all of the Archive's databases and educational programmes on to the web (www.beazley.ox.ac.uk); the diversification of materials studied and methods of presentation; the imminent amalgamation of more than twenty databases into one searchable master dataset. This five-year summary is divided into three parts: the first part relates to the content and presentation of the Beazley Archive, with particular reference to the Pottery Database and the recent three-year project to digitise the CVA volumes for the web, which was granted to the Beazley Archive by the Union Académique Internationale; the second part relates to the technical structure of the datasets, storage and back up facilities and the third part relates to the nature and extent of the Archive's electronic assets and their relation to others in the University of Oxford.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2004, 15, 497-508; doi: 10.19282/ac.15.2004.30
Un portale per l'archeologia medievale
Riccardo Francovich, Luca Isabella
Abstract
Thanks to the great development in the use of the Internet, even in Archaeology the Net can be exploited both as a means to spread new research results, and to create a dialogue between different institutions like Universities, Superintendences, archaeological and cultural associations. Nowadays, through thousands of web sites, users have acquired a good experience in surfing and are able to choose which site to visit and not. This article presents a detailed description of our web site for Medieval Archaeology, which counts more than 6000 web pages since it was put on line in 1996. It has become a benchmark and a starting point for every kind of research in medieval archaeology on the Internet.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2004, 15, 509-520; doi: 10.19282/ac.15.2004.31
Considerazioni sulla reale 'usabilità' di mappe, GIS e cartografia a contenuto archeologico su Web
Abstract
An increasing number of scholars involved in archaeological studies and research projects are looking to the Internet as a means of making their results known. With the idea that a web designer should not work too far from the perceptions of the possible web user and bearing in mind some of the more recent discussions in the 'web-usability' debate, the author offers some considerations on the real and effective usability of these web-publications, with particular regard to maps, GIS and cartography, since these types of publications, by the very nature of their construction, should maintain their high communication potential.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2004, 15, 521-529; doi: 10.19282/ac.15.2004.32
Archeologia virtuale e supporti informatici nella ricostruzione di una domus di Pompei
Daniela Scagliarini Corlàita, Antonella Coralini, Antonella Guidazzoli, Tullio Salmon Cinotti, Giuseppe Raffa, Luca Roffia, Carlo Taboni, Maurizio Malavasi, Fabio Sforza, Erika Vecchietti
Abstract
The 'domus del Centenario' is one of the largest houses in Pompei, and the focus of a far-reaching project of study and valorisation, based on an agreement between the Soprintendenza Archeologica of Pompei and the University of Bologna (Department of Archaeology). Its aim is to experiment with the use of a virtual reconstructive model to better contribute to both research and instructional aspects. An approach to build virtual environments for education in archaeology is described, in which many actors are involved. The required equipment, the professional skills and the related job planning issues are discussed. Virtual Archaeology products may be directed through many channels. Virtual sets, where real actors play in virtual reconstructions, offer new education opportunities to a large audience. PDA based interactivity enhances user-centric communication. The purpose of this paper is also to discuss a user-centric multichannel system, providing access to Virtual Archaeology based contents, both on-site and off-site; while the information base is shared, the interface devices are channel-specific and are calibrated to the fruition context. The system is called MUSE and is developed by a private company (DUCATI SISTEMI S.p.A.). The key system component is Whyre, an interactive and mobile device, designed to act as a personal virtual guide and to provide knowledge through words and images, on-site. Whyre technology is hidden behind its interface and shape: it carries inside a tiny PC-like computer equipped with a 3D-graphics accelerator and augmented with location detection sensors. It is wireless connected to a site server and is context-aware, so that only location and context relevant contents are submitted for the visitor's attention. The display size is 6.4 inches and its resolution is 640x480 pixels. Several types of Virtual Archaeology based contents may be displayed. The paper reviews the Whyre architecture as well as the context production framework for the entire multichannel system. Eventually a visit experience with Whyre in Pompei, from Porta Marina to the 'domus del Centenario', is described, and the impact of delivering location-specific contents originated by virtual archaeological reconstructions is discussed.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2003, 14, 237-274; doi: 10.19282/ac.14.2003.11
Crustumerium on line: presentazione telematica di un'area archeologica della periferia nord di Roma
Francesco di Gennaro, Luigi Finocchietti, Francesca Dell’Era
Abstract
The article illustrates and discusses the planning and execution of an Internet site for the archaeological area of the ancient Latin city of Crustumerium. The city is located north of Rome and prospered from the ninth to the fifth centuries BC in parallel to Rome, which eventually conquered it. The text is divided into three parts. The first confronts problems linked to the presentation (and editing in response to new data) of a State controlled Internet site devoted to State controlled archaeological areas. The second clarifies the semiotic choices made during the creation of pages which synthesise various aspects of the archaeological discipline. The third concerns to the editing principles employed to reconcile the logic of hypertext with popular scientific presentation. A last section offers a commentary of a small selection of Internet sites belonging to institutions which present archaeological areas, grouped into three sections.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2003, 14, 275-294; doi: 10.19282/ac.14.2003.12
Internet e multimedia
Abstract
Review article.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2003, 14, 336-339; doi: 10.19282/ac.14.2003.15
Progetto Caere: un'applicazione Internet attiva per l'Information Retrieval di documenti SGML
Abstract
