Volumes / Journal / 20
Archeologia e Calcolatori 20 - 2009
29 articles
La nascita dell’informatica archeologica - Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Roma, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 24 ottobre 2008)
Edited by Paola Moscati
Gli anni ’70 e la Scuola Normale
Abstract
The author focuses on the role played by the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa during the 1970s and 1980s in the development of computer applications in archaeology and art history. The roots of this activity can be traced to the post-war period in the 1950s; these were years full of constructive optimism which, during the 1960s led to the design and construction of the CEP (Calcolatrice Elettronica Pisana), to the first academic Degree in Computer Science at the University of Pisa, and to the creation of CNUCE (Centro Nazionale Universitario di Calcolo Elettronico). This latter was founded in order to coordinate the various scientific and educational activities and support computer-based research also in marginal and newly established fields. Several important initiatives resulted from the cooperation with the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, directed by Oreste Ferrari. Computer Science was introduced at the Scuola Normale Superiore as an approach to the problems related to the automatic processing of archaeological and art history data and documents, thanks to Paola Barocchi and the creation of the Centro di Elaborazione Automatica di Dati e Documenti Storico Artistici, which established important international relationships with the Paul Getty Foundation, the Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies at Villa I Tatti, the Warburg Institute, etc.
Informatica archeologica e non archeologica
Abstract
What is the use of reflecting on the history of Digital Archaeology? Dividing the history of Digital Humanities in general into four stages, Digital Archaeology was born in the stage of “pioneers’ applications” (1960-70), and for some time it developed both in practice and in theory. The theory seemed especially interesting also for non digital Archaeology, but around 1990 technology suffocated the more complicated and difficult theoretical approach. The opportunity to go back to this approach is demonstrated in three special cases: the creation of databases, the encoding procedures, and the relations between archaeology and information science.
From anarchy to good practice: the evolution of standards in archaeological computing
Abstract
This paper reviews the importance of standards in archaeological computing and traces their development, and the tensions surrounding their deployment. Three categories of standards are defined: technical, content and metadata standards. Standards are shown to be particularly important to current initiatives which seek to achieve interoperability between distributed electronic resources. If we are to achieve the potential advantages of a Semantic Web for heritage data over traditional search engine technologies, standards are essential. The paper introduces the Archaeotools project, which is seeking to create a faceted browse interface to archaeological resources. It concludes that data standards and ontologies are essential to the success of such projects.
www.beazley.ox.ac.uk. From apparatus of scholarship to web resource. The Beazley Archive 1970-2008
Abstract
Over nearly four decades the Beazley Archive has developed from a personal archive, whose origins were rooted in 19th century classical scholarship, to a state-of-the-art electronic resource that can be used anywhere, at any time by anyone. The challenges along the way are noted and the ways they were met, in the hope of inspiring others to persevere. The first decade was "organisational", the second saw the adoption of ICT, the third was dominated by participation in EU R and D projects in telecommunications, and the fourth by the Vision of CLAROS - Classical Art Research Online Services. Since this lecture was given in autumn 2008 the CLAROS Vision has become a reality: by August 2009 more than two million records and images were integrated virtually using CIDOC-CRM. By adopting an ISO programme developed under the aegis of UNESCO for ICOM, the International Council of Museums, and by enhancing it with Open Source software, CLAROS offers a platform that any museum or research institute with digital assets can use free of charge for the public benefit. As the Beazley Archive approaches its fifth decade, it looks forward to collaborating for the advancement of scholarship and dissemination of results to the global community.
Esperienze documentali sul territorio dagli anni ’80 ad oggi. Alcune considerazioni
Abstract
In the early 1990s the author brought attention to the fact that the Carta Archeologica d’Italia - due to the entity of the project which involved all of the national territory and the time required for the relative research - was in urgent need of a structural updating, through an effective system of access to the results. These demands were of a nature that only a correct use of computer technologies could guarantee in real operational time. In that period, only a few advanced experimental peaks of topographic research actually included the automatic transition of information from the phase of terrain reading to that of operational planning feasibility. Since then, many scientific projects have been devoted to locating and documenting tangible and intangible cultural heritage in Italy. However, we still have to deal with the problem of adopting common platforms to share information and make use of cartographic systems in a GIS environment, regardless of the symbols being used in the documentation phase as well as in the interpretive phase. The same information can be turned from geographical points into plan details, through an automatic scale conversion and with a scientific perspective available for the requirements of different user environments. The author concludes by remarking on the urgent need of a convergence of competences from specialised sectors. Nevertheless, modern research, while taking advantage of the co-operation of a wide range of experts, should always consider that results coming from different points of observation pertain to the observers’ specific field and should not be "invasive" but respectful of their methods.
