Giuseppe Scardozzi

Visualizing the invisible: Digital restitution from an integrated archaeological, remote sensing, and geophysical research of a late Roman villa in Durres (Albania)

Paper focused on the first results of a joint geo-archaeological research project of urban archeology in the ancient Roman city of Durres. Starting from the reading of the historical evidence and interpretation of archival records (i.e. aerial photos related to the twenties, thirties and forties years of last century, before the urban transformations between the two World Wars and later, and satellite images of the sixties and recent years) the research proposes to develop targeted investigations with the integrated use of Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) method and image processing techniques of contemporary photographs in order to locate a late Roman villa. All the information provided by aerial and GPR analysis as well as literature references constituted the basis for attempting a virtual reconstruction of the lost Romans villa in order to give the visual idea of how it probably was. Accordingly to London and Seville Charter principles, different levels of reliability in data interpretation have been identified and characterized aiming at making transparent the methodological choices and the accuracy of reconstruction undertaken.

The research on the buried public monumental complexes of Lupiae (Lecce) by geophysical prospecting

Ongoing and extensive urbanisation may threaten important archaeological structures that are still buried in urban areas. The ground penetrating radar (GPR) method is the most promising alternative for resolving buried archaeological structures in urban territories. This paper presents a case study that involves a geophysical survey employing the surface three-dimensional (3D) GPR techniques, in order to archaeologically characterise the investigated areas. The site is located in the south-western sector of the historical centre of Lecce (Apulia, Italy), where the modern city overlaps the main public monuments of the Roman municipium of Lupiae, only partially preserved or excavated: the amphitheatre, the theatre, the baths and maybe also the Forum. GPR measurements, integrated with the results of archaeological excavations and the topographical surveys of the preserved remains, were carried out in several areas regarding sectors of the ancient roman city. The GPR data were collected along a dense network of parallel profiles. The GPR sections were processed applying specific filters to the data in order to enhance their information content. The GPR images significantly contributed in reconstructing the complex subsurface properties in these modern urban areas. Strong GPR reflections features were correlated with possible ancient structures and they were integrated in the digital archaeological map of the city. This paper presents a case study that involves a geophysical survey employing the surface 3D ground penetrating radar (GPR) techniques, in order to archaeologically characterise the areas located in the south-western sector of the historical centre of Lecce (Italy). GPR measurements significantly contributed to reconstruction of the complex subsurface properties in these modern urban areas.