Archeologia e Calcolatori 7 - 1996

During the past few years we have presented and published a series of papers on the project ArchéoDATA that we have been developing in the GDR 880 of CNRS, in our quest for a methodological structure for the recording and analysis of archaeological data and the creation of a European Archaeological Information System, designed to formalise and to structure archaeological documents. The three basic components of archaeological recording and analysis are the factors “objects”, “space” and “time”. Through their interaction the archaeologist must attempt to construct an interpretation and argue his thesis. The management of data pertaining to each one of the components of “object”, “space” and “time” should be undertaken with the same elementary structure. Due to the diversity of recording methods, and to inconsistent terminology used to express what in essence are similar things, a definition based on the word “Entity” was chosen and the “Archaeological, Spatial, Temporal, Interpretative and Analytical Entities” were consequently defined. This paper presents in detail new work that has been undertaken on structuring the basic component “time”.

An international team of scholars from Croatia, Canada, Britain and Slovenia is attempting to analyse the human adaptation of nature on the Central Dalmatian islands in Croatia. Archaeological data and various forms of environmental information were integrated into a GIS. This system is an ideal platform for a variety of analytical procedures: the economy of past societies was analysed, territories of larger communities were modelled, trade routes were predicted and the positioning of different sites was observed. In this paper, special emphasis is paid to the GIS application of a sites and monuments database in the analysis of the perception of space using the data from the Bronze Age.

NASA and The Getty Conservation Institute are conducting an experiment in the application of remotely sensed multispectral and radar data for monitoring change at World Heritage Sites. The project is concerned both with the principles of this approach and with current limitations. The latter have clearly demonstrated that automatic monitoring cannot be easily achieved, due to problems of low resolution, lack of repeatability, and cost, but the integration of this remotely sensed data with other data types into a geographic data management system may provide a monitoring management tool that can be used to test the potential of a fully integrated approach to site definition, monitoring, and management. The test case being adopted covers the area of Chaco Culture National Historic Park, in New Mexico, USA, a major Anasazi complex which is registered in the UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Data assembled included a variety of remotely-sensed information, GPS surveys, and the preparation of a baseline GIS, but also historic aerial photographs and excavation data. The resulting data management system, which also includes basic classification conducted on some of the multispectral data available, is an example of a relatively simple system of archaeological data management which could serve the needs of site managers and archaeologists.

Remote sensing, through orbital, airborne or close range images, is, today, the most accurate and suitable methodology to achieve an exhaustive investigation of a defined territory. It can be regarded as a great reservoir of any document left by past human societies, who settled in the studied area, from which it is possible to recover the spatial organisation of the culture produced by those societies. The multispectral images record both the reflected and the emitted energy; the latter is linked to the nature of the soil and, in particular, to standing structures. Through surface investigation, geophysical survey and accurate georeferencing, mainly by GPS receivers, it is possible to build a topographic information system to be integrated with the known information of all the preserved documents about the settlement system within the investigated region. Two case studies are discussed here: the area surrounding Palmyra in Syria and the territory of Selinus in Sicily; both illustrate, through newly discovered evidence, the results of the applied methodology.

The present technique of digital image processing follows the concept of analytical rectification, allowing for the elimination of the geometric distortions from the original image and the retrieval of the correct dimensional information. The image can be produced in various ways: most often, sampling is done with a scanner, but recently a new method is becoming more frequently used, that is the acquisition of digital images directly on ground by means of digital cameras with a CCD image sensor. The processing software is now offered by various producers of photogrammetric equipment, which allows us to carry out surveys of manufactured flat items, starting from a single image, to create a vector graphics superimposed in CAD environment.

Relationships between communities who inhabited the Fiora river basin during the Bronze Age and surrounding landscape have been examined to give more insight into the choice of settlement location, on the basis of landscape analysis methods adopted in environmental studies. By processing Landsat TM and elevation (raster) data and water related (vector) data (all georeferenced to a UTM grid), respectively spectral (the six TM band values), morphometric (elevation, aspect and slope etc.) and hydrological (distance to water from a site etc.) parameters have been derived for about 50 settlements detected in the study area. These parameters have been statistically analysed by separately processing the spectral, morphometric and morpho-hydrological values using a hierarchical cluster analysis method. The spectral data classification has yielded, with two exceptions, two main groups, one characterised by intermediate reflectivity, medium-low vegetation percentage and variable moisture; the other, more defined, with mostly dark and very humid soils, includes also 32% of the Final Bronze settlements. The classification of the morphometric parameters has highlighted elevation as the discriminating variable, obtaining two main clusters: the first includes sites located above 400 m; the second splits into two subclusters, one with sites between 50 and 200 m, the other between 200 and 400 m. Among the subclasses, three exhibit sites belonging to the Final Bronze Age, one includes sites of the Early Bronze Age. Therefore, the classification of the morpho-hydrological parameters shows that both elevation and water distance appear discriminating. The highest values of these two variables characterise a single site, clearly separated after cluster analysis application, which again yielded three subgroups belonging to the Final Bronze Age.

The procedures followed for the preparation of the thematic layers, describing the finding in an Etruscan site, are presented. The testimonial shows the advantages of using AutoCAD based tools, in order to link the database, containing the description of the objects in the drawing, to the CAD elements. This paper shows how to use the potential of a desktop GIS, based on AutoCAD and DBIV, in a variety of fields: from the preparation of hazard maps, showing the risk zones of fragile archaeological sites, to the preparation of a micro GIS project of fractures and related sections of a painting restoration project. The methodology proposed starts with the preparation of a topographic layer for the archiving of objects found on the site. The use of AutoCAD in conjunction with GDL-Graphic Data Link by Alpha Consult srl of Rome and ADE by AutoDesk is proposed, in order to simplify mapping of archaeological sites and perform relational queries on stored data. The AutoCAD application, called GDL/ARCHEO, is designed to establish and maintain DWG/DXF-DBF LINK, that can be utilized by ArcCAD (ARCINFO Data Structure), MAPINFO and INTERGRAPH. GDL/ARCHEO, a personalization of GDL is used as the data input environment for descriptive data related to AutoCAD featured in the drawing. The program has a library of Etruscan vases that can be further personalized and expanded; the default database can be modified to accommodate personalized projects. GDL/ARCHEO has the ability to create overlays, to assign ID-values to the resulting polygon, to provide network tracing capabilities and establish buffer areas for further studies. The program is an add-on ADE (AutoDesk Data Extension) for large archaeological sites. The paper also describes the GIS functions of overlay, buffer, polygon processing and network tracing to prepare hazard maps showing the risk analysis related to the different sites.

The aim of this work is to contribute to a better understanding of the historical and archaeological heritage. Archaeological and territorial data have been collected and processed in a GIS in order to provide information on the evolution of the population settlement in a selected area used as a case study. The area investigated was that located between the rivers Nera and Aniene (North-South direction) and between the river Tiber and the Sabine Mountains (East-West direction). It is historically identified as the “Sabina Tiberina” region. This area is characterised by a large number of sequential settlements of different populations beginning in the Iron through to the Medieval period. The GIS developed offers the possibility of describing and interpreting the territorial changes caused by the various populations. One of the main features of the GIS is its easy use for non-expert users (such as teachers, students and decision makers). Examples of different types of maps that can be generated by our GIS are presented. Two examples of composite maps containing different types of information (geographical, historical, geological etc.) are presented to show the possibilities afforded by the system.

Due to the recommencing of methodical archaeological excavation on the site of Nora, first Phoenician then Punic and Roman town, situated on the southern coast of Sardinia approximately 30 Km west of Cagliari, it was necessary to establish a cartographic system extended to all the hill on which the settlement standed (the settlement had never been completely mapped). This system had to cover previously surveyed areas and to allow the continuous updating with data resulting from new excavations. With these requirements, a computerised cartographic system was created, which consisted of basic information regarding not only the archaeological remains, but also the modern topography and the morphology of the hill. The aim was to design an operating system practical both for research and for safeguarding the archaeological site and allowing planning of its infrastructure. The project has been carried out in several phases: a) planning of the cartographical base; b) aerial survey of the zone; c) aerophotogrammetric zone; d) implementation of the numerical cartographic system; e) layout of the archives. The aerophotogrammetric information produced numerical files containing 3D data for every mapped point; using this data it was possible to create 3D models whose use is not only for archaeological research but also for aiding in planning for future infrastructural intervention in the archaeological park.