In the process of creating an archaeological information system of the excavations in Cerveteri, the decision was made not only to use a more traditional database, but also to develop a recording methodology that connects the text of the excavation diaries, encoded by the application of a mark-up language (SGML), with the cartographic data. In order to query all the excavation diaries, an information retrieval application was required, with the aim to retrieve not only words but also specific meanings and contexts. In this paper the author describes the creation of an internal software application for providing information retrieval from SGML texts and of its subsequent implementation on a Web server. The paper is divided into two parts: the first describes the application itself and the concepts on which it is based and the second part discusses the technology that has been applied and the results achieved. In order to construct a querying system for the content of the excavation diaries, both ASP and VBSCRIPT technologies have been used, as they are particularly useful for constructing client-server applications for an intranet. Through applying such technologies, it has been possible to connect the textual sources with the digital cartography through specific hypertext links, allowing the visualisation of the search results in a browser such as Explorer or Netscape Navigator. This application has also been designed to allow data diffusion through the Internet.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2001, 12, 71-90; doi: 10.19282/ac.12.2001.04
Progetto Caere: proposta di un modello per il trattamento e la codifica di documenti archeologici editi
Abstract
The author describes the experimentation of the Text Encoding Initiative Lite for the encoding of published archaeological documents, a part of the research program of the Caere Project. In fact, the experimentation with SGML as a tool for documenting, querying and subsequently interpreting the yearly diaries of the Vigna Parrocchiale excavations suggested expanding the use of this encoding procedure to also include published archaeological reports, particularly those associated with other monumental features in the urban plateau of Cerveteri. As a case study, the encoding scheme of the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI) Lite, integrated by the DTD already defined, has been used in the publication of the excavations conducted in 1912-13 by Raniero Mengarelli, in the same area of the Vigna Parrocchiale, and published in «Studi Etruschi» in 1936. In order to verify the flexibility of this encoding method within different types of archaeological publications, the same procedure has been experimented on another text written in 1937 by Raniero Mengarelli and extracted from «Notizie degli Scavi di Antichità».
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2001, 12, 91-103; doi: 10.19282/ac.12.2001.05
Internet e multimedia
Abstract
Review article.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2001, 12, 343-347; doi: 10.19282/ac.12.2001.18
Archeologia e multimedialità: il sito Internet dell'abitato protostorico di Sorgenti della Nova (VT)
Andrea Dolfini, Nuccia Negroni Catacchio
Abstract
This article introduces the Web Site of Sorgenti della Nova, a proto-urban settlement located in Southern Etruria and inhabited in the Final Bronze Age (11th - beginning of the 9th century BC). The web site was implemented thanks to collaboration between the Dipartimento di Scienze dell’Antichità of the University of Milan and the Istituto per le Tecnologie Informatiche Multimediali of the National Research Council in Milan; it contains not only general information about the settlement but, in particular, digital records on the archaeological finds of Sorgenti della Nova (records and drawings). Further, an analysis is made of the different forms of study and data dissemination offered by multimedia techniques as opposed the traditional forms of finds publications. In conclusion, a complete description of data organisation and structure of the site is offered as well as what is probably the most interesting topic for the archaeologist: the three basic methods for consulting finds according to their typology, chronology or topographic position in the settlement. The site is available at the following URL: http://jargo.itim.mi.cnr.it/ Nova.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2000, 11, 241-257; doi: 10.19282/ac.11.2000.13
La presenza delle Tecnologie dell'Informazione nella ricerca sui Beni Culturali: risultati di una indagine
Laura Moltedo, Romualdo Picco, Paolo Salonia
Abstract
The study of a wide variety of artefacts of cultural interest requires a vast and heterogeneous documentation that ranges from information concerning the physical sites, to the typologies, state of conservation, methodologies of documentation and intervention, until the whole cognitive process is brought to fruition. The techniques employed for analysis, intervention and documentation are therefore fundamental both for the planning and the implementing of innovative solutions for the recovery and the conservation of the artefacts themselves, as well as for the protection and preservation of the archaeological heritage involved. This paper consists of an analysis of research projects in the field of cultural heritage which includes aspects of information and communication technologies, based on the ACM Classification Scheme. The topics dealt with are intended as a contribution to the understanding of the interdisciplinary approach which should be taken into consideration in proposing future research programs.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 2000, 11, 301-310; doi: 10.19282/ac.11.2000.16
The Beazley Archive's Information Technology programs in classical archaeology, 1988-1998
Abstract
The author offers a summary of the research work carried out over the last decade at the Beazley Archive, which consists of two inter-related parts: a traditional paper archive and electronic programs. The electronic programs began in 1979 with a database of Athenian figure-decorated pottery. The structure of the database was based on extensive “catalogues”, which Beazley had compiled and published in many editions from the 1920s through the 1960s. Since 1992 the Beazley Archive has been able to include in its electronic services other types of objects Sir John Beazley had recorded in his personal archive, for example, sculpture and engraved gems. In 1998 the Beazley Archive was selected as a suitable site for testing new techniques of watermarking and digital finger-printing; with the availability of several means of image protection the Beazley Archive launched a multimedia version of the pottery database on the Web. With the experience gained from adapting the pottery database for the Web, the Beazley Archive has taken the decision to use this platform for programs about other types of classical archaeology and art.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1999, 10, 117-123; doi: 10.19282/ac.10.1999.09
Il progetto BIBLOS e l'informatizzazione della Biblioteca Massimo Pallottino
Andrea Bozzi, Silvio Rini, Pier Luigi Albini
Abstract