The golden years for mathematics and computers in archaeology (1965-1985)
Abstract
A major quantitative movement in all of the Social and Human Sciences known as Operational Research, started after the last world war with the application of mathematics developed for the optimization of war logistics. Since the 1960s, the fascinating progress of computer technology in the field of scientific research has amplified the movement which saw the first applications to Archaeology around 1966. At the time, the success of a Quantitative Archaeology was associated with the revolution in multidimensional data analysis, which occurred with computerisation and improvements in the algorithms, mainly Multidimensional scaling, Factor Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Correspondence Analysis and various Cluster Analyses. The Conference of Mamaia (Romania) in 1970, which may be considered as the first and most spectacular scientific event of this period of foundation, found expression in the book Mathematics and Computers in Archaeology by Doran and Hodson (1975). From 1975 to 1985, the quantitative movement experienced its finest period with the transition from the research field to the application field, both for algorithms and software, and the diffusion of Correspondence Analysis, Principal Component Analysis associated with Cluster Analysis and their use by archaeologists. Numerous papers and books were published during that period. After 1985, the quantitative movement fell into disfavour, probably due to the "deconstruction" paradigm and the passing fashion of expert systems. Nevertheless, it is also possible to state that Quantitative Archaeology had now definitively entered into the standard methods of Archaeology.
Archaeological computing then and now: theory and practice, intentions and tensions
Abstract
This paper is a brief and personal historical overview of the development of archaeological computing and its relationship with changing archaeological theory. I outline the changes in theoretical approaches through the 1960s to 1980s and how these relate to archaeological data, methodologies, the use of models and interpretation. Two sub-themes within the paper are the importance of scale and the representation of qualitative, as well as quantitative, data and interpretations. Through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications in archaeology, I discuss various aspects of recent theoretical approaches and how they have been represented through archaeological computing. Because this is not an easy relationship, I suggest that the intentions of an analysis will inevitably produce tensions between practice and theory. It is by confronting these tensions that the discipline of archaeological computing will move forward beyond technologically determined push-button solutions.
Strumenti "tradizionali" e nuove tecnologie per la comunicazione in archeologia
Abstract
This paper illustrates the main research projects implemented by the LIA (Laboratory of Archaeological Computing) at the University of Salento (Lecce, Italy) in the field of computer application to archaeology. This activity started in 1983 with the first excavation data management system. Further developments are linked with the use of GIS in the field of settlement studies and, more recently, with the implementation of two web-based applications, which represent the on-line versions of the older systems. The paper also presents the results of a research project, LandLab Project, in the field of multimedia communication.
The birth and historical development of computational intelligence applications in archaeology
Abstract
Twenty years after the consolidation of a true professional archaeology in search of a "scientific" dream, mathematics and computers made their appearance in the discipline. In the same way, the first essays dealing with "automatic archaeology" appeared in the 1950s, looking for standardization of archaeological description and statistical reasoning, but we had to wait for another 30 years until the appropriate technology was available. At the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s, Expert Systems were considered as a true promise towards the independence of archaeological reasoning from subjectivity. Nevertheless, the rise of postmodernism and the radical critique, with its emphasis on subjectivity and situational context of the research effort generated considerable turmoil that, in appearance, buried the dream of an automatic archaeology. Research efforts in these domains of computational intelligence continued, however, especially in the domains of remote sensing and archaeometry. Modern technological developments like 3D scanning are responsible for a revival of interest in computational intelligence methods. Today, we are still far from the early dream of an automatic archaeology, but it is no longer a "nightmare". It is a technological reality that will contribute to a more professional and scientific-based archaeology.