The Wroxeter Hinterland Project is a three-year regional research project employing GIS technology in the planning, management, research and publication of a study of the Iron Age and Roman landscape around the Roman city of Viroconium (Wroxeter) in Shropshire. The use of GIS technology in projects such as this has again highlighted the problems associated with scientific interpretation of the known archaeological record, built up mainly over the past century. In particular, the capability of GIS to recognise, extract, and extrapolate patterns in multivariate map data has meant that archaeologists must now resist the temptation to interpret such patterns as anything more than relatively recently introduce biases of site preservation and visibility. This paper explores ways in which GIS can be used to discover, and correct, such biases.

Abandoned towns have long been recognised as one of the most important resources to understanding the development and decline of the urban environment. In Britain, the number of opportunities for studies into abandoned Roman towns is limited as most have continued in use until the present day. The Wroxeter Hinterland Project is currently engaged in research on the best-preserved deserted Roman town in Britain: Viroconium Cornoviorum, in Shropshire – modern Wroxeter. The approach has been to use a broad range of geophysical prospecting methods to elucidate the nature and density of occupation on the site. Standard geophysical techniques such as magnetometry and resistivity have been extensively deployed alongside the newer technologies of Ground-penetrating radar, multi-probe, continuous-reading automated resistivity, seismology and conductivity. Airborne survey is adding another dimension through multi-spectral scanning and conventional aerial photography, while sub-surface surveys are being hatched up with ground-truthing data collected through conventional survey methods. The results are being processed in the Project’s GIS database and will provide as full an insight into the nature of occupation at Wroxeter as is possible without further extensive excavation. It is intended that the results will be published in an atlas and will also be accessible via the World-Wide-Web.

The author illustrates the main purpose of a research project that he is carrying out on Roman centuriation in Central Italy. In particular, the paper discusses the evolution of Roman cadastre of Urbs Salvia during the Early Middle Ages and Middle Ages. The author suggests that starting from a hypothetical centuriated form, study should be made of field boundaries that can be extracted, for example, from medieval documents, ancient maps and cabrei. In this way, if significant data is found, we have a reliable confirmation of the supposed original schema. In the Urbs Salvia’s centuriation several medieval field boundaries abut the Roman limits or the burial monuments that the Romans used to mark limits. Moreover some roads, mentioned in several documents of the Chiaravalle di Fiastra Cistercian Abbey, run exactly in the middle of a row of centuriae. Data is recorded using AutoCAD R13 (for numeric cartography) and Paradox 5.0 for Windows (other data).

This contribution deals with the survey of medieval sites in Tuscany, carried out to record territorial, topographical, historical and archaeological data and to integrate these different kinds of sources. It studies the region corresponding to the ancient county owned by the Ardengheschi family, in the south of Tuscany. The collected data are organised into a relational database; its most important tables contain administrative, geographical, environmental, historical and archaeological (descriptive and interpretative) data. Each database record is also geographically referenced by means of the coordinates of the central point of the corresponding site. This organisation makes it possible to investigate chronological and spatial relationships among sites. Some examples show the inadequacy of Euclidean distance and how it can be correctly defined to obtain coherent results; others deal with the definition of “contemporary” settlements, and it is shown how paradoxical results may derive from a “blind” use of database queries. To avoid such consequences, the use of “fuzzy logic” is proposed to define the lifetime of a site, especially if historical and archaeological records span over different periods; an application of fuzzy logical operators is considered in a final example.

The ARCTOS project (Visualization and Virtual Reality methodologies for a cognitive system on a archaeological Sicilian pattern) has been carried out by CINECA (Interuniversity Consortium for Supercomputing Applications) and the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Laboratory of Ancient Topography) with the support of IBM SEMEA, in order to study the archaeological site of Rocca di Entella (Palermo). This is an important archaeological multistratified site dating back to the Neolithic through to the medieval period; in particular, 13 archaeological areas have been investigated in the last years. Rocca di Entella can be described as a separate geomorphological space 60 ha wide; for every chronological phase the structures discovered show different features, such as buildings, materials, functions and uses. To analyse these complex layers of information, data was processed in 2D and 3D format so as to visualize the scientific content; in particular, it was important to allow the users to move in real time into virtual spaces, such as archaeological landscapes. We think that interactive 3D perception is fundamental for our cognitive system as it allows us to understand all the features of the archaeological landscape and the inter- and intra-site relationships.

A hypothesis is proposed dealing with the way by which ancient societies could get knowledge and control of their territory, by means of some kind of a former “geodetic” network, conceived as some basic frame reference for orientation of travellers. Mythology was a practical and effective tool for training people. Zodiacal signs appear to be almost some kind of “universal” former “alphabet”, suitable either for characterizing every given town, or for measuring angles of any kind, or for assisting a traveller in his orientation. In the Aegean Sea the natural reference points were the islands themselves. In western Anatolia and Greece, they set up a system of temples and sacred sites. In Egypt, possibly, there was a network of obelisks and pyramids and in other areas there was something equivalent. Some observational evidence is already available, and proposed interpretation can already be found in literature, dealing either with the Anatolian-Aegean-Greek world, or with ancient Egypt. In any case, ancient Greeks were apparently capable of estimating the latitude of a site with high precision (+- 0.05° latitude, equivalent to -+5 km on Earth’s surface; standard deviation). These topics are briefly reviewed here. Then, it is shown how a suitable file containing the latitude, longitude, and dedication of all temples and sacred sites of a given area (or the location of obelisks and pyramids that existed in Egypt) can allow for the creation of a formal analysis capable of assessing whether such a hypothesis is only a simple although fascinating speculation, or whether it is supported by objective observational evidence.

Preliminary results of a project for the reconstruction of a mammoth bone paleolithic dwelling are discussed. The graphical object management software package ArcInfo was used to create two different databases: the first one, for the bone icone database, the second one for the identification and localisation of bone architectural artifacts, extracted from the excavation books and graphical plan drawings. The potential of the system for understanding the dwelling architecture through 2D visualization and 3D reconstruction is discussed.

The recording of archaeological data during excavation and their description is a fundamental question for visualization and processing. Typically, this acquisition of data includes conventional 2D drawings, photos, graphic reproductions and videos. Further, we must also consider that for reconstructing the archaeological context (monuments, buildings, stratigraphic layers) it is very important to describe the 3rd dimension. The processing and visualization of 3D information may be considered as a virtual research lab, in which it is possible to recreate all the phases of excavation. In order to obtain these results, we have implemented the Shape from Motion Project, for modelling and 3D reconstruction of digitized and calibrated analogies video data. The project has been undertaken as a scientific partnership between CINECA, CALTECH (California lnstitute of Technology, USA) and AIACE (International Association of Computing in Archaeology

This paper deals with the advantages of simple photogrammetry methods used in the documentation of archaeological excavations. The proposed method is based on low altitude vertical pictures, a Least Square Adjustment calculation software program and a common CAD software. Description of the method and different applications are also included.

Archaeology contains a strange contradiction in itself. It is compelled to destroy all that emerges from the past in order to know and keep memory of it. It removes from its original position findings brought to light during digging. Ruins, graves, everyday objects are documented, photographed, catalogued and carried away. Then, they are no longer replaced in their former position save exceptional cases. This procedure emphasises the importance of graphic and photographic documentation of archaeological sciences. From this perspective, the Apulian Archaeological office has recently carried out experiments in the application of informatics to survey and graphical documentation in some excavations made in the province of Bari. This experience has helped to define a set of methodologies to allow CAD programmes to be used even by inexperienced operators. Thanks to these methodologies complex situations like graves, ruins and sections have been easily documented with great precision and in a short time.