The BIBLOS project was established in 1996 for the purpose of creating an Internet site which would combine and organise all the information gathered by the various branches of the CNR (National Research Council) relating to the Humanities. The browsing system is based on a subject catalogue which represents the main access to the files, and which includes information on three different research topics: linguistics, philosophy and antiquities. The Institutes have already made available the information collected from their research activity and the databases which have been developed, usually in the form of bibliographic catalogues and specialised bibliographies. Querying the BIBLOS site, the user may also consult on-line the catalogue of the Massimo Pallottino Library which is part of the G. Marconi Central Library of the CNR and is located at the Istituto per l’Archeologia Etrusco-Italica. Computer access to the catalogue now makes it possible to consult the different sections of the Library, to gain access to the document delivery service and to activate the link with the Central Library of the CNR.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1999, 10, 305-330; doi: 10.19282/ac.10.1999.21
Evolutions: una rivista elettronica sulle dinamiche del paesaggio
Umberto Moscatelli, David Gilman Romano
Abstract
The authors announce a new Electronic Journal completely dedicated to the study of Landscape dynamics. The Journal, called «Evolutions», accepts contributions also of lesser known topics or areas, on the condition that they are treated in a diachronic way. Papers on landscape evolution in periods of transition are specially welcome: Greek/ Roman, Roman/Early Medieval and Medieval, prehistoric /protohistoric and so on. In order to encourage a methodological and thematic exchange as wide as possible, no geographical and cultural limits are imposed. Address: http://www.evoluzioni.com.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1998, 9, 343-345; doi: 10.19282/ac.9.1998.17
Il nuovo sito Web dell'Istituto per l'archeologia etrusco-italica del CNR: struttura e applicazioni
Abstract
IAEI website description.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1998, 9, 347-352; doi: 10.19282/ac.9.1998.18
Una ipotesi per l'archiviazione di dati testuali nel settore archeologico. L'impiego dello Standard Generalized Markup Language per la codifica delle informazioni
Abstract
The main subject of this article is the problem of the filing of textual data in archaeology in order that they can be analysed and processed automatically. This problem is closely associated to another topic, that of text encoding. An electronic text may contain more than one markup level. The first one is the character encoding, usually the ASCII - 7 bit set, that offers 127 bit combination to represent letters, digits and a few other signs. The ASCII code has the advantage of being a standard valid for every operating system. It is therefore suggested, to encode other signs not included in the ASCII set, the use of a combination of the 127 available characters rather than a combination of 8 bit (256 possible combinations), because the number codes greater than 127 are used for different signs on different systems. A document file may contain another markup that encodes format parameters. To transform a simple document into a “database” where information can be searched and retrieved, the conceptual components must be encoded. The Standard Generalized Markup Language appears to be a good tool to produce files that are software and hardware independent, easy to be managed and ready to be automatically analysed by a software in order to retrieve pieces of information.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1997, 8, 139-149; doi: 10.19282/ac.8.1997.10
Presi nella rete: i siti archeologici in Internet
Abstract
The Internet is increasingly becoming a tool fundamentally important and effective archaeological research. Archaeology is an appropriate subject through which to promote the use of electronic media as it is multidisciplinary, with a wide range of data types. Resources offered by the Internet provide a means of sharing and distributing information of many different kinds in many different ways. Actually, archive material – ranging from field survey data, excavations and museum collections to ancient sources – are being made available through the web. The author presents the most interesting sites (key sites, electronic journals and above all museums) available on web, and discusses problems and difficulties of conducting research via the Internet. The WWW could change radically the way in which archaeologists communicate the results of their work, both for the benefit of other archaeologists and the wider public. On-line journals, for example, could be an important tool to solve printed media problems and difficulties for editing archaeological reports. Museums could be seen as the most important virtual place to visit in order to explore the world and its history. Unfortunately, current archaeological museum sites often restrict themselves to provide only basic and general information (addresses, exhibits, virtual tours) aimed at a large rather than a professional public. The Internet is never going to replace real museums or archaeological sites; it is going to be supplementary.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1997, 8, 151-169; doi: 10.19282/ac.8.1997.11
Ricerche multimediali applicate ai Beni Culturali
Abstract
Multimedia is increasingly spreading through many different fields (research, didactics, entertainment) but the meaning of this word is not always clear. The term multimedia can actually signify two things: something that is spread through different media, or a product that contains more than one media and that can thus transmit other and more complicated information. In this paper the second meaning is discussed. A list of projects is offered in order to present the state of the art in research on multimedia. Three topics are examined: a) implementation of conceptual models to plan and produce multimedia: the same models can be used at the same time to evaluate an applet; b) benefits of multimedia application in didactics; c) what kind of multimedia products are mainly requested in Cultural Heritage.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1997, 8, 171-186; doi: 10.19282/ac.8.1997.12
Le traitement de l'information en archéologie: archivage, publication et diffusion
Abstract
This paper deals with a particular aspect of computer-based data management in archaeology: the recording, publication and diffusion of archaeological information. The author stresses the particular character of archaeology: it is not an experimental science, but rather a learning discipline in which data should be cumulative, as each excavation involves the destruction of some previous information and, in general, each intervention, both of excavation or of conservation, gives new information that must be added to the existing ones. Therefore, the author investigates three fundamental topics with their relevant examples: the recording of excavation data, sites and objects or structures analysed and restored; the publication and diffusion of scientific results aimed at specialists; the diffusion of results towards a widespread public. In all these aspects, computer-based tools constitute a basic element. The author, in fact, maintains that their introduction and improvement will not only modify the archaeological professional experience and the way of operating, but will also affect the methodological and epistemological point of view.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 985-995; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.84