Representing knowledge in archaeology: from cataloguing cards to Semantic Web
Abstract
Knowledge has been the driving force behind the Italian National Catalogue of Cultural Heritage. In the first stage, when the catalogue was mainly based on hand written paper cards describing objects regardless of their complexity, and intended for manual access by humans, the expert’s tacit knowledge remained unexpressed, and the card had a simple structure. Computer based applications initially relied on the features of Information Retrieval Systems, and simply converted typewritten cards into electronic documents. As results were quite disappointing, it became evident that a more formal representation of information was needed. The Italian experience led to the definition of a model for objects (simple, complex, aggregation of objects) with quite a large number of fields. Even if the schema was often perceived as too rigid, it proved to be effective for data exchange, and long lasting (the present XML model is almost the same, just with a different syntax). However, its main drawback was the "object centred" approach, and the impossibility of representing significant semantic associations with other disciplines. In this sense, a major objective, the contextualization of objects, remained unattained. The web has been a "cultural revolution", because information is available everywhere, and users feel the need to combine different sources of knowledge. This semantic interoperability issue is often dealt with by adopting a metadata based approach (Dublin Core is the most popular). However, the metadata approach has the intrinsic limit that metadata are properties we "predicate" about items they refer to, and it is difficult, if not impossible, to derive new knowledge from the old. The Semantic Web perspective is much more ambitious, as the aim is to represent, export and share knowledge in a "machine understandable" way, and to allow intelligent agents to reason about it. In this light, scholars’ knowledge must be formalized and made explicit as ontology, and very probably we will have to agree on a different model to represent objects, in a distributed and multicultural environment. This is not the end of the traditional scholars’ knowledge, but a more effective environment for making this knowledge available to all users.
Museo Virtuale dell’Informatica: un esempio emblematico
Abstract
The Virtual Museum of the History of Italian Computer Science is a project which was started in 1996 and, due to lack of funding, was never completed (and therefore is not available to the general public). The project, which presented a complete and, for that time, innovative "design", was carried out by the Politecnico di Milano and two CNR Institutes (now unified in the ISTI - Istituto di Scienza e Tecnologie dell’Informazione "A. Faedo"). It includes an archive, where all basic information is stored, and two different interfaces: a direct search access to the archive, for specialised and expert users, and a navigation access via web, for extended public users. Information available includes documents and photographs, biographies, descriptions of achievements and innovations, etc. One special characteristic is the use of interviews to key persons, that recreates the heroic, pioneering atmosphere, typical of Computer Science in the 1950s. This use of first person narration as reported by the protagonists can be considered a precursor of solutions that became very common many years later (e.g. Web 2.0) and could be a model for archaeology in general.
"Archeologia e Calcolatori": le ragioni di una scelta
Abstract
As Editor of the international Journal "Archeologia e Calcolatori", the author retraces the history of this editorial enterprise, which was established in 1989 by Mauro Cristofani and Riccardo Francovich. The Journal, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is devoted to archaeological computing, a research sector characterised by the combining of information technologies with traditional archaeological methods. The path followed in the formulation of the editorial plan and its scientific coordination is reconstructed through various main stages: the reasons for the choice of the Journal’s title, its field of application and chronological range; the description of the contemporary international panorama, still characterised by isolated initiatives; the members of the international Scientific Committee, all representatives of the major Italian and foreign institutions; the scientific contents, with particular emphasis on the publication of special thematic issues and international conference proceedings; the archaeological computing bibliography, an information tool as well as a practical approach to systematising this young discipline. The present-day editorial policy of "Archeologia e Calcolatori" is dedicated to increasing the visibility and on-line diffusion of the Journal, and in this way furthering its original purpose: acquiring sources of information, as well as providing them.
Provando e riprovando: un quarto di secolo di applicazioni
Abstract
In the first part, the paper introduces the section that collects historical syntheses of some of the most relevant issues related to technological applications in archaeology. Databases, GIS, multimedia applications, cataloguing activities of archaeological heritage, museums, and the Internet are the fields chosen to illustrate more than 25 years of research, projects, realizations. The paper stresses common criticisms and recurrent difficulties in these sectors of research, but also important results and achievements for archaeology on the whole. In the second part, the paper briefly discusses the relationship between the Internet and archaeology. Web applications in archaeology started in the early 1990s. Initially, archaeologists were very suspicious of web reliability: the Internet was a useful tool for popularization purposes, not for scientific research. The paper discusses reasons for the failure of some archaeological applications - for example electronic publishing and limited area search engine - and success of others: museum web sites above all, with their effective use of visual and interactive web technologies. Nowadays the Internet is an almost unavoidable tool for every type of archaeological research and it seems to have become the comprehensive frame in which all other technological applications are expressed. Internet technologies could introduce a new communication structure in archaeological research with the use of interactivity and hypermedia. The last challenges in ICT are the so called Web 2.0, social computing and a radically innovative vision of hypertext structure: these research fields could change the way of archaeological culture communication and knowledge transmission.