Data coming from necropolis excavations constitute the base of an information programme, which permits the integration between a descriptive database and a computer graphics programme. Each grave has been drawn using a system of photographic correction and recorded in a CAD programme. Therefore, these drawings are automatically positioned on a general map in their original location. The description of the graves is recorded in a relational database and every grave drawing is connected to the relative file. In this way, by performing queries to the database, it is possible to immediately visualize the corresponding graves and to realize, for example, typological and chronological maps. This paper gives examples from the medieval necropolis of Sous-le-Scex at Sion, in Switzerland.

The paper illustrates the computing section of a Strategic Project for the development of research methods applied to the study and safeguarding of the archaeological heritage of southern Italy. The project has been launched by the Italian National Research Council at the University of Lecce. The scientific aim of the system is the management of excavation data relating to problems emerging from the study of settlements. The system is characterised by: a) the integration of alphanumeric data, graphical data (site plans, archaeological maps) and images; b) the application of quantitative analysis. The system has been tested with the input of information from the excavation of sample sites at Otranto, Vaste and Oria (Italy) and Hierapolis (Turkey). The end result is a series of thematic and chronological maps of the settlements, which are of particular importance for centres such as Otranto which are under continuous pressure from building development. “Risk maps” have also been produced, which indicate areas where archaeological action is most urgent. The results form the base upon which we can construct a functional relationship between town councils, Superintendencies and the University so as to take the necessary steps that will avoid the sort of destruction of archaeological areas that has taken place over the last few years.

An information system for the management of archaeological remains is presented here; it derives from the experience of the “Laboratorio di Informatica Archeologica - Dipartimento di Scienze Archeologiche - Pisa”. The guidelines followed during the project phase and the characteristics that make this system a reliable tool for work and research are examined. Finally, a possible evolution of the system is foreseen in order to improve access and diffusion of the data.

In this work we use an archaeological information system to record and manage data coming from an excavation. The system includes the excavation methodology, the geographical reference of archaeological elements, the settlements and elements denomination, the directories and files structure and the computer organisation. The authors develop a computer software based on PARADOX to record the archaeological information, including textual documentation, CAD maps and images.

The field excavation techniques of Neolithic sites have changed during the past two decades. With these changes, data recording procedures have also changed profoundly. A method of merging excavated horizontal levels and reconstructed layers is presented here, and the respective database structures are developed. The results of the advanced finds analyses revealed the patterning of site refuse in large Neolithic pit-complexes. Finally, a proposal for a relational database is developed.

In the first section of this paper, some of the developments in the use of information science in archaeology are discussed, putting them in a more general framework of developments in archaeological theory. It shows the shift from “classical” statistical approaches, which concentrate on hypothesis testing, towards more heuristic, pattern searching methods of analysis. In the second section, some research is presented on the use of Bayesian statistics for solving archaeological problems. It illustrates, on the one hand, the case with which rather complicated quantitative analyses can be performed with the help of standard computing tools, and, on the other hand, the risks of carrying out such analyses without a clear, logically sound underpinning.

The purpose of this paper is to critically explore the role of Geographical Information Systems in archaeological research. Currently, some archaeologists seem largely captivated by new computing technologies believing that the sophistication of powerful software outputs will lend respectability by itself. In our opinion GIS is merely a set of techniques to visualise and manage large amounts of georeferenced data. Thus, there must be other tools to move from visualisation to explanation, which fall within the domain of Spatial Analysis. The ultimate aim of this paper is to show how we can integrate these already existing tools (geostatistics, intra-site statistical tests, digital image processing, artificial intelligence, etc.) into a GIS framework, in order to move from beautiful images to hard analysis. Finally, we criticise the lack of a theoretical background in archaeological uses of GIS technology, arguing that GIS is only a software and may benefit our research only if we use well defined archaeological problems on a well-based theory.

The aim of this paper is to present a short reflection about the connection between the spatial articulation of the archaeological record and the role of statistical techniques. The basic idea is to process three spatial properties of the archaeological record: the distribution, the arrangement and the association. We include this idea inside the theoretical-methodological framework of the ANITES proposal. Briefly, we present the informative potential of these properties and the statistical techniques selected.

The analysis of site formation processes seems quite ignored in the archaeological literature of Southern Italy. In this paper, we discuss the case study of Terragne (Taranto, South-Eastern Italy), an open-air site characterised by two occupation layers (US 5-Late Mesolithic; US 3-Early and Middle Neolithic). Statistical analyses of different archaeological indicators were performed, in order to value the formation features of the deposit and to identify possible spatial configurations. Particular emphasis has been drawn to the identification of diagnostic tools, able to isolate specific formative phenomena (sin-depositional and post-depositional.

The aim of the work described here is to contribute to the knowledge about the ancient population located in the Ager Eretanus, through the application of a statistical methodology known as “point pattern analysis”. We first present a brief discussion of the management of an application-oriented GIS in the field of archaeological research. We then present the results of a “second order analysis” undertaken on the data at our disposal. Finally, we discuss two interesting methodological problems: the first concerns the evaluation of the influence exerted on the model by possible errors in the location of the points; the second regards the proposal of a graphical representation which proves very useful in showing the variable intensity of the distribution of archaeological site.

Forecasting statistical models are becoming increasingly important in archaeological research. One of the reasons of this popularity is that archaeological sites tend to present themselves in particular environments so that forecasting models can help in identifying areas where the probability is higher based on previously collected statistical information. In the present paper we consider a class of statistical models designed to produce maps of the probability for archaeological site location (ASL) which incorporate both deductive and inductive considerations. In the discussion we criticise the use of the logistic regression for the production of ASL probability maps, a popular approach known in archaeological literature as the “integrated strategy”. The application of the method is statistically incorrect since in archaeological studies the hypothesis of independence between sites, which is at the basis of the logistic regression model, is violated. To overcome such limitations we propose two alternative models. The first one is an autopredictive model in which the probability of ASL is modelled as a function of the observations coming from field surveys in neighbouring zones. This approach accounts for the problem of non-independency of observations, but neglects a priori auxiliary information on the archaeological area. The second approach is a more comprehensive one which overcomes the problems of logistic regressions while preserving the role of a priori information.

The aim of the study is to observe the random distribution of graves, characteristic of Greek cemeteries in the archaic period. Of the three computing tools that were used, only the data analysis is explained here. The results were displayed in the topographical space, using the x,y coordinate of each grave. The definition of archaeological variables designated to data analysis has increased through the analysis of the vocabulary used by the archaeologist. Correspondence Analysis was used for the study of grave goods, and Multiple Correspondence Analyses for the study of burials characterised by the grave goods structure of the previous analysis. This report concerns one aspect of the results: the 178 child burials described by the archaeologist. The study shows four groups characterized by different archaeological patterns. Each group was inserted in the topography of cemetery. The internal outlines delimited by the groups are the components of the distribution model. The last result is extended to include other structures concerning the archaeology of death.

In this paper we describe an application of image processing for the texture study of the use wear polishes on flint artifacts, experimentally obtained on two types of materials: wood and hide. The quantification of the textural properties of the images, obtained with a high magnification (200X) metallographic microscope strictly follows the rules indicated by HARALICK et al. in 1973. Twenty-two textural features were obtained from the image and statistical analysis then allowed the discrimination between the two classes of materials. The techniques employed, T-test and linear stepwise discriminant analysis, show that the discrimination between tools working wood and working hide is quite good, in the case of distance between the pixels = 1. Possibilities of future and more refined analyses are then discussed at the end of the paper.

The histogram is one of the most widely used descriptive statistical techniques in archaeology, but suffers from a number of well known problems. These include the dependence of its appearance on the choice of origin and interval width. Kernel density estimates provide an alternative to the histogram and avoid some of its problems. They have been little used in archaeology, probably because suitable software has not been widely available. We illustrate some of the advantages of kernel density estimates through several simple examples. Computation was done using the MATLAB package and routines written by the second author that are freely available. One issue in the use of kernel density estimates concerns a choice analogous to that of the interval width for a histogram. Our routines implement several approaches that are discussed in an appendix.

