Archeologia e Calcolatori 29 - 2018

Introduction to the Conference Proceedings.

The aim of this paper is to accurately and realistically describe the condition of the archives in which the documentation of excavations and, more in general, of the intervention related to archaeology in Italy should be kept. It is clear that, because of the backwardness of the regulations and the lack of personnel in the Archaeology Superintendencies, every project of data sharing and data advertising needs to start from an absolutely matter-of-fact evaluation of the state of affairs. Additionally, the author notes that the Bray-Franceschini reform, which separates Museums from the Archaeology Superintendencies, has worsened the situation adding cumbersome and almost insurmountable bureaucracy.

Which elements of the scientific documentation produced by archaeologists - especially those who are freelancers - in the field of excavation, scientific filing and research, are to be considered ‘processed data’? How can archaeologists see their ‘copyright’ protected, if there is any, when the documentation produced flows into the archives? Can the ‘raw data’, since it is beyond authorial prerogatives, be made public as a common heritage of mankind? This paper will try to outline the legitimacy of certain attributions and the ownership of choices regarding the diffusion of the archaeological documentation produced in controversial events in which overlapping public and private interests do not always coincide.

The original aim of SITAR was to create an instrument available to the community: the idea of ‘mapping’ a complex city like Rome was conceived with the intention of offering a participatory, open and shared data environment. For this reason, the system created in 2007 quickly converted into a webGIS platform capable of showing the topographic positioning of archaeological finds together with descriptive data sheets. Instead, the original documentation of the excavations, pending a decision by MiBAC, is only visible on request, also considering the instances submitted by data producers who have claimed copyright. However, a more in-depth examination of the legislation and in particular of the latest laws leads to the conclusion that the State is the only competent body in this area. Moreover, these rules clearly define the maximum accessibility, usability and reuse of data, guaranteeing full access to documents and administrative procedures, providing the legal basis for a knowledge democracy.

Professionals play an important role in archaeological research in Italy as producers of new data, working under the scientific direction of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage in the so called ‘commercial archaeology’. The Scientific documentation produced during these excavations, often unpublished, is archived by the Superintendencies. The management of these documents directly involves archaeologists both as producers and users: the recognition of their authorship - at least moral rights - would encourage higher quality documentation, and easy access to already known data would improve the quality of new research.

Intellectual property is generally regarded in human sciences as the right by whoever has produced data to become the owner of them and use them exclusively for years, sometimes for decades (at times dispersing them without permitting anyone else to view them). This practice is based on an incorrect interpretation of the principle of intellectual property, which must not be confused with intellectual ‘maternity’ (a term coined to indicate intellectual authorship), which instead must be protected and exploited more effectively and to a greater extent than today, using a system of accurate references as scientific research is well aware of. The term maternity was chosen because just as ‘…the mother is always certain’, the same may be said for the individual generating and producing the archaeological raw data. In order to determine the ‘mother’ of archaeological data, the research group of MAPPA Lab (University of Pisa) evaluated archaeological documentation in the light of Law 633/41 (Law on copyright and other related rights), articles 106 et seq. of the D.Lgs. 42/2004 (Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape), D.Lgs. 196/2003 (Privacy Code) and D.Lgs. 30/2005 (Industrial Property Code), and of their more recent modifications.

Different conflicting ideas and values cross the debate about freedom of access to cultural heritage. This is nothing new: a similar debate arose in the past decades with confrontation among free software and proprietary software. The future will depend on the evolution of this cultural conflict and the political choices that will follow.

The paper addresses two of the main issues discussed during the workshop: the photographic reproduction of Cultural Heritage and the sharing of archaeological data. As far as photographic reproductions are concerned, an overview of the Italian laws on this topic is proposed, in particular about the evolution of art. 108 of the Cultural Heritage Code, recently modified. The new regulations reflect a more open attitude of the Ministry of Culture towards private photographic reproductions, which have been liberalised for personal use (study, research, education, non-profit use in general), while they still are subject to payment of fees in case of profit uses. The second part of the paper gives an overview of the activities of the Istituto Centrale per l’Archeologia (Central Institute for Archaeology) - ICA, aimed at the promotion of open access to archaeological data. ICA, which has among its tasks precisely the definition of standards and guidelines for publishing open archaeological data, is developing the National Geoportal of Archaeology, to foster the online consultation of topographic archaeological data; a first experimentation of its content started in 2018 with the digital cataloguing of information produced by preventive archaeology.

Open access and free reuse of cultural data is one of the more topical challenges for Digital Humanities. Great opportunities may instead be presented by the adoption of free licenses by museums, archives, and libraries, allowing free commercial reuse of digitization, as well as that ‘freedom of panorama’ still denied today in Italy.