The East Mediterranean Pottery Project. Exchange of specialized data on the information superhighway
Abstract
The information superhighway, technology has made it possible to create world wide multiple server databases for scientific and humanistic research. These allow a deeper level of exchange of data in archaeology than news services and information about excavation projects. The archaeological information passed along Internet channels is bringing scholars to think together in a way never before seen in the history of the research. The Israel Antiquities authority East Mediterranean Pottery Project is an attempt to enable searches on multiple database servers containing information about ceramic objects in museum and private collections. The search engine is based on HTML forms that provides a platform and operating system independent environment required by a widely distributed database search. The two main obstacles in the expanding of the system are terminological problems arising from language and usage differences and the Jack of a common system for type identification. The suggested solutions include the creating or adopting on local level of a pottery Thesaurus that allows extensive conceptual aliasing between distributed databases and the adopting of the DELTA syntax for passing typological identification keys between different databases. The future will show how the launching of the EMP project will be received by the international community and what is the growth potential of this and other similar scientific projects appearing on the information superhighway.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 997-1002; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.85
Per un Thesaurus della ceramica greca. Programma per la fruizione remota di immagini e testi di tipo archeologico con la possibile strutturazione di un database
Abstract
A programme for the remote access of archaeological images and texts has been set up by myself and Dr. O. Casazza, who works in the Department of Advanced Technology at the Uffizi Gallery, and has taken part in the RAMA project (Remote Access to Museums Archives) since 1994. The main aim of the RAMA project is to develop a multimedia system which allows museum to give access to their archives via telecommunication networks. Without changing the museum archives organisation, the RAMA system provides remote access to existing museum database using broad band telecommunication networks to transmit texts, still images, videoclip and sounds. Our project consists of several parts: 1) Experimentation of RAMA system in the archaeological sphere in order to point out advantages, faults and all changes of the research. For this experimentation the Beazley archive of Oxford has been used; 2) Chances of using RAMA system through the structures of the Unità Operativa CNR - Uffizi supervised by DIE (Department of Electronic Engineering - University of Florence) supervised by Prof. Vito Cappellini as RIG (Roma Interest Group) and/or RUG (Ram User Group); 3) Creation of a card, using images for a following Implementation of a database. This database is useful for the archives of photos and drawing, e.g. the Banti archives and the Paribeni archives of the University of Florence.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1003-1010; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.86
AmberWeb: progetto di un polo Internet sull'ambra
Nuccia Negroni Catacchio, Marco Padula, Alessandra Massari, Barbara Raposso, Barbara Setti, Maria Letizia Tosi
Abstract
In the long term amber research work programme, carried out by the Institute of Archaeology of the University of Milan, an Internet node project has been recently created with the collaboration of the Institute of Informatic Multimedia Technologies of the C.N.R. of Milan, to facilitate the collection, the registration and the exchange of multi disciplinary information on this argument. This node is based on files, organised on different fields of interest (such as the archaeological, literal, geological, chemical, paleobotanic or paleozoological one), and it can be looked up in different kinds of paths by various users. The file consists of cards, texts, images and bibliographic information in the shape of hypertext. It can be adapted with the contributions of external users, passed through specific tools and e-mail. Among the numerous file nodes, the archaeological one is now the best structured and it gives more elaborated and articulated paths, as many different researches can be made with direct interviews - of multiple shapes - as well as with paths, guided by links set up by key words or sensitive maps.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1011-1026; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.87
Internet e numismatica: la catalogazione e la ricerca
Patrizia Serafin, Salvatore Tucci
Abstract
The use of electronic equipment and resources in the storage of written and image data is described. In particular, it is shown how, on the occasion of a coin exhibition, the multimediality was successful in joining news about the history of coinage with the coin files data base. The immersion of this web in the Internet let a conspicuous number of clients ask queries, either for general or for scientific interest. Finally, we think that if a good number of data banks could be gathered in a single web, we could reach the aim to obtain a great "Coin Data Bank" from different sites, in the respect of their single peculiarities.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1027-1038; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.88
EULOGIA: a hypermedia application for museum cataloguing enriched with SGML encoding
Abstract
The aim of the project is the design and development of a hypermedia application, exploiting University of Westminster's IDEAs system facilities, with the addition of SGML encoding support. Our target application is based on the Benaki Museum Byzantine Collection of icons and artefacts. However we envision the end application as a dynamic generic tool and we have focused our efforts in making provision to cover the multiple needs of all the Benaki Museum Collections through the application's functions. The project is being realised at the University of Westminster's Artificial Intelligence Division in close collaboration with the Benaki Documentation Department. Particular consideration has been given to visual data. The main facilities of the IDEAs system include: free text search with no limitations in the quantity or structure of the source information; hypermedia facilities and automatic cross-referencing and updating between different frames of information. The idea to include in our application Standard Generalised Markup Language encoding was germinated by our concern to find a reliable way of exchanging on-line data with other museums. We believe that the described service will offer the ground for a new type of on-line archaeological applications, by forming an accessible and explicit structure for the documentation of museum information.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1039-1046; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.89