This study deals with the correct storage of data concerning scientific analysis within cultural heritage. An analysis of the present situation indicates the danger of the dispersal of information. The data acquired in scientific analysis appear as signals and images. The different problems involved in both cases have been discussed. The case of the XRF spectra is presented as a detailed example of the proposed approach.

The authors describe the use of digital image processing techniques aimed at achieving a criteria for quantitative comparison. Usually, these procedures are executed using visual superimposition of images and constrained by the lack of rescaling and anamorphic making up that could be used to cancel the optical distortions caused by lenses. The criteria used within the experimental activity are aimed at helping the archaeologists without changing their traditional research methods. These techniques can be seen as an interesting tool able not only to aid impartial decision making but also to enhance the autoptic analysis of the findings. The most important algorithms pertaining to image processing have been used for investigating the origin and the age of moulded and handmade objects.

During excavations a large number of pottery sherds may be found. These sherds are photographed, measured, drawn and catalogued. Currently, all this work is done by hand, equating to a lot of routine work for the archaeologist. In this paper, two acquisition methods for archaeological finds are proposed, forming the first step towards automatic classification, that could help the archaeologist in their work and automate the archival process. Firstly, we present an overview of existing methods for archaeological image acquisition. These systems are half-automated, so the amount of work has not really been reduced. Next we focus on the acquisition methods to minimize failures in the output and to automate this process completely. In order to get 3D-information of a sherd, we use two different and representative methods, in particular, shape from stereo and shape from structured light for providing a 3D-surface representation of a sherd. Furthermore, we discuss a fusion of these two methods for an archaeological application and finally, the outlook for a computer based automatic classification of archaeological finds is given.

This project was established through a collaboration between the Missione Archeologica Italiana in Turchia (Università di Roma “La Sapienza”) and the Istituto per le Tecnologie applicate ai Beni Culturali of the CNR. For this project we selected over 700 ceramic samples found at Arslantepe, coming from structures and layers of IV and III millennium BC The samples were chosen in order to obtain a complete picture of the typological classes coming from the different chronological phases. The use of the ceramic classes and their related structures were also investigated, using traditional archaeometric analyses. Taking into consideration such a large time scale, the aim was to study the socio-cultural and economic development and transformations showed by the technology of ceramic production. The management of such a large amount of data, and the high number of interrelationships, required the use of a computer-based system. Statistical analyses were conducted using the software SPSS, specialised for Social Sciences applications.

This article discusses a research project about the imported and local amphorae found in the Veneto region. The study is specifically based on fragments of Spanish amphorae found in the Venetian lagoon. Several samples could be clearly identified as fragments of the forms coming from the Baetica region (e.g., Dr 8, Dr 38, Dr 7/11, Dr 20 and Dr 20-23); other samples of very limited number could also be reliably identified. In order to attempt a broad identification we have studied the composition of the pastes of a small number of fragments by means of mineralogical and petrographic analyses. Additionally image processing techniques were also used: in particular, a classification procedure has been designed that will perform morphologic, chromatic, radiometric and spectral analyses on the images of thin sections of the amphorae, taken by a polarising microscope. The procedure could be completed by analysing a larger number of samples, that will allow to establish the decision thresholds used in the classification process; the procedure will facilitate the fusion of data and information obtained with different destructive and non destructive tests of the samples, so that it could constitute a useful tool for the archaeological research.

This article is based on the morphologic, archaeometric and quantitative study of amphoras found in room 16 and 17 of the horrea of S. Gaetano of Vada (Li), which form part of the port structures of Vada Volaterrana. The material belonging to the second of the two phases of the building (half of IV-VI/VII cent. AD) have been studied; this has allowed us to delineate commercial flows that, coming from the whole Mediterranean basin, have been related to the Vada Volaterrana harbour on the Northern Etrurian coast. The locally fabricated amphoras represent a large proportion of the finds (14,7%): these were used for wine, and were stored here before being exported. The majority of the imported amphoras came from North-Africa (65,8%), but they were also imported from the Eastern end of the Mediterranean (18,1%). Few, on the contrary, were imported from the Italian peninsula (11,4%), and these above all from the Iberic peninsula (4,7%). Also of note is the lack of imported amphoras from Gallia during the second phase of existence of the building.

Morphologic and archeometric studies and quantitative analysis were carried out on the common ware pottery from the horrea located in the harbour quarter of Vada Volaterrana (S. Gaetano di Vada, Rosignano Marittimo, Livorno). It is attempted to define the functional, morphologic and technical characteristics of this ware, dated I-VIII cent. AD The relationship between common ware and the other kinds of ware (thin walled, Italian terra sigillata, African terra sigillata etc.) are studied. 64 different fabrics were identified; 65% of the common ware pottery was made on the Northern coast of Etruria; a considerable number of imports from Northern Africa and, in smaller quantities, from Central-Southern Italy and Eastern Mediterranean coasts were also identified. The pattern of trade and the local “Roman” production continued at least up until the end of the VI cent. AD The situation changed in the first half of the VII cent.: Mediterranean commercial trade ended and the local coarse ware pottery, very different from the traditional Roman pottery, became what is recognised as a protomedieval fabric.

This project has studied metallic ingots from the Etruria Padana that come from either old excavations and more recent ones. The samples have been studied through chemical-physical structural and metallographic analysis; the process, conducted after years of restoration, leaves no trace on the object, as it concerns only a few milligrams of sample, which usually allows the identification of about 15 elements in the alloy. The sample is taken after accurate weighing and a series of chemical treatments, through its exposure to a strumental analysis through Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. With this type of analysis a qualitative and quantitative measurement of the elements of the alloy is made. The results of the analysis are transferred to tables in Excel; then, through these tables, a series of graphics are produced giving a better opportunity to evaluate the concentration of the most important elements of the alloy. The computer allows us also to organize, in the same table, the study of one or more elements in comparison with the others, in order to give different meanings to the results obtained, by for example, producing a decreasing movement in the concentration of an element; so we obtain some graphics that may better point out the differences. The use of computer graphics permits not only an easy reading of the elements of the alloy, but also better evidence of the differences regarding the composition that are particular to some different classes of metal objects.

Analysis of site formation processes is a field of research which can be enhanced by means of computer applications. In this paper, the authors suggest the use of image analysis applied to the study of soil micromorphology and to archaeological deposits, aimed at the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the soil components. The presence of specific devices and software allow these problems to be faced in a quick and user-friendly way, thanks to the Windows interface. The case study looks at the Uan Afuda cave in the Tadrart Acacus (Libyan Sahara), and the sediments related to the Mesolithic occupation (8900-8000 BP), which is characterised by vegetable accumulations alternating to ashes layers. The application let us weigh the specific components of the layers, from both a microscopic (soil thin sections) and macroscopic (excavated stratigraphic section) level. Consistence of results opens up new perspectives of analysis for the comprehension of the formation processes in arid environments and for the cultural problems linked to them.

The data from an anthracological study of vegetal carbon from six archaeological sites in the Guadix-Bàza district (Betic province, Guadiciano-Bastetano), dating from 2500 to 1400 BC, have been submitted to Correspondence Analyses in order to define relationships between taxa, to associate taxa with the sites, and to identify patterns of species appearance. The vegetation identified by anthraco-analysis for the Copper Age is the kermesoak grove (Quercus coccifera association), probably includable in the present-day Rhamno lycioidis-Quercetum cocciferae association, with Aleppo-pine groves (Pinus halepensis community) occupying the most marginal zones. This pine grove gradually replaced the oak grove during the Bronze Age, for a variety of causes, principally anthropic, such as the cultivation of new lands, farming and the cutting of trees. Human knowledge of plants is reflected in the uses of certain species for specific functions: construction materials for huts, firewood for the hearth and for metal working, and raw materials for making utensils. The use of materials depended on species availability and the socio-economic organization of the human communities inhabiting the southeastern Iberian Peninsula during the Copper and Bronze Ages.