The paper approaches the rights of reproducing Cultural Heritage items, in every possible aspects and for both commercial and non-commercial purposes. The legal situation is currently vague and not defined, as it is in other parts of Europe and the world. Two valid arguments are confronting each other: on the one hand, the public demand for data openness, on the other, the public institutions’ desire to earn money, at least enough to justify conservation expenses. After a discussion on the current situation, where digital revolution and 3D technology changed even the common understanding of ‘reproduction’ processes, a possible solution is presented, in order to satisfy both needs.

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.

The article describes research carried out by the Istituto di Studi sul MediterraneoAntico (ISMA). The CNR-ISMA is involved in many excavations for which permits are granted by the Archaeological Superintendency and in several open access publishing projects. In relation to these research projects, the article discusses the position of the researcher of a public institution regarding access and dissemination of data.

The article summarizes the ethical implications in the following areas: a) open access of data and results related to cultural heritage; b) recognition/loss of intellectual property and paternity of moral rights; c) dissemination of the results of knowledge according to the article 30 of the Second Additional Protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 and the Faro Convention.

The paper provides an overview of the digital tools developed as part of the Ebla Digital Archives Project, which aims to offer a digital edition of roughly 3,000 cuneiform tablets from ancient Ebla (modern Tell Mardikh, in western Syria), dated to the middle of the third millennium BCE. The Ebla archive is the oldest one in the history of mankind, for which extensive information concerning the primary setting of the documents is available. The archaicity of the writing system, combined with the inherent difficulties in reconstructing languages from the remote past (Sumerian, Akkadian, Eblaite), pushes us to rethink the strategies to properly digitally capture the complexity of these sources, of invaluable historical significance: administrative documents, literary texts, vocabularies, letters, etc. We tackled the problem through the development of a PostgreSQL database, which is populated by ad hoc Python scripts that parse input transliteration files, which in turn are encoded using a shallow mark-up language. The individual steps in such workflow are discussed, as well as the benefits in terms of advanced queries for information retrieval that such approach offers.

A specific relational database has been created for the management of small finds found on the Cretan sites of Phaistos and Ayia Triada in Crete. Such artifacts have been often underestimated in past archaeological studies, because of the perception that they are less relevant objects in comparison to other categories such as pottery. The database GEAR has been created to improve the recognition of their potential. This article presents the possible solutions used in the database to overcome some methodological problems: specifically two of the methodological aspects that have been dealt with are standardization and management of the reference sources and typological attributions. In the first case, a standard typological terminology (recommended by the ICCD) is used to assure data normalization; in the second case, the preservation of the subjectivity and uncertainty of archaeological attributions is obtained with the application of fuzzy logic and its concept of ‘probability of belonging’.

The aim of this paper is to determine the degree of standardization within certain Late Roman pottery productions. This research tried to outline a methodology to determine the standardisation degree of these samples and to unravel the measurement systems used in the production process. The morphometric characterization of each fragment allowed us to create different groups with a cluster analysis. The principal component analysis providedinformation that led us to a deeper understanding of the obtained groups. The coefficient of variation allowed us to determine the standardisation degree of the productions. Once all these data are known, we can approach to the possible measurement units that ruled the analysed production systems. We selected a form well represented in the ceramic contexts identified in the excavations of the Late Antique port-canal of Classe, the Hayes 85 small bowl. This vessel was considered a rare form in Hayes’ monumental book. New discoveries of the last ten years revealed how much we still have to understand about the characteristics of Late Roman productions, trade and distribution. With this in mind, we used a statistical method to analyse the main changes in the profile of this type and its variants.

The location of the ancient district of Bauli has always had a central role within the archaeological research in the so-called Campi Flegrei, in the Gulf of Naples. Ancient literary sources mentioned this place in relation to the well-known phenomenon of ‘villa society’ that characterized the Gulf of Naples, especially the Baiae-Misenum peninsula. Cicero, Pliny the Elder and Varro mentioned Bauli as the place of the orator Q. Hortensius Hortalus’ maritime villa, which was particularly famous for its many fishponds. Other literary sources have contributed to reinforce the thesis, strongly defended by Amedeo Maiuri, that ancient Bauli was located at the place of modern Bacoli, where many remains of fishponds and other ancient buildings are considered to have been part of Hortensius’ villa in Bauli. Few eminent scholars - such as Karl J. Beloch - contrasted this theory, proposing a different interpretation of the ancient texts that has led to locate Bauli near the Lucrino Lake, E of Baiae. The goal of this paper is to present new data from GIS spatial analysis that can contribute to evaluate both theories and to answer the question about the location of Bauli. The viewshed analysis tested Cicero’s passage stating that from Hortensius’ villa in Bauli it would have been possible to see his villa in Pompeii if the distance was shorter. The viewshed rasters calculated for three observation points corresponding to Maiuri’s and Beloch’s location of Bauli provide new important data for the solution of this topographical question. By relating spatial analysis to the information reported by the ancient sources, together with the archaeological traces, it is possible to confirm the hypothesis that Bauli was located between Baiae and Misenum, in the modern town of Bacoli.