Modelling occurences in cultural documentation
Maria Christoforaki, Panos Constantopoulos, Martin Doerr
Abstract
CLIO, developed by ICS-FORTH, is a system for cultural documentation purposes of museums. It serves as a scientific catalogue of museum artifacts, as opposed to the basic documentation and administrative purposes served by usual collections management systems. It supports artifact descriptions as temporal, geographical, cultural, historical contexts; style, technique, usage, and physical data information. It allows to express certain and uncertain knowledge as well as opinions. In this paper we address the notions of existence, events and causality, referring to them collectively as notions of occurrence, within a conceptual modelling framework and in the context of developing a general ontology for cultural documentation. Particular attention is given to the representation of relations on which historical and other inferences can be based. We present a new approach, which takes mutual dependencies between time and space into account.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1047-1060; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.90
The versatility of a conservation database designed on image processing equipment
Abstract
The conservation section of the Antiquities Department in the Ashmolean Museum is currently developing a database for the conservation treatment records as well as the photographs and x-rays, using image processing equipment. 4th Dimension First was chosen for the database as this was the only off the shelf software available at the time, that was capable of handling both text and image based data. The article describes the design of the text database and discusses the positive and negative aspects of the software package as experienced by the conservation team. Also mentioned are applications of the database and its future developments such as the design of the image database. To conclude about the database package, 4D First is a versatile program with a large amount of options, although not always straightforward and user friendly to begin with, it was found that it certainly would do the job well.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1061-1069; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.91
Tradizione e innovazioni: alcune riflessioni sulla comunicazione nei musei
Abstract
The author describes the difficulties in making good use of Personal Computers for educational finality in Italian museum. These difficulties are produced by computer world disorder and by collections complexity. A good solution may be to realize a general communication's plan for museum. Therefore Personal Computers acquire a specific role in connection with the other media.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1071-1076; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.92
Didattica e informatica nei musei archeologici: un binomio incompiuto. Riflessioni a margine di una indagine in museo
Maria Pia Guermandi, Sara Santoro Bianchi
Abstract
The paper illustrates the role of interactive multimedia for museum professionals in Emilia Romagna region. Their introduction is affecting the role of the traditional museum, but their effectiveness for exhibition interpretation has not been explored in depth until now. The authors discuss the problems that museum professionals have had in the use, implementation and evaluation of multimedia: the main is the lack of an adequate communications strategy in the museum educational projects. The paper presents the results of a survey on the use of multimedia program in an archaeological museum in Emilia Romagna. The evaluation project was carried out with different groups of one targeted audience: schoolchildren. The evaluation has investigated if visitors spend more time with the objects after using the application or are they distracted and absorbed by the novelty of the technology, and in general if the program creates a positive attitude towards archaeology and museums.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1077-1089; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.93
Museografia e informatica: la ricostruzione virtuale della tomba menfita del generale Horemheb
Abstract
The archaeological Museum of Bologna has produced a graphic computerized video on the Saqqara tomb of General Horemheb and its reliefs. At the beginning of the nineteenth century merchants of archaeological antiquities emptied the tomb: some of the reliefs which decorated its walls were taken away and sold to various European and North-American museums. Five of these are now in the Archaeological Museum of Bologna. In the years which followed its first discovery, the tomb was newly covered by the sand of the desert and was found out again only in 1975 by G. Martin. The publication of these excavations enabled experts to develop an hypothesis of the tomb reconstruction which has been subsequently reproduced on a video that allows visitors to enter Horemheb tomb "virtually". The video has been made by Antonio Gottarelli (TE.M.P.L.A. Tecnologie Multimediali per l'Archeologia): it will be available for sale on CD (interactive version) and videotape. A small portion of the video, a few seconds with reduced spatial dimensions, is available at: http://www.comune.bologna.it/bologna1/Cultura/Museicomun/Archeologico/VirtualEgyptian.htm1.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1091-1099; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.94
Un programma multimediale per Monte Sirai
Abstract
In addition to the objects exhibited in the show-cases, the "Villa Sulcis" Archaeological Civic Museum in Carbonia enables the visitors to integrate their knowledge of the archaeological settlement of Monte Sirai (which is about 6 km away from the town) and to adequately visit it. In fact, two multimedia work-stations were recently established in the Museum, that illustrate a programme on the Phoenician and Punic settlement. The work-stations include a computer and a big screen and are located in two rooms, one of which is expressly equipped for students. The programme is articulated in five different sections which, other than present information collected in more than thirty years of research, gives also the results obtained during the last excavations. The documentation is made up of maps, drawings and photographs. In addition to the introduction, the four remaining sections are divided on the base of topics, identified by the following key-words: "History", "House", "Death" and "Sacred".