Punto di non-ritorno (Cartografia numerica, Sistemi Informativi Territoriali, Analisi spaziali)
Abstract
Around the mid 1980s, the Italian sector - at the time very limited - of the archaeological sciences interested in geo-topographical problems responded eagerly to the practical and theoretical solutions offered by computer science and by advanced technologies, and became one of the most developed sectors in the European panorama in this particular subject. Twenty years later, we can observe, on one hand, the notable success of this type of applications that has, among other things, contributed to drive towards territorial studies many sectors of Italian research that had not previously been interested in it; and, on the other hand, the extreme fragmentation of the initiatives, that remains an unsolved problem for future developments. Within a single decade in fact we lost those guidelines that would have been able to transform some high but still distant peaks of quality, into a systematically coordinated approach, and, especially, in a common cognitive base, which was perhaps primitive but for this reason, "basic", not only for the development of research, but also for a diffused and shared means of safeguarding our archaeological heritage.
La catalogazione informatica del patrimonio archeologico
Abstract
The article presents a brief description of the principal institutions which, during the 1970s and 1980s, were in charge of the computer cataloguing of their respective national cultural heritages, with specific emphasis on archaeological heritage. Particular attention is dedicated to the Italian experience, with some reference to the situation in England and in France during the same period. The 1970s and 1980s are, in fact, two particularly remarkable decades, in which centralised national projects followed the first isolated experimentations, and developed tools, such as lexicons and thesauri, as well as techniques for indexing and information retrieval. The article focuses in particular on the activity conducted in Italy by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione (ICCD), as well as that of the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. As far as England is concerned, the author describes the pioneer research work of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England (RCHME), founded in 1908, and, more recently, that of the Archaeology Data Service (ADS); for France, the author focuses on the work conducted since 1964 by the Inventaire général des monuments et richesses artistiques de la France.
1984-2009. Da Te.m.p.l.a. al Centro di Ricerca per le Tecnologie Multimediali Applicate all’Archeologia. Un caso di studio nella storia delle applicazioni multimediali in archeologia
Abstract
By means of the NADIR network, designed by the Research Centre for Multimedia Technologies Applied to Archaeology (Te.m.p.l.a.), the Department of Archaeology of the University of Bologna organises, controls and develops the use of multimedia technologies in archaeological activities. The reach of NADIR covers a broad spectrum of activities that ranges from the management of the net and the working seats, to the organisation of the equipment logistics, to the realisation of special operational workspace and services (e.g., Unibook.it) and the experimental projects for the remote-control of workspaces and multimedia exhibition halls (e.g., the Multimedia and Multifunctional Museum of Onferno).
From artefact typologies to cultural heritage ontologies: or, an account of the lasting impact of archaeological computing
Abstract
Research in theoretical and computer-based archaeology, from the 1950s onwards, established important perspectives for the formal representation and analysis of tangible cultural entities such as complex artefacts, iconographic compositions and archaeological assemblages, and became a precursor for the emergence of knowledge-based tools, methodologies and standards for artefact-centred information systems in contemporary museums. One particular case in point is CLIO, a semantic information system intended for research use, developed by ICS/FORTH and the Benaki Museum in Greece in the early 1990s, which became a foundation for the definition of the Conceptual Reference Model of the International Documentation Committee of ICOM (CIDOC CRM), recently adopted as the ISO standard for cultural information representation. It is argued here that, as the capabilities of computer applications to provide access to complex, multimedia cultural information increase, so does also the validity and importance of earlier research advances in artefact-centred archaeological computing; and, conversely, that the advent of digital infrastructures for material culture disciplines such as archaeology highlights the pertinence, and potential benefits, of further work on archaeological formal analysis and knowledge representation.