The research project, carried out as part of the preliminary planning for the environmental requalification of the Barignano area (Pontelatone, CE), consists in a multidisciplinary application model for the best practice of preventive archaeology. The project started thanks to a recent agreement between the Municipality of Pontelatone (CE) and the Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage (ITABC) of the Italian CNR, encharged of drawing up an archaeological map of the territory of Barignano and the surrounding territory. Recent surveys increased the knowledge about the exploitation of the Pontelatone district since prehistoric times and defined a more articulated settlement model of the perifluvial part of the territory, providing it with a different economic position in the ancient world. Research data, confronted with geographically and historically comparable areas, propose a new territorial and economic development model for the areas located on the Volturno river, both in Roman and in earlier periods. Starting from archive research and published scientific literature, the survey was supported by remote sensing data and new software to map land markers - both historical and archaeological - and for their 3D representation. The dataset have been organized in different topics and informative layers on a GIS platform. The survey and the interpretation of remote sensing data provided new elements for the topography of the area. Traces that suggest a different environmental model for some regions of the Volturno plain have been identified. Furthermore, today’s research supported by targeted geophysical surveys represents an actual prospect for future research.

Since 2011 the Archaeological Geographical Information System of Verona, SITAVR, has been implemented based on the existing and well-consolidated Archaeological Information Systemof Rome, SITAR, developed since 2008. The main objective of the two projects is collecting information about the archaeological findings regarding the two Italian urban centres with the aim to support a complete archaeological analysis and allow for easy data reuse. The purpose of this research is twofold: (i) archaeological studies, aimed to collect data and contents, and (ii) information systems applied to cultural heritage, aimed to organize, use and preserve the data on the basis of the innovations related to methodologies, technologies and standards. In this regard, the first step in SITAVR project was to create a domain model of archaeological data, by applying standard methodology for producing an abstract conceptual schema. Next steps were the definition of web services and a common format for data exchange; further in this direction was the creation of a mapping between this model and other international standards. The definition of the conceptual schema and the metadata, the common format for data exchange and the mapping on international standards have supported and encouraged the cooperation between SITAVR and SITAR projects. Moreover also some practical tests of interoperability between the two systems have been performed, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach. In particular, an experiment regarding the integrated execution of some queries on the two systems (funerary contexts and the road network of the two towns) was successfully implemented. In conclusion, our work further demonstrates that interoperability requires an initial large investment of resources, but allows to achieve results in terms of data analysis that by means of non-integrated systems cannot be easily accomplished.

RTI is a photographic method that allows to enhance any unevenness on the surface ofan object. In archaeology, the RTI method is used for various purposes, for instance, to study superficial markings on ceramic artefacts and to understand their possible causes (natural unevenness of the materials, manufacturing techniques, intended use). This article describes a research that has been conducted thanks to the RTI method on some ceramic artefacts dating back to the Bronze Age, from the village located in Via Ordiere, in Solarolo (RA). The research aims to test the limits of use of this instrument and its actual potential to give information on certain aspects of the production process of a ceramic artefact, such as the tools used to refine the surface (smoothing or polishing). Moreover, the RTI images have been tested as auxiliary tool for archaeological design of lithic artefacts from the same sites (arrowheads). The first part of the article is dedicated to the methodological aspects of the research: the processing chain, the tools and the time needed to complete each phase of the work. In the second part, the results of the research and the possible developments are discussed. The points of strength and the limits of this method are both summarised in the last section of the article.

This paper addresses the different methods of recording prehistoric rock art, with specific focus on the northern Italian area (Valle Camonica, UNESCO Site n. 94), and presents a new integrated way of recording and tracing engravings. This method combines different sources of data, both traditional, as an ‘enhanced’ way of rubbing, and technological. The active use of Structure from Motion photogrammetry and the subsequent mesh manipulation, as well as the implementation of digital macrophotography with artificial oblique lighting, are among the methods used for the recognition of the correct features of the carvings, while the tracing of the engraved figures, executed in vector graphics, is structured on layers. Combining the benefits of the digitally enhanced visibility of the figures with the precision and versatility of digital vector drawing, this method produces state of the art tracings of rock art, for a better comprehension of the symbols carved on the stone. All steps of this method are demonstratedusing, as a selected case study, the unpublished monolith n. 23 from the Copper Age Sanctuary of Ossimo, Pat (BS) in Valle Camonica, Northern Italy.

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.

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.

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.