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1101-1104; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.95
The Euesperides project: design and evaluation of a hypermedia program for an archaeological exhibition
Abstract
This paper focuses on the Euesperides program, a hypermedia application for the public presentation and interpretation of archaeology and the main issues related to its design and evaluation. The project was set up in Oxford in order to explore some of the questions concerning the effectiveness of multimedia for exhibition interpretation. The computer program presents the history and archaeology of the classical Greek colony Euesperides in North Libya. The application was designed for a temporary exhibition organized by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford in autumn 1995. It aimed to offer contextual and interpretive information about the objects on display, and also to demonstrate aspects of archaeological theory and practice. The paper discusses the structure of the program and the ways user input affected design choices. At several stages through the design process, formative evaluation was carried out with different groups of the targeted audience (schoolchildren, adults, students). This offered valuable feedback about the content, language, screen design, navigation, and user interface of the program. Summative evaluation was also conducted to explore the use of the hypermedia program by the visitors in the gallery. The paper refers to the methodology used, outlines the questions that the survey addressed, and presents the first results.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1105-1115; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.96
Tecniche multimediali per la fruizione dei beni culturali
Abstract
On the occasion of this Symposium, we have reported on the new results of research activity on multimedia techniques, that Ceaprelda srl has been developing from many years in the field of cultural heritage. Our latest products (Etruschi-Etruria meridionale, Paestum, Campi Flegrei - 2° ed.), archaeological and artistical itineraries, have been now all realized on CD Rom, allowing a great development of technical potentialities as to the old floppy disk; CD use allowed us to make progress above all in the aspects of sounds, of quantity and quality of images, of animation (with complex and faithful reconstruction of ancient buildings, realized in 3D Studio on the base of archaeological surveys). To design the programme structure we have considered the reference of HDM (Hypermedia Design Model), but the products are not more realized in DB Fast 2.0, like for floppy version, but in Visual Basic 4.0. We have also elaborated a proposal to avoid the complex problem of incompatibility between "spreading communication" and "scientific communication" in the sphere of cultural heritage: we have provided for introduction in our multimedia itineraries of a section named "Lavori in corso" ("Works in progress") with a marked scientific feature, containing recent discoveries, researches and studies results and the most important cultural activities in the area of our itineraries. We believe, in this way, to have created a product for cultural fruition that, thanks to technological progress, gives widespread information aimed to specialists, and also makes them available to a wider public, not necessarily specialized in that sector.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1117-1131; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.97
PAN e ZOO. Un progetto ipermediale di didattica dell'archeologia preistorica e dell'archeozoologia
Claudio Arias, Tommaso Baviera, Fausto Gabrielli, Letizia Verola
Abstract
The lack of palethnological handbooks has been covered by book publishing for the last ten years. Two subjects were chosen for experimental teaching: prehistoric archaeology and archaeozoology. The core of the work consists of more than seven hundred images (b/w and colour reproductions coming from various sources) and more than one hour of original filming (reproduction of flint implement knapping and ceramic vessel shaping in prehistory).
