-
A RAG System for the Management Forensic and Archaeological Searches of Burial Grounds
Alastair Ruffell,
Sean McAllister
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
1-8
Received:
1 September 2014
Accepted:
17 September 2014
Published:
29 October 2014
Abstract: Burial grounds are commonly surveyed and searched by both police/humanitarian search teams and archaeologists. One aspect of an efficient search is to establish areas free of recent internments to allow the concentration of assets in suspect terrain. While 100% surety in locating remains can never be achieved, the deployment of a red, amber green (RAG) system for assessment has proven invaluable to our surveys. The RAG system is based on a desktop study (including burial ground records), visual inspection (mounding, collapses) and use of geophysics (in this case, ground penetrating radar or GPR) for a multi-proxy assessment that provides search authorities an assessment of the state of inhumations and a level of legal backup for decisions they make on excavation or not (‘exit strategy’). The system is flexible and will be built upon as research continues.
Abstract: Burial grounds are commonly surveyed and searched by both police/humanitarian search teams and archaeologists. One aspect of an efficient search is to establish areas free of recent internments to allow the concentration of assets in suspect terrain. While 100% surety in locating remains can never be achieved, the deployment of a red, amber green (...
Show More
-
Analysis and Characterization of Paleosoil: A Preliminary Study and Possible Applications in Forensic Archaeology
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
9-20
Received:
14 October 2014
Accepted:
30 October 2014
Published:
5 November 2014
Abstract: This paper presents the results of analysis conducted on soil samples collected on the Isola delle Statue in Porto Marghera (Venice, Italy). The analyses were aimed at the mineralogical – petrographic characterization and evaluation of the possible presence of layers of a paleo soil (Neolithic age). For the characterization of the sediments have been used different techniques of microscopy, including the plating of the finer fraction of the samples with liquid paraffin and glycole on slide. This partial-destructive technique has allowed us to detect the presence of pollen and biotic remains sometimes undetected in preparations in thin section of the same. The techniques of optical microscopy has been associated with analysis by XRD - Method of powder. The combined application of these techniques and analytical methods of optical and diffractometric has a permission to obtain satisfactory results in terms of archaeological characterization. Indeed, the presence of smectite detected by XRD - Method of powder, associated with the presence of detected biotic remains pollen and plant on sample plating, has a permission to highlight the presence of a layer of paleo soil. In this preliminary study, it is seen, therefore, that the method of plating on a glass slide and the study of smectite can be of great help in forensic archaeological investigation for the verification of compatibility and discrimination of traces of soil.
Abstract: This paper presents the results of analysis conducted on soil samples collected on the Isola delle Statue in Porto Marghera (Venice, Italy). The analyses were aimed at the mineralogical – petrographic characterization and evaluation of the possible presence of layers of a paleo soil (Neolithic age). For the characterization of the sediments have be...
Show More
-
Can Integrated Geophysical Investigations Solve an Archaeological Problem? The Case of the So-Called Domus septem Parthorum in Rome (Italy)
Pier Matteo Barone,
Giorgia Carlucci,
Francesco Smriglio,
Francesco Basile,
Giuseppe Della Monica
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
21-25
Received:
5 December 2014
Accepted:
6 December 2014
Published:
27 December 2014
Abstract: Integrated geophysical prospecting has produced remarkable results in the field of archaeology. In addition to the recognition of archaeological sites, the evolution of a site can be reconstructed. Therefore, the combination of more than one geophysical technique can aid in understanding the layout of a site and help to answer interpretative questions. In this paper, we illustrate the use of two geophysical prospecting methods – ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) – to interpret the archaeological site of the so-called Domus septem Parthorum in the center of Rome (Italy). The ability to investigate the subsurface at different horizontal and vertical resolutions demonstrates the advantage of using these two methods. The GPR provides high-resolution data on the upper remains in the shallow part of the soil, and the ERT detects deeper targets for a complete and exhaustive reconstruction of the buried anomalies. The results of this paper confirm the archaeological hypothesis that this so-called domus was repurposed as a house of worship during the Late Antiquity. In particular, the integrated geophysical acquisition supports the possible existence of a buried Paleochristian basilica.
Abstract: Integrated geophysical prospecting has produced remarkable results in the field of archaeology. In addition to the recognition of archaeological sites, the evolution of a site can be reconstructed. Therefore, the combination of more than one geophysical technique can aid in understanding the layout of a site and help to answer interpretative questi...
Show More
-
Geophysics Applied to Landscape Archaeology: Understanding Samnite and Roman Relationships in Molise (Italy) Using Geoarchaeological Research Methods
Pier Matteo Barone,
Carlotta Ferrara
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
26-36
Received:
10 December 2014
Accepted:
13 December 2014
Published:
27 December 2014
Abstract: The Italian region of Molise features clear evidence of the people who have conquered it, inhabited it, tilled it, abandoned it, and reoccupied it. This research, focusing on the coastal area of Molise, attempts to show that the Samnite to Roman transition was not as violent as reported by the historian Livy (e.g., the Samnitic wars). Instead, the transition progressed as a gradual social, political, and cultural evolution. The geoarchaeological analysis of several sample sites helps to demonstrate this hypothesis by emphasizing how the landscape of coastal Molise changed during this particular historical period (i.e., between the sixth and fourth centuries BC). The use of geophysical methods (using both ground penetrating radar (GPR) and gradiometer techniques) in several coastal sites (Guglionesi, San Giacomo degli Schiavoni and San Martino in Pensilis) reveals settlement similarities between Samnite and Roman sites from a strategic and economic point of view. Moreover, this integrated study reveals that the traditional antagonistic relationship between these two populations in this period did not preclude a sort of mutual respect, which allowed this Italic population to be incorporated and assimilated into the Roman world without being completely destroyed and lost.
