Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità

Overall and detailed surveys of individual architectures and topographical contexts are indispensable for the study and enhancement of archaeological sites. Such documentation is often absent for Italian sites, unlike the main EU countries that have for years launched digital survey projects of monuments and sites of interest, archaeological or otherwise: the purpose of the operation is analytical knowledge of the heritage for the purposes of protection and enhancement. Current survey technologies make three-dimensional models available that are useful for

- protection: surveys for restoration work; rescue in case of destruction (e.g. cultural heritage damaged by earthquakes);

- valorization and fruition: creation of products for communication.

- study: archaeological and architectural analysis for research, protection, and enhancement purposes.

The main objective of the project is the acquisition of scientifically relevant three-dimensional models with very high precision to be used for the archaeological analysis and reconstruction of individual monuments and the ancient landscapes they were composed of. This practice is intended to initiate a process of acquiring 3D graphic data - and their preservation within a Sapienza archive - useful both for the study of architecture and for the protection and enhancement of the national archaeological and historical-artistic heritage. Thanks to the technologies available today, the models acquired can be:

- exported in a CAD environment, to obtain 2D or 3D representations of the archaeological data.

- enriched by RGB point cloud data and simultaneous acquisition of photographic images, to obtain 3D colour models and orthophotos.

- used in BIM models to contain graphical information, metrics, and metadata.

It will be possible to operate on the main buildings and monumental complexes of the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum, Ancient Latium, Ostia, the architecture of the Hadrianic period and some buildings of Pompeii in addition to all the other sites of interest for the research of the Department of Antiquities. This is to generate and make available the three-dimensional surveys necessary for the elaboration of the overall and detailed documentation (3D models, plans, sections and elevations) indispensable for the archaeological analysis and reconstruction of ancient architecture. The large-scale use of laser scanner surveys will enable the various research groups using this instrumentation to achieve theoretical, methodological, and experimental results of excellence.