Classification has been an important archaeological activity for at least a century. It should not be seen as an end in its own right, but as a tool that enables archaeologist to compare and communicate. It can also be seen as mathematical activity, the study of relationships between entities in a multi-dimensional space. Comparison of these approaches leads to a set of criteria for a “good” classification. A wide and growing range of techniques is available, but more fundamental issues such as the choice of variables and the level of analysis must also be considered. The history of classification in archaeology shows a period of optimism followed by one of disappointment; the recent development of techniques more suited to archaeological needs may enable a middle view to be taken. Finally, the role of classification is assessed in the light of current trends in archaeological theory.

The author describes the different phases which have characterised “Quantitative Archaeology” from its origin in the Sixties to the present. An examination of the present situation emphasises the reduction in the number of projects in which statistical and mathematical techniques are applied in comparison with those devoted to data recording, computer graphics and image processing. A limitation in the fields of studies, generally restricted to the more traditional application sectors, such as archaeometric analyses and typological and morphological studies of artefacts, was also observed. This situation is related to two principal aspects. The first concerns the present tendency to assimilate theory and practice, which involves the connection between the opinion on Quantitative Archaeology and the debate on processual and post-processual – or anti-processual – archaeology. The second concerns the re-appraisal of the epistemological aspect of archaeology, which implies the necessity on the behalf of archaeologist to formalise their own reasoning: a step which is often considered absent in quantitative studies. As an example, the author presents a case study, which concerns the computer-based classification of Etruscan cinerary stone urns, produced in Volterra, in order to show how the formalisation process is implied in the application of the quantitative approach.

In the fifties and sixties it was assumed that a generalised and detailed descriptive system for archaeological materials could be constructed, and that this system could be transferred to a computerised symbolic representation. In the early seventies this position was abandoned as it was realized that data are theory-dependent and problem-specific. As a consequence it has been widely accepted that databases containing archaeological data are bound to be highly individual and short-lived. With the increasing number of IT based archaeological recording systems, the inherent heterogeneity becomes a hindrance for archival purposes and effective management of archaeological projects. It is also, however, an obstacle for a formalized methodology, because researchers end up with pragmatic ad hoc solutions, which often shoehorn the recordings into rigid data-structures. The IDEA (the Integrated Database for Excavation Analysis) is to solve this problem. Through a database meta-structure and a user-friendly interface IDEA offers the researcher the possibility to implement a problem-specific description of archaeological objects, but at the same time stores data and data-definitions in one underlying structure, regardless of chosen solution. In this paper we describe how we have solved the problem of creating a database structure capable of holding widely diffused classifications and descriptions.

This work studies a sample of 58 notched pieces formed by all the examples found in surface sites from a small area of the Cantabrian coast (Northern Spain). These sites are the result of three kinds of activity: a) the exploitation of coastal resources; b) the manufacture of artifacts used in this exploitation; c) the working of flint nodules from local limestone. The results of data gathered were organised in a database and a classic statistical analysis was carried out using the package SPSS. After the application of different tests - correspondence, factor and cluster analysis - a classification in four groups based on morphological variables was chosen as the most significant. In the functional analysis a basic traceologic study has been combined with experimental practice in order to establish whether the four morphological classes show differences in the way they were used and in the patterns of the marks of use. The functional analysis has also enabled four groups to be distinguished and the contrast between both classifications displays a difference between the morphological classification based on the morphometric variables, and the functional classification. The factors involved in this contrast are examined in this study.

The ceramic assemblage described in this paper, coming from the Conelle di Arcevia Copper Age ditch, can be divided into four phases. This substantial assemblage (almost 10,000 diagnostic items) allowed us to undertake quantitative analysis. A first step in creating a database is to define the underlying criteria: it is a truism to say that the selected parameters condition the results of the analysis. It seemed to us impracticable to elaborate an automatic classification being able to take into consideration the recognition of the patterns socially accepted by a specific human group. At risk of a higher degree of subjectivity, we choose to create an intuitive typology concerning shapes, decorative techniques and motifs, handles and raw materials/surface treatments. We tried examining the behaviour of each feature and their association, aiming to understand the synchronic and diachronic levels of variability in the ceramic production; moreover our purpose was to discern the international/ stochastic value of each association of features by simple statistical techniques.

A long-standing project concerning the study of the Bronze Age interrelations between the Aegean and Italy, in progress at the Istituto per gli Studi Micenei ed Egeo Anatolici, has stimulated the creation of an appropriate database. The relational database DEDALO is composed of six different files (1. sites, 2. excavation, 3. areas, 4. contexts, 5. finds and 6. bibliography), where information on the archaeological evidence related to Aegean-type material found in Italy is stored. The basic units of the structure are the sites where one or more Aegean items have been found. Although the entries of the fifth file, concerning items, are very detailed, DEDALO is not particularly object-oriented, but rather aims to integrate geographic, environmental, archaeological, chronological and archaeometric data, focussing on the relationship between the Aegean-type object (seen as the exception in its context) and the local Italian communities of the Bronze Age.

This article presents the first results of a statistical analysis applied to the ceramic artifacts from the Late Bronze Age settlement of Sorgenti della Nova (Farnese, Viterbo). After organising the data in a logical structure of relationships, with the setting up of a classification code and automatic processing, various methods of descriptive and multivaried analysis were applied (Frequency Analysis, Crosstabulation, Cluster Analysis). The main objective was the reconstruction of as great a number of shapes from fragments as possible, consequently observing the distribution dynamics of these within the site. The analysis enabled us to increase the possibility of recognising the ceramic forms by roughly 25%. It allowed us also to observe how, even within a situation of substantial uniformity in the site, a distinct separation emerges in certain structures, including, among other factors, the material culture, such as for example, the oval huts with foundations on channels, the grotto-sanctuary 7 and the monumental structure in sector Vb.

In order to analyse a corpus of 963 Near-Eastern Uruk/Jemdet Nasr period sealings, three levels of image structure were identified, as being a) the presence of iconographic elements, b) the presence of subpattern, i.e. small images contributing as a whole to the total image, and c) the general image pattern, considered only under the syntactical point of view. This paper is based on second level analyses, performed through textual exploratory analysis of a formalized text describing the sealings images. Two different textual correspondence analyses were performed: the first on textual forms and the second on repeated segments, i.e. repeated sequences of forms considered as a whole. In the paper, the quality of results is discussed, in particular comparing them to classical techniques based on manual coding and to a previous coding. In this case, a better distinction of different sealings groups resulted from forms analysis, whereas the one on repeated segments, although repeating the forms analysis general pattern, seems less satisfactory. Both results suggest to modify the automatic procedures used so far, in order to limit attention to presence/absence of forms on one side and to select manually the repeated segments actually corresponding to a subpattern, rather than considering all of them.

The aim of this work is to illustrate a database in which we have recorded a great number of archaeological objects. The example is made with 303 figures from Portugal which the archaeologists name “cylindrical idols”. The first step was to choose the vocabulary and organize it in a hierarchical form. Our tree form has three chapters, some sections and subsections that form the base of the system; in the second step, the programme Access was used to describe the cylinders. When the recording was finished, the following questions were posed: a) What is the provenance of the Portuguese cylinders?; b) What is the main raw material?; c) What is their typology?; d) What is their geographical distribution? The answers were reproduced in the form of a graphical picture in which the results can be observed. These results are confronted with M. Gimbutas’ interpretation about these cylinders over Western Europe. Our conclusion disagrees with Gimbutas as in Portugal the figures appear in Copper Age contexts, whereas Gimbutas states that the cylinders were used during the Neolithic. This thesis was linked to the concept of the “Eve Goddess”, although the Kurgans that seem to have introduced the metal in Portugal held the sun as a principal religious symbol.