Journal articles
Man and sky: problems and methods of Archaeoastronomy
Andrea Polcaro, Vito Francesco Polcaro
Abstract
Archaeoastronomy is a discipline devoted to the study of the astronomical observations preceding the invention of the telescope. It is an interdisciplinary science, requiring the knowledge of astronomers, archaeologists, linguists, anthropologists and architects. It has highlighted the great importance that ancient civilizations attributed to celestial phenomena and demonstrated how the analysis of the testimonies of this interest can greatly help us in the understanding the past history of mankind. However, we must avoid the mistake of believing that it is possible to study the impact of celestial phenomena on ancient cultures without taking into account their context: unfortunately, this error is still common to date. This paper illustrates the evolution of Archaeoastronomy since the beginning of the 20th century, its basic principles and the modern methodologies for Archaeoastronomy measurements and data analysis. Moreover, the proofs needed to claim the actual intentionality of an astronomical alignment are discussed, showing the potential of Archaeoastronomy, as long as it is strongly linked to, and continuously compared with, excavation data, and combined with Archaeology in various cultural contexts, thus providing valuable assistance in the interpretation of material data.
Digitization as a science
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to give answers to the following questions: can digitization be comprehended as a kind of scientific research? What is the possible object of scientific research on digitization? Can the science of digitization have a particular terminology and methods? The paper focuses also on the discussion about the object of digitization research which may be called emulativity, i.e. a specific phenomenon induced by digital technologies, the virtual world and the Internet which may be studied in many senses including personality psychology. Possible trends of scientific research on digitization, interdisciplinarity, terminology and methods of the science of digitization are also discussed, from the perspective of digitization as a science. In many countries digitization is basically perceived as just a practical field of activity and performed according to this perception. We suggest that a broader approach would be more suitable by investigating the scientific character of digitization, aimed at the empirical and experimental fixing of objective phenomenon of reality that could be investigated by the new science.
Spatial pattern of archaeological site distributions on the eastern shores of Lake Urmia, northwestern Iran
Kamal Aldin Niknami, Ahmad Chaychi Amirkhiz, Fatemeh Farsh Jalali
Abstract
The Lake Urmia survey project carried out from 2004 to 2006 in north-western Iran was aimed at obtaining a reliable overview of the occurrence of archaeological sites as well as to identify the spatial pattern of such sites across the area. This paper explores archaeological approaches to regional scale in dynamic landscape. Regional interpretation and the spatial statistical methods used to describe sites distribution, orientation, and pattern are often most reliant on point data. This paper also demonstrates how point pattern analysis offers quantitative information to the spatial process modeling of the natural and cultural landscape, which will aid at establishing a baseline from which other attributes of higher measurements for archaeological elements can be confidently mapped, described and modeled within a GIS. Point pattern analysis of archaeological sites has involved the advantages of visualization and iteration offered by a GIS. Therefore the significance of this study is three-fold. 1) it applies spatial analysis within a GIS to the understanding of archaeological site distributions. 2) it uses quantitative methods that are now available within a GIS to assess inferences concerning the survey data collected from the study area. Finally, this study offers insight into a methodology that is suitable to the spatial examination of more complicated surface data in landscape archaeology concept.
Predictive modelling of Roman settlement in the middle Tiber valley
Stephen Kay, Robert E. Witcher
Abstract
This paper discusses the results of an inductive predictive modelling experiment on Roman settlement data from the middle Tiber valley, Italy. The study forms part of the British School at Rome’s Tiber Valley Project, which since its inception in 1997 has been assessing the changing landscapes of the Tiber Valley from protohistory through to the medieval period. The aim of this present study is to broaden understanding of settlement patterns via predictive modelling, and in particular to evaluate unevenness in field survey coverage, survey bias and past settlement location preferences. The predictive modelling method chosen was an application of the statistical Weights of Evidence extension for ESRI ArcView. The results highlight associations between Roman settlement and environmental themes that provide moderate predictive potential and suggest that further experimentation might prove valuable.
ACTION GIS: un modello predittivo del movimento antropico in un paesaggio antico. Il caso di studio archeologico della Val d’Alpone (VR)
Anita Casarotto, Armando De Guio, Francesco Ferrarese
Abstract
This paper proposes a predictive theoretical model of ancient human movement in the Alpone Valley (VR). The aim of this study is to calculate, using GIS tools, the optimal pathways to move from an archaeological site to another considering a series of frictions, like topography or land use, that can affect movement. The reliability of these virtual ancient paths is tested using a mathematical function of metabolic energy created in Visual Basic editor: it facilitates the choice of the best frictions for the model to simulate the archaeological landscape and its possible human perception. The results are compared to verify if there is any correlation between present and past pathways using topographic maps. This GIS methodology is useful for an archaeological survey because it gives a preliminary presence probability of ancient paths in a landscape.