Abstract: The Italian region of Molise features clear evidence of the people who have conquered it, inhabited it, tilled it, abandoned it, and reoccupied it. This research, focusing on the coastal area of Molise, attempts to show that the Samnite to Roman transition was not as violent as reported by the historian Livy (e.g., the Samnitic wars). Instead, the ...
Show More
-
A remote sensing approach to understanding the archaeological potential: the case study of some Roman evidence in Umbria (Italy)
Pier Matteo Barone,
Luca Desibio
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
37-44
Received:
21 November 2014
Accepted:
24 November 2014
Published:
31 December 2014
Abstract: In Umbria, the transformation from Roman pagan building to church seems to be frequent during the beginning of the Middle Age thanks to Longobards and Byzantines. The rural church of San Lorenzo in Nifili (close to Montecastrilli - TR) is a very good example of this. The aim of this work is to understand the evolution of the ancient landscape around this church, from Roman to modern period, using data coming from both the subsurface and the space, using the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) method and the satellite imageries, respectively. Particular data processing to define the evolution of this ancient landscape in southern Umbria is described in this paper. The results not only represent an effective and non-destructive methodology for discovering, recovering and understanding archaeological data, but also give the possibility to obtain archaeological potential values of different areas in order to better plan future researches in this area.
Abstract: In Umbria, the transformation from Roman pagan building to church seems to be frequent during the beginning of the Middle Age thanks to Longobards and Byzantines. The rural church of San Lorenzo in Nifili (close to Montecastrilli - TR) is a very good example of this. The aim of this work is to understand the evolution of the ancient landscape aroun...
Show More
-
Forensic Geo-Archaeology in Italy: Materials for a Standardisation
Pier Matteo Barone,
Rosa Maria Di Maggio,
Carlotta Ferrara
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
45-56
Received:
17 December 2014
Accepted:
18 December 2014
Published:
11 January 2015
Abstract: The so-called ‘CSI effect’ was recently observed in the Italian judicial system. The reason for the increase in instances of this effect is the lack of a standard geo-archaeological procedure in conducting a forensic investigation. To avoid the harmful consequences of this lack of standardisation, it is necessary to develop a robust geo-archaeological protocol for use during every crime scene investigation.
Abstract: The so-called ‘CSI effect’ was recently observed in the Italian judicial system. The reason for the increase in instances of this effect is the lack of a standard geo-archaeological procedure in conducting a forensic investigation. To avoid the harmful consequences of this lack of standardisation, it is necessary to develop a robust geo-archaeologi...
Show More
-
Detecting Moisture Damage in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage: a Brief Introduction
Carlotta Ferrara,
Pier Matteo Barone
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
57-61
Received:
31 December 2014
Accepted:
8 January 2015
Published:
14 January 2015
Abstract: Moisture damage is the most important issue in the preservation and integrity of cultural heritage. This paper discusses the ability of geophysical instruments to detect this problem. Non-destructive techniques (NDTs), such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), use electromagnetic (EM) impulses to investigate archaeological sites and building structures that are affected by moisture and can be used to locate and estimate the extent of damage and to develop restoration plans before permanent damage occurs. The main objective of this paper is to introduce the capacity of surface GPR to rapidly and non-invasively estimate physical soil properties, develop novel processing strategies and provide valuable information about the investigated material in archaeological and cultural heritage sites. This new approach analyzes the amplitude attributes of the GPR pulse obtained from conventional single-offset surface-coupled profiling. To achieve the objective of this study, the technique is examined in two different experimental test settings to show that GPR analyses clearly highlight dampness as ringing anomalies with a very low EM signal amplitudes that are caused by high attenuation, poor antenna coupling, and temporal stretching. These indicators are important for diagnosing cultural heritage sites by allowing for the correct and precise visualization of radargrams and time-slices of the moisture anomalies.
Abstract: Moisture damage is the most important issue in the preservation and integrity of cultural heritage. This paper discusses the ability of geophysical instruments to detect this problem. Non-destructive techniques (NDTs), such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), use electromagnetic (EM) impulses to investigate archaeological sites and building structur...
Show More
-
The Castrum Novum Project: History and Archaeology of a Roman Colony (Santa Marinella, Rome, Italy)
Luca Desibio,
Flavio Enei,
Sara Nardi Combescure,
Gregoire Poccardi,
Viviana Sia,
Maria Teresa Levanto,
Alessandra Squaglia
Issue:
Volume 3, Issue 1-1, January 2015
Pages:
62-75
Received:
19 December 2014
Accepted:
31 December 2014
Published:
22 January 2015
Abstract: The French-Italian archaeological project born in 2010 is detecting the ancient ruins of the roman colony of Castrum Novum. Since 2010, the archaeological research has concentrated on the remains of a balneum and the so-called “squared building”, probably two structures located in the extra-urban area. The archaeological reports about those areas have showed a long continuity of use until the 3rd century AD. During last year (2014) the archaeological campaign has involved also the hill where previous magnetometric survey revealed the traces of building and squared structures. It is probable that the ruins of the ancient city lie under the hill.
Abstract: The French-Italian archaeological project born in 2010 is detecting the ancient ruins of the roman colony of Castrum Novum. Since 2010, the archaeological research has concentrated on the remains of a balneum and the so-called “squared building”, probably two structures located in the extra-urban area. The archaeological reports about those areas h...
Show More