This work describes the technological study of Iberian sculpture, which is little developed in Spanish archaeology. To start the investigation, it was necessary to review the traditional archaeological documentation. In the same way, it exposes in detail the method of work that has been used in an ambitious project of investigation carried out in the Autonoma University of Madrid. For this project, we have built a specific database for the management of the vast and different documentation. The program was conceived to manage three kinds of information: item description, bibliography and pictures, all of them related by Escultur Program (Clipper language). In the creation of this program, maximum flexibility was also needed in the management of information, including the permanent integration of the three databases. Therefore, each sculptural piece is associated to its individual study, to the corresponding bibliographic references and to the graphical images made or remade, that are recorded in their respective databases. The result obtained through the use of the program offers the possibility of relying on three files of fundamental data to be able to plan and resolve archaeological problems in relation to the technological interpretation of the Iberian sculpture. In synthesis, they concern: the cataloguing and description of materials; bibliographic database; storage and management of images.

In this paper it is suggested that least squares approximation can be used to analyse and to produce computer images of the entasis of Greek Doric columns. The curve fitting method is then applied in a case study on the peristyle column of the temple of Athena Alea at Tegea. By analysing the shaft profile of the different drum combinations it is possible to give the most likely range for the column height.

“TreeTexT” is a formal language developed for describing the real objects (or monuments) of classical archaeology and history of art. It works with the “partitive” relation (i.e. between the whole, its parts and subparts) in order to permit the handling of complex objects such as Greek or Roman temples. A “thesaurus” allows to establish terminologies based upon the “generic” relation (i.e. between more or less explicit descriptors). A software package manages not only a specific textual retrieval at every described detail level of complex objects but also possibly related pictorial information.

Three different scripts, Hieroglyphic, Linear A and Linear B are attestated in the Aegean between 2200 and 1200 BC The first two of these scripts, Hieroglyphic and Linear A are still undeciphered. The best possibilities of decipherment seem to be linked with Linear A, a script which is very near to the Linear B deciphered by M. Ventris in 1952. In fact more than 80% of the syllabic signs of Linear A are common to Linear B.A systematic comparison between the position of each sign common to Linear A and Linear B will probably give us the possibility to improve the phonetic value of the Linear A signs and so permit to read Linear A. Such a work can only be done with the assistance of the computer.

P.E.T.R.R.A.E. Hispaniarum, The general project PETRAE, developed at the Centre Pierre Paris, is a recording programme of Greek and Latin inscriptions. Its aim is the computer-based management of all information regarding inscriptions, such as monument, text, bibliography, and the creation of indices. All information recorded in the database can be performed by queries and retrieved; they can also be prepared in a few seconds for printing in RFT format. The programme permits also the management of inscription images. The programme PETRAE Hispaniarum is a PETRAE sub-programme. Its final aim is the collection in a single database of all inscriptions relevant to the Iberic peninsula. The database is implemented with the assistance of a series of Spanish, Portuguese and French research centres. The recording system is completely decentralized and allows each research centre to operate individually. The PETRAE equipe has already published four works in traditional form (but using computerised editorial techniques), one of which forms part of the PETRAE Hispaniarum collection.

The aim of this paper consists in analysing family-structure in a Roman community (Ariminum) using epigraphical data. Patriarchal extended family (typical of Mediterranean area) was absent in Roman age and besides we note the presence of nuclear family. Ariminenses had few children. It depends on several factors; for instance, on a high death-rate at birth, on a temporary situation of sterility in consequence of prolonged nursing, birth-control, food, living standards. Death-rate is high in the age-band 16-30 years, but only 10% of the documents contain biometric data, whose presence is closely related to the reader's emotions it could stir up.

This paper deals with the theoretical aspects of the manufacturing of study models through computer database programs for the instrumentum domesticum, especially in the field of Roman amphora stamps epigraphy. The stamps from the Dressel 20 amphora (Spanish olive-oil typology), of which we have thousands of examples spread principally over Rome and Western Europe, have been used as documentary information to compose the theoretical criteria. The proposed concepts for the study of stamps are the following: the "concept structure", which serves to codify and group the stamps according to their graphical image; the "concept codex" aims to codify and analyse the present elements on every stamp; the "concept family of stamps" allows to relate family groups of stamps (like variants of individuals, a workshop, or a production region). The proposed model can be used for every type of amphora stamp. We, however, recommend to principally use it on the information obtained from workshop regions, the only site from which we can decipher the complex meaning of the stamp text.

In ancient Roman world the monumental stone inscriptions had always an harmonic proportion. The metric measurement cannot define the train of their preparation; but the careful lay-out standard surely obeyed - perhaps also spontaneously - to some exact rules of the proportion (e.g. Hambidge's "dynamic symmetry", valid in some artistic fields) aimed at the primary purpose of all epigraphical expressions: the most efficacious communication. Some examples, mathematically verified by CILEA, are sown here.

Beside the publication of the whole texts according homogeneous groups with different glossaries, the program of Hurrian inscriptions Corpus (ChS) is aimed at assembling in transcription form all the cuneiform texts in Hurrian languages from the imperial archives of Bogazkoy (Part I) and from the other archives of the Ancient Near East (Part II). For this reason a software called GHISA (Glossario Hurrico, Ittito, Sumerico ed Accadico) has been created; this permits the elaboration of texts and the production of glossaries and thesauri of the various languages included in the texts (Hurrian, Hittite, Sumerian and Akkadian). The first output of the glossary and the thesaurus will be presented in alphabetical order (function "A" automatic), and following a morphological basis (function "R" reasoned) which can be continually updated. The collection of the whole transliterated material, as well the glossaries, will be published in the volumes of the Hurrian Corpus, while the thesauri will be a consultation tool for textual analysis and linguistic interpretation.

The CAIE project aims to create a database collecting all the Etruscan monuments with inscriptions and to give, at the same time, critical importance not only at the text but also at the extra-linguistic context (i.e. elements regarding the origin and characteristics of the inscribed object, graphic peculiarities etc.). The purpose is a new and complex collection of Etruscan texts which, taking advantage of the power of computer databases, can deal at the same time with both information about the monument and its inscriptions; therefore, the program FUL/TEXT has been chosen, as an Information Retrieval System, duly adapted to the graphic particularities of the Etruscan language. At present about 5000 out of 10,000 so far known documents have been already recorded on file.

In cataloguing the growth and refinement of cognitive data lead to a limitation of specialized sectors and in general to a weak comprehensive view of cultural phenomena. Moreover, the use of information systems in the Humanities has promoted the "vertical" investigation rather than the "horizontal" one on the poli-disciplinary horizon. The author, as an art-historian, notices in particular the inadequacy of projects devoted to the establishment of integration among various phenomena related to different cultures and periods of time. Some recent works in the historic-artistical sector of studies have turned again to the archaeological world and to its heritage with a deep sensibility of historicization. In this way they are moving towards a more dynamic cultural dialectic. Therefore the author feels that a collaboration between archaeologists and art-historians is necessary in order to translate their own knowledge into repertories (and therefore in safeguarding tools) and then into more complex historical judgements.

In the Archaeological Institute of the Dodecanese, the need for establishing an information system has been evident for many years. The Est expansion in personal computing systems and the development of GÌS during the fast years have provided the possibility of its realisation. Three major projects are under development. The first covers the monuments on the whole island of Rhodes, the second deals with the Ancient City of Rhodes and the third examines the Old Town of Rhodes as a living monument. Experiments with digital editing of photographs have provided us with a useful tool in presenting archaeological information. Computer aided design is occasionally used in case studies of monuments. The digital information system itself, with all restrictions due to hardware and software limitations, encourages, in a way, a more clearly defined and better organised data collection procedure. The transformation of a non-computerised to a computer-supported institution is a long procedure. Data input has always been a major difficulty. Due to this fact the full potential of the information system has never been realised. The system depends highly on the continuous data import and information updating and, as such, its accuracy and usefulness are highly vulnerable.

DELTOS II is an information system covering the needs for documentation, conservation and administration of site monuments and preserved buildings. It offers map display, supports large data volume, storage and display of multimedia data (mostly images and free text) and drawing facilities. DELTOS has been developed by the Institute of Computer Science, FORTH, in dose collaboration with the 23rd Ephorate of Classical and Prehistoric Antiquities and the l3th Ephorate of Byzantine and Postbyzantine Antiquities. The system has been installed at the Archaeological Museum of Heraklion, Crete, Greece and is currently in the initial stage of exploitation.