Un modello GIS multicriterio per la costruzione di mappe di plausibilità per la localizzazione di siti archeologici: il caso della costa teramana
Abstract
This paper aims to describe the settlement dynamics in the province of Teramo, in the Abruzzo region, along the coastal area between the Tronto and the Vomano rivers, in the Norman Age. Starting from the study of 26 sites, relevant to both towers and medieval fortifications, the objective is to construct a GIS probability map for the presence of five other sites that are mentioned in various historic documents but have now disappeared. Analysing some variables linked to the territory and exploiting the spatial distributions of the existing sites, in particular in relation to the sea and the rivers, it is possible to obtain useful data for prediction. More precisely we have considered: 1) the viewshed analysis, 2) the distances from the sea, 3) the distances from the rivers, 4) the distances among the existing sites, 5) the slope, 6) the aspect and 7) the distance from the toponym of the uncertain locations. Linear combination of the raster representing these variables lead to a final map, which contains different values of plausibility related to the presence of a dubious site. The weights of the linear combination are provided by an expert using the pairwise comparison technique, through a multicriteria approach.
Sistema Informativo Territoriale Archeologico e Carta della Potenzialità Archeologica del Comune di Parma
Abstract
The paper describes the features of the Archaeological Territorial Information System of the city of Parma. This is a cultural resource management GIS, that collects and organizes all the archaeological sites discovered in the municipal territory, and it should be useful both to archaeologists and to the municipality for city planning. The sites are positioned on the 1:5000 Regional Technical Map, that provides a spatial framework and information about roads and administrative boundaries. The Map is integrated with aerial photographs, historical maps, geological and geomorphological maps and a Digital Terrain Model. The attribute information for each of the archaeological sites is divided into separate tables and defined by thesauri, i.e. lists of preferred terms. Some thematic maps have been created: an Archaeological Map, i.e. a distribution map of the sites, chronological maps and an Archaeological Potential Map, i.e. a map that summarizes the archaeological features of the whole territory, also considering geological, geomorphological and historical information.
"Mura Bastia". Dati archeologici, informatizzazione e rilievi 3D laser scanning del Castello degli Onigo (Pederobba, Treviso)
Matteo Frassine, Alessandro Bezzi, Massimo Fabris, Vladimiro Achilli, Denis Bragagnolo
Abstract
This paper concerns computer applications for the management of archaeological data through GIS software, as related to the 2008 excavation campaign at “Mura Bastia”, Onigo (Treviso), Italy. The approach allows for the correlation of data previously acquired with those collected more recently using newer technologies. The shift from the traditional way of drawing archaeological records to the new digital technique began during the excavation of 2007. All of the walls and the layers were documented using a total station and a digital camera (photo-mosaic method). The elaboration of raw data was obtained using Free and Open Source Software only (GRASS, E-FOTO, GIMP, OPENJUMP, gvSIG). All of the new information levels (bi-dimensional raster and vector layers) were connected with the digitized plan of the old excavation into a GIS project that became the final product of the whole work. 3D terrestrial laser scanning surveys, integrated with classical topography and digital photogrammetric methodologies, allowed us to extract an accurate and photorealistic digital model of the Onigo castle. Moreover, a partial 3D virtual anastylosis of the tower was completed thanks to the reallocation of two missing elements in their correct position.
Baia: le terme sommerse a Punta dell’Epitaffio. Ipotesi di ricostruzione volumetrica e creazione di un modello digitale
Abstract
Twenty-four years ago in Baia, at the North end of the Bay of Naples, a group of archaeologists began a series of surveys. Their work made it possible to reconstruct the topographic structure of the ancient city and the creation of the "Parco sommerso di Baia". This article shows, for the first time, the volumetric reconstruction of a thermal bath of the Imperial age. Starting from an accurate survey of surviving walls, two digital models have been created: the first one shows them in an underwater environment, as they were in the 1984; the second model integrates the missing parts of the walls and roofs. In Campi Flegrei and Baia numerous villas, spas and roads are hidden underwater. Discovering and protecting this historical heritage is essential for the planning of research projects including digital multi-level models, in order to make this knowledge accessible to everyone and to preserve its memory.
"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.
Recensioni
Volume index
- La nascita dell’informatica archeologica - Atti del Convegno Internazionale (Roma, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, 24 ottobre 2008)
- Journal articles
- Recensioni
Publishers:
CNR - Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale
Edizioni All'Insegna del Giglio
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