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1133-1146; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.98
Vers une édition multimédia en archéologie
Abstract
It is a truism to state that the publication of the results of archaeological research in France is going through a critical phase. The increase in the need for publication, mainly of the results of excavations and the initial outcome of their analyses, has become so large that we are now facing a recurrence of the difficulties of one generation ago! Limited budgets, glutting of the editorial pathways, new qualitative demands, also on the part of the research workers, for the diffusion of their results (e.g. colour) all concur towards a situation where the edition on paper ot the traditional journals or series no longer meets present-day expectations. The introduction of the new vectors of electronic writing like the Internet, and particularly CD-ROM because or its possibilities of volumetric transcription at a lower cost, is now an unavoidable option in the editorial field of the discipline on the threshold of the XXI century.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1147-1156; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.99
Le programme ISIS-PART: un partenariat de chercheurs
Abstract
The aim of this article is the description of: 1) the characteristics of the UNESCO's ISIS information system; 2) the general structure of the PART programme realized in Paris at the CNRS, and then developed in Tübingen (Archaeological lnstitute of the University) and Rome (Ecole Française), within an European research programme on la Castellina near Civitavecchia; 3) the use on-line of this database and the characteristics of its application by a group of scholars that are carrying out similar archaeological research.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1157-1166; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.100
Multimedia methods for excavation reports and archives using Microcosm
Abstract
This paper presents an update of my work on producing a tool for compiling and organizing electronic excavation archives with hypermedia function. The key to providing a usable tool lies in its flexibility to be incorporated with existing practices and software. As much data is already being processed and stored on computer, it would be an advantage to be able to continue using this data in its present format, without having to alter it. Therefore a program has been designed that will be able to cope with the diversity of formats in use and allow most users to continue their existing practices with existing programs and data collections, but with the added functionality and improved data access. The Open Hypermedia System MICROCOSM, which provides a useful and flexible framework to group the data within the excavation report lay-out, is being adapted for archaeological requirements. While MICROCOSM already offers good data organization and linking facilities that do not need to be improved further, tools that will aim to solve archaeological problems are being added. This involves the writing of a number of Visual Basic programs which will then perform these functions.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1167-1177; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.101
Death on screen!: SPANS Explorer visits the underworld
Dimitris Papailiopoulos, Evi Baxevani
Abstract
Over the years, the subject of archaeological publications, with regard to their style, format, content, and size, has been extensively debated. Nevertheless, all debates have axiomatically accepted that when talking about archaeological publications this automatically implies that we practically speak about the production of a book. Recent advances in Information Technology, supported by copyright legislative amendments, however, have forced us to reconsider this axiom; it is possible nowadays to replace the book, as we all knew it, with electronic presentation platforms and computer Cds. The computer hardware and software market now offers a variety of fairy sophisticated and relatively cheap off-the-shelf products that can be considered as both adequate and reliable publication platforms. Such a product is SPANS Explorer which is presented in this paper as an illustrative example.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1179-1193; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.102
Internet Archaeology: an international electronic journal for archaeology
Michael Heyworth, Julian Daryl Richards, Seamus Ross, Alan Vince
Abstract
The Council for British Archaeology (CBA), The British Academy, and a number of British university archaeology departments are in the process of establishing an electronic journal for archaeology. The journal will be full refereed and set a high academic standard. It will accept contributions from archaeologists throughout the world and will therefore be aimed at an international audience. Both the production and dissemination of the journal will be network-based, ultimately available to all via the Internet. The journal will publish the results of archaeological research including excavations reports (text, photographs, data, drawings, reconstructions, diagrams, interpretations), analyses of large data sets along with the data itself, visualisation, programs used to analyse the data and applications of information technology in archaeology. As well as the delivery of a regular electronic journal, the project will provide (i) a detailed description of the process of establishing and managing an electronic journal, (ii) definition of a suite of access and navigation tools that will allow the readers to use the journal, and (iii) a contribution to cultural change through the increased use of electronic media. The first issue of the journal will be available within a year from the start of the project in August 1995. This paper presents the business plan for the journal.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1996, 7, 1195-1206; doi: 10.19282/ac.7.1996.103
L'application NiKita, un exemple de gestion interactive de la documentation archéologique bibliographique sur Macintosh
Abstract
The author presents the project NiKita (Navigation interactive - Kit pour l'archéologie), established with the aim of creating a tool for the interactive processing of archaeological bibliographical documentation. NiKita is a database of easy and intuitive utilisation, developed for Macintosh using the program Hypercard. The principal characteristics of this program are: availability of an “object oriented” programming language; possibility of organizing data in files or stacks, autonomous but correlated; capacity of processing eterogeneous data and different types of graphical formats; availability of a transparent and intuitive interface. The different stacks contemplate: graphical and textual documents related to sites, contexts and objects; Greek and Latin sources related to archaeological units considered; bibliographical references. At present, the file “Bibal” contains about 4500 titles.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1995, 6, 205-224
La comunicazione multimediale nelle attività scientifiche e divulgative dei beni culturali
Abstract