The Israel Antiquities authority, established in 1990, is responsible for over 25,000 archaeological sites in Israel. Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem is the headquarters of the Israel Antiquities authority (IAA). The IAA began its computerization program in 1991. In 1991 there were a total of five XT computers throughout the IAA al lowing it to facilitate an integrated system between the database used by archaeologists in the field and the database in the central computer of the Rockefeller Museum. Excavator 2001, the database used by archaeologists in the field, is built on a FoxPro database. The database of the central computer is known as the Antiquity System and is built on a Oracle database. In the final analysis our aim is to create a national database consisting of the vast material and objects obtained by hundreds of archaeologists working in the field. In addition to the artifacts and data which are currently being processed and integrated into the new system, we are also in the process of cataloguing hundreds of thousands of artefacts which are discovered and stored prior to the development of the national database system.

The author illustrates the activity of Istituto Beni Culturali (IBC), the cultural institution of Regione Emilia Romagna with regard to the use of new technology in cultural heritage. IBC, a unique example in Italy, has created in 1990 a public company to manage the public resources and to coordinate the computerized cataloguing of the regional cultural heritage: the Centro Regionale per il Catalogo (CRC). Since 1993 IBC administers a regional museum fund (L.R. 20/90) and holds a major role in programming the regional policy in the field of local authority museums and cataloguing of museum objects. The Documentation Centre of IBC has elaborated the guidelines for recording information about objects preserved in local museum: our main aim is to provide every museum with a system to perform some essential activities; administration and cataloguing over all. As regards to cataloguing rules we follow the ICCD directives (precataloguing cards) in order to create a regional archive of cultural heritage conserved in museums. As regards software we have chosen an information retrieval system, Odysseus, very flexible and developed in a modular way. Actually Odysseus is used to catalogue museum cultural heritage, to realize data bases for the Internet and to realize archaeological maps.

S.I.R.Be.C. is a multimedia project of Regione Lombardia. It began in 1993 and it is now carried out with the collaboration of twenty four museums, eleven Provinces and seven Dioceses. By the year 2000, the project aims at establishing: - a computerized inventory (data and images) of Lombardy's cultural property; - a regional information system of Lombardy's cultural property, consisting of a central multimedia data base, a regional computer network and a regional documentation centre; - a coordinate network of the documentation centres and the data bases belonging to museums, to public and private institutions and to the Church. S.I.R.Be.C. cooperates with the National Ministry for Cultural Property - Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione I.C.C.D. and with police units aimed at repressing illicit traffic in cultural property.

Francesco Gnecchi was one of the most important Roman coin collectors between the XIX and XX Century. His collection, consisting of about 20,000 pieces, was purchased in 1923 without any related document. In 1933 the epistular archive owned by one of the Gnecchi heires was found. The study of the archive allows us to have important information concerning the purchase of pieces and, consequently, their origin. To make possible a systematic analysis, the archive has been stored with a scanner on a computer system and an appropriate retrieval program has been developed.

The project, carried out under the scientific direction of the Istituto di Studi Liguri and the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, is aimed at the study of 250 archaeological sites located in the coastline facing the Calabria, Sicilia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Marche e Puglia regions. This area offers an homogeneous archaeological context, characterised by itineraries of both commercial and military traffic, which gave rise to trade and settlement phenomena. The research activity involves, for each site, field studies as well as filing and documentation. The project requires also the creation of a database, containing not only alphanumeric but also cartographic data and images. The filing is conformed to the rules established by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione.

The present database was established during the special photographic and documentation survey of the Pompei archaeological area. This survey, promoted and realized by the Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione, began in 1977 and until 1981 produced about 25,000 black and white photographs of paintings, floors and objects still in situ, and in the last years, about 4000 colour photographs. The database, initially devoted only to specialised users, contains the alphanumerical files relevant to this photographic survey, and is aimed in primis at the retrieval of images. In order to render the database accessible to a wider public, the programme needed an up-dating, which has been inserted in a more ambitious project, aimed at the creation of a CD-Rom containing the alphanumeric database and a good number of images.

The ARGOS (Archaelogical Greek On-line System) Project proposes to create the most comprehensive bibliography on ancient Mediterranean civilizations and their cultural heritage, through a computerized union catalogue of the archaeological Libraries of the Institutions, foreign and Greek, in Athens. Their joint holdings, amounting to over 500,000 volumes covering the full range of Hellenic studies of all periods, including language, literature and thought, archaeology and history of art, ancient, medieval and modern history, topography, ethnology and folklore, are the most important in this field and are of world interest. By so linking these Libraries, we will make Athens the capital of learning in Mediterranean studies, effectively a new Alexandria. In addition, bibliographic information on articles published in journals and collective works will supplement the database of books. Readers in each Library will have direct access to the entire database, using multilingual menus and a detailed subject thesaurus to learn of bibliography and to locate the Library in which it is held.

In archaeology, when data is gathered directly at the digging, we face a long series of steps that slow down and complicate this process. In general, they are inconveniences assumed by the archaeologist with no further ado; they are a drawback associated with or inherent in field work. But these circumstances may or may not be acceptable; they may or may not influence the quality of the interpretation, enable short term review or have unintentionally manipulated it by selecting what and how we document at the digging. When we work with serious time restrictions, with a limited budget and in poor conditions and at the same time want to get the best documentation to safeguard for the future and to be able to use during the development and study process, our attitude changes and we would wish to have an option that streamlines those vexatiously slow moments. That is when we ponder the options for automating as many processes as possible in the field. Since 1985, we have been working on a digging, the uniqueness of which makes us wish to document each step with total accuracy. The information arises, sometimes, after many square meters of opened surface. Therefore we cannot fail to document anything. Add to this the fact that che digging itself and the interpretation of the place gave rise to a flood of controversy. Therefore there exists a double need to document the site completely. The work involved in drawing the charts and profiles soon became vexatiously, slow. The very numerous elements of interest that we wanted and the succession of layers of information were a "bottleneck" where the economic budget vaporised. It was at the beginning of the work when we thought about "streamlining" through selective gathering of data. But we did not do so; we looked for alternatives, we tried them out and we substantially improved the performance. In the final analysis, we had only improved the results in the field. We still had two steps left in the laboratory and, at the end, we would have only one rigid and modifiable chart at a very high cost. We all know how economic fluctuations effect budgets for digging. We needed to reduce our drawing costs in the field as well as in the laboratory in order to be able to destine that time and money to other segments of the research. Since 1993, an interdisciplinary team has been working on the ARCHEOGRAF project. Right from the start we focused on obtaining a tool that would assist drawing for diggings and that would reduce cost and time within a framework of four basic requirements: 1) be as universal as possible, 2) be totally computerised, 3) be easy and accurate and 4) be accessible for archaeologists. Today this tool is a reality meeting all the requirements that we had set out and opening new expectations for more advanced versions.

This paper illustrates the importance of digital records for the conservation of historic buildings and sites. The various survey techniques appropriate for the production of graphic documentation are explained, with an outline of the advantages of processing within a CAD environment. It introduces the debate on the scope and level of recording, and identifies problems and opportunities requiring further research. Finally, the paper stresses the need for integrated project management, and the development of recording strategies in conjunction with all other professional bodies involved in the conservation process.

This research project on the graphic documentation used in restoration grew out of a collaboration between ICCROM and the ICR. Among the objectives of the group were the formation of a documentation technique and the development of a useful, light and user friendly information instrument for the registration of graphic and documentary data. The principle goal was to reach a situation in which the restorer/conservator or the draughtsman could record, in a definitive way and directly on site, all the data related to the mapping techniques, distinct for each category and class, which characterise the graphic documentation of a restoration operation, without having to give up their personal happiness. This should be accomplished without altering in a drastic way the intrinsic complexity of the software used, while avoiding any prior hyper-specialist technical preparation. It is on site that it is necessary, to maximise tbc enormous potential offered by data elaboration systems that can store and process such enormous amounts of data in a simple way. There are two major classes of problems to solve. On the one hand all the psychological barrieres created by the personal resistance of the technicians strongly, and sometimes emotionally, tied on their role as documenters armed with pencils and crayons. On the other hand all the problems of a technical nature that are linked to the digital acquisition of the graphic base, to the planning of the form of the documentation, to the standardization of the topology of the hatch patterns and the personalization of the accessory procedures to the CAD programme.

Studies in historic urban sites are very important for the defence and conservation of monuments and to preserve buildings. In this context particular consideration has to be used to layer-object, that is submerged structures and what is adjacent. With modern tools for photogrammetry bearing we can have numerical cartography with topological entities; it offers the means for structural and spatial study of objects. This can be drawn from their context and returned in 3D after some inspections. Useful elements can be added to numerical-cartographic maps by digital orthoimages resulting in mapping and storage operations. Our software inputs four files: - a tiff file storing the orthoimage - an ascii file with .par extension (the aim of this extension, like the following ones, is only indicative) containing rotoscalotraslation coefficients - an ascii file with .dtm extension containing che (x-y-z) coordinates of some generic points - an ascii file with .brk extension containing the (x-y-z) coordinates of some break-line points. Fundamental characteristic of this software is the possibility of recording orthoimages with no loss of geometrical information. The implemented functions include the possibility of displaying the orthoimage on PC screen, zoom in and zoom out, showing the geographic coordinates (East, North) in real time, creating more layouts for drawing, calculating distance between polygons, lines or points, calculating areas and perimeters, showing the altitude (approximation), displaying a DTM (digital terrain model). The interface is very friendly. Now our goal is rendering this prototype independent from its development environment.

Visual information is not only a source for multimedia applications. Every mapped but also represents a location in 3D space. So any bit-mapped visualisation of a surface also represents the 3D hull of an object. Therefore visual information is a source to rescore the shape of physical solids from their "envelopping" closed surfaces, and serves as the information needed to reconstruct buildings and their related artefacts. In respect of 3D surface measurement, a "virtual reality" is understood as a virtual solid in its original size to be measured and analysed. These measurable world object simulations represent the information of form to shape three-dimensional things. These are not brought to physical existence, but represent measurable solids to analyse statistically controlled properties with their related and following functions. From the photograph of a broken amphora the body is completed to calculate its weight and volume and even the fitting shape of the boat to transport a load. Of course the same model of extrapolation applied to buildings will not focus the statics of buildings but the environmental building physics and its following functions.

The large-scale recording and investigation of standing archaeological monuments by conventional methods presents considerable problems of labour and expense. Modern techniques provide cost-effective methods applied in Pompeii, using widely available technology in digital imaging, computer hardware and software. These approaches provide important benefits both for research and for conservation policies. They facilitate the analysis of the structural history of the buildings, which forms a crucial part of the research programme of the Anglo-American Pompeii Project. However their advantages for the speedy documentation of the current condition of extensive areas of standing monuments are of more general application.

The paper presents a new method in analysing archaeological data using computer programs-mainly AUTOCAD with AME. The method combines recording of archaeological field work (such as survey topographical maps, drawing plans and sections) - with analysing layers, strata and artifacts in 3-D view. It was also used in other projects in this region, mainly for studying large architectural elements. Our method provides a more accurate device, and opens new possibilities in examining current archaeological issues.

A discussion is made about the problem of the graphic registering of a large mural, symbol of the Mexican culture of the fifties. Vantages of digital information are well known. Nevertheless, digitization of a 3712 m2 mural in order to capture information of the state of the mural before and after restoration, and analyse damages applying image processing tools, oblige to a solution that takes into account the particularities of the problem. The solution must ensure high precision of the survey to be a tool for restorators and must control general snapshot conditions to obtain images with equal characteristic that will allow the repetition of the same algorithm for the "Computer Aided Restoration" step. How were selected pixel definition, image size, camera location, image acquisition and digitization systems, and enlightenment condition was controlled? These are the topics developed in the present work.

The computer system SEMPRE (Sistema Esperto Montedison per il Restauro) was carried out as a support for the conservation of cultural heritage metal and stone objects. By two basic functions it may give information about the techniques and the products to be employed and may retrieve related examples in reference archives. The user can represent and save his knowledge of the case within the system by these two functions.

By using a mathematical model it is possible to express a formal representation of any object: such a representation is expressed in numerical language and is not automatically influenced by the physical object under study; rather it expresses "knowledge and ideas" relative to the phenomenon that, by means of models, is "interpreted" in this way. In general a model is an object that is constructed artificially in order to simplify the observation of another object. The intention is not to modify the actual physical properties of the things, but rather to represent ideal objects so as to be able to analyse their ideal properties. This allows the collection of information concerning real objects. Our research intends to verify the possibility of the use of mathematical analysis conducted using the method of reconstruction of finished elements on models that are reproduced with increased accuracy; the objects of this modelling have been archaeological shipwrecks. We have attempted to reconstruct, by means of data elaboration systems, realistic models of real objects without relapsing into specific logistics of pure modelling and/or pure mathematical research. The procedures that we followed derived from precise projectual needs, from the particular technical solutions available notwithstanding the restrictions imposed by the usable resources. It is necessary to use these calculation methods since they allow us to describe correctly, three dimensionally, the elementary geometry of the object while respecting rigorously the presence of the real one in the same space. In this way the use of information techniques is not reduced to a mere touch of modernity on the traditional techniques but becomes a meaningful support to the design procedure. This presentation shows some concrete examples and some lines of research that are presently being followed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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".

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Two components of the cognitive revolution are here considered in relation to archaeology: first, reflexivity, or in French "la pensée réfléchie", interested in exploration of its own process; second, computer science, which provides a useful framework for the analysis and simulation of reasoning process in a cognitive perspective. The "logicist" approach of archaeological constructs developed in France and Switzerland over the past decade follows those two axes. The present paper exposes some of the lessons gained from that research programme. One of them bears on the contribution of formal methods (logicism included) to the process of archaeological knowledge. This progress cannot be denied, despite contrary views expressed by the more radical relativists; but it seems to depend more on the empirical value of historical constructs than on their formal concerns. Another observation relates to the diversity of consequents derived from the same premises in archaeological argument, clearly brought out by logicist schematizations. Interesting questions are raised on that basis, regarding the sources and consequences of the phenomenon: (a) practical questions, such as probable changes in the functions and forms of archaeological publications; (b) theoretical issues, related to the current debate on the position of the humanities "between" Science, Literature and Common sense.

This paper describes an approach to the study and understanding of social processes which has recently become prominent: systematic experimentation with "artificial societies" created on computers. The contribution that this new research tool can make to a "cognitive" archaeology, is considered. It is particularly asked how artificial societies techniques may be used to enhance our understanding of the role played by rationality and by collettive belief and misbelief systems, including religious belief systems, in the initial emergente of certain types of social complexity. Experimental work discussed aims to explore the relevant insights of Paul Mellars and of Roy Rappaport. One particular set of computer based experiments demonstrates how, in certain circumstances, social groups with some of the characteristics of "cults" may arise, with long term benefit to their individuals involved.

Formalisation of data, which is the base of encoding procedures, raises a number of problems which should not be solved, as it is usually done, through generic intuition. Starting from Gardin's discussion of the «compilations», as distinct from «explanations», and from Gordon Childe's late epistemological propositions, the formalisation is defined as the production of structures of symbols which perfectly match the archaeological evidente as the scholars sees it. This may be done by means of different types of language; using computers requires modelling techniques. They depend on our appreciation of the evidence itself, and semiotics helps us in distinguishing between material evidence and its symbolic meaning.

It is discussed if the technological evolution of computer science in the nineties has resolved the methodological problems of the Archaeology, known since the sixties. It is concluded that the two first levels of cognitive methodology (recording and structuring) are resolved but the third and last level (reconstitution) is always the subject of sophisticated but rare experience.