The use of multimedia to study history and archaeology is the principle of the application created by a Parthenopean IT company, the Ceaprelda srl, with the collaboration of a group of archaeologists coordinated by the author. The fusion between specialist competence and technology has allowed us to create a unique multimedia product, that can claim of being the first on floppy disk with archaeological and artistic emphasis. On the computer video it is possible to navigate the real and exact itinerary through territories, archaeological places, towns of particular historical-artistical interest or in the halls of museums. In every page of text a series of “windows” can be opened showing with monographic index-cards, curiosities and historical information, accompanied by photographs. The software is able to simultaneously process a high amount of information (texts, photos, graphic elements and sound) in an interactive form using the Windows operating system. Through applying a generic level of global authoring, the same project model always appears according to the specific requirements dictated by the contents; to design the program structure the Hypermedia Design Model (HDM) was considered, though this model refers generally to a hypermedia context. The project model has therefore allowed for the creation of a multimedia product, that led to the production of two titles: “Campi Flegrei” and “Napoli Mirabilia”. The structure of the text is based on a series of “entities”, to be considered as wide thematical classifications (e.g. contexts, itineraries, cards), each one formed of “components”, connected to it by contents and pattern. The reading scheme, with textual (descriptive pages) and visual (photos present on each page) information, is structured on the series of applied “links” that consent the admission to the various entities: moreover through an infinite series of logical and detailed paths (web), transversal readings of contents can be obtained. It is also possible “to navigate” in the text with the help of topographic maps. Using the “Print” function the various itineraries can be transformed into a little guide-book, while the “Search” key allows for a specific word search in the text, for a faster and more refined consultation. The series of technological innovations has allowed us to “simulate” the conditions of real visits. Other itineraries have also been created in the same manner. In particular, these are for the Southern Etruria (A. Naso, with an introduction by M. Cristofani) and Paestum (E. Greco and I. D'Ambrosio). This particular method of management and research has been used for purely educational purposes, but the software can be adapted to become an instrument for scientific research.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1995, 6, 243-258
Beni culturali, scuola e computer
Abstract
Hypertext allows a personalisation of the information, with the possibility of creating multiple manuals with various levels of complexity. Therefore, Hypertext is an excellent didactic tool for education, and indeed schools frequently use hypertext to explain historical and artistical questions about Cultural Heritage.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1995, 6, 259-267
Archaeological information and computers: Changing needs, changing technology and changing priorities in a museum environment
Abstract
This paper begins with four propositions: there are four basic types of information: data (or more precisely numbers), text (i.e. single words, sentences and longer compositions), images (still and moving), and sound; that computer technology has now advanced sufficiently in power to capture, store, manipulate and retrieve all the types of data listed in the first proposition; that archaeological information is composed of all five types of information outlined in the first proposition; and that since archaeology also has vast quantities of this information it needs computer technology in order to handle it successfully. Given these propositions, this paper describes the purpose of the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology and defines three separate roles that result. The historical development of IT applications since the late 1970s is traced, highlighting the mistakes made and the lessons learnt. This culminates in a description of the Ashmolean’s Collections Information System, in particular outlining the structure of the Collections Information Database that underpins the system. The plans for implementing this system are also described. The paper ends by looking at the problems of fully realising this system, and concludes that the plans are really a means of deliberately staying several steps behind the full potential of the technology while still moving forward, so that the Museum can wait for the eventual arrival of software that can provide a seamless transition between various tasks, with a minimum of effort.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1994, 5, 159-174
Archeologia, discipline umanistiche, modelli aziendali
Angelo Cerizza, Maria Luigia Pagliani
Abstract
The first part of the article deals with the problem of the relationship between the business world and the world of learning. In particular the author confirms the fundamental role of humanistic disciplines in the contemporary world and the necessity of the business world to recover their formative power. The second part of the article underlines archaeological trends as a “discipline” that can question the business world. The examination of computerised research undertaken up till now in the archaeological field of study shows a double purpose: the progress of scientific knowledge and the safeguard of cultural heritage. Among recent developments, the increase in the sectors devoted to didactics and the diffusion of knowledge are underlined.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 197-202
Data and Image Processing in Classical Archaeology. An Introduction
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 217-218
Base de données JUPITER du Département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines du Musée du Louvre: les applications à la céramique grecque
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 221-229
L'informatisation des archives de l'Ecole Française d'Athènes
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 231-234
Documentation of the restoration project for the Acropolis monuments. Creation of a data bank
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 235-236
The Census of antique works of art and architecture known to the Renaissance
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 237-241
DYABOLA - Der kurze und konsequente Weg von einer Literaturdatenbank zur Objektdatenbank
Vinzenz Brinkmann, Ralf Biering
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 245-249
LIMC
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 251-252
Le vidéodisque "Parthénon". Musée du Louvre, Département des Antiquités grecques, étrusques et romaines
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 253-255
The Sacred Way Project. Multimedia education in classical culture, art and archaeology
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 257-258
PERSEUS I.O. Interactive sources and studies on ancient Greece
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 259-262
Base de données et banque d'images: l'exemple de la photothèque archéologique du Centre Camille Jullian (Aix-en-Provence)
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 265-268
Observations on the development of art information standards in North America and Europe
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 269-279
Ouvrir à un large public l'accès à une information spécialisée
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 281-286
CITED. Copyright in Transmitted Electronic Documents
Dominique Delouis, David Puterflam
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 303-305
"Archeologia e Calcolatori". A new italian journal in the field of archaeology and computer science
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 329-335
"Archeologia e Calcolatori". Incontro di studio sui metodi e le prospettive della ricerca
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1993, 4, 341-345
Beni Culturali: didattica al computer
Abstract
Personal computers are able to organise complex information and to develop didactic experiences. In particular, new software makes use of audiovisual techniques, controlled by the computer, to create interactive experiences. This article discusses some of the principal interactive programs utilised in art exhibitions and highlights the power of multimedia programs in didactic activities. Some suggestions are also made regarding the use of multimedia programs.
«Archeologia e Calcolatori» 1992, 3, 199-206
Sperimentazione dell'informatica nella didattica dell'archeologia
Abstract
This paper presents an experimental project in the use of Personal Computers for teaching archaeology at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Venice. During three academic years from 1987/88 to 1989/90 the students worked on input and output of excavation data from existing information complied on sheets called “Unità Stratigrafiche” and “Elementi Strutturali”, using the Software Data Base III Plus. Furthermore the students began to use the graphical software package AutoCad, to draw the successive layers including their with tridimensional rendering.
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