Director: Cristiano Putzolu, PhD
Foundation: 2024
Staff: Cristiano Putzolu, Giuseppe Guarino, Francesca Barchiesi, Carlo Bicchierai, Amir Abd el Rahman, Jorge Calvelo Alvarez, Silvia Fiorini, Diego Machetti, Chiara Rabitti, Gloria Valbusa, Erik Zanotti.
Goals
The DArchLab is designed to provide students with a hands-on learning environment, while offering faculty a resource to enhance the digital aspects of their projects.
The shared space and technology naturally foster the exchange of research methodologies, promoting collaboration and the development of interdisciplinary teams.
Additionally, the lab's high-performance workstations, capable of handling complex computational tasks and large spatial datasets, support Master's, Postgraduate, and Doctoral students in pursuing innovative thesis projects.
Activities
With its strong emphasis on digital tools for collecting and managing archaeological data, the DArchLab serves as a hub for in-depth methodological exploration across various areas, all unified by their digital approach to documenting and analyzing the archaeological record.
The current research areas include:
- GIS. The use of Geographical Information Systems to manage data from individual archaeological sites to broader territorial landscapes is a well-established practice. These digital platforms are highly versatile, allowing researchers to analyze both spatial and attribute data, as well as generate new geographical datasets to address a wide range of research questions.
- Remote Sensing. Remote sensing refers to a collection of technologies used to gather, analyze, and interpret data from objects or phenomena above the Earth's surface (or just below it) without direct contact. This is achieved through sensors mounted on satellites or aircraft.
- 3D Survey. Digital surveying techniques now enable the capture of 3D artifacts, stratigraphic contexts, and sections of landscapes, allowing for their reconstruction in a digital environment. Depending on the type of object being surveyed, various methodologies are employed, each offering distinct analytical possibilities for the resulting products.
Ongoing research
3D stratigraphies
The DArchLab is currently engaged in the three-dimensional acquisition of stratigraphic data as part of several national research projects:
- Colombare di Negrar di Valpolicella, directed by Prof. Umberto Tecchiati - Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, Università Statale di Milano
- Muraiola di Povegliano, directed by Prof. Cristiano Nicosia - Department of Geosciences, Università di Padova
and international:
- PONEX - archaeological excavations at Pylos , directed by Dr. Sharon Stocker, University of Cincinnati.
The goal is to digitally reconstruct the studied contexts.
As part of this research, Chiara Rabitti, with Prof. Cristiano Nicosia from the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padua as co-mentor, is currently working on a master thesis focused on the methodologies for acquiring and managing topographical data from the Bronze Age site of Muraiola di Povegliano.
Spatial analysis in Upland areas
A second line of research focuses on the archaeology of upland landscapes, particularly the analysis of visibility and mobility within a GIS environment. As part of the broader Upland Archaeology project, which aims to reconstruct settlement patterns in the Apennines during the Bronze and Iron Ages, various spatial analyses are being conducted at multiple scales to test land occupation models, which can then be verified through field surveys and excavations.
Recent master theses have explored various Apennine regions, including:
- the province of Parma during the Bronze Age (Jorge Calvelo Alvarez),
- the province of Reggio Emilia during the Bronze Age (Silvia Fiorini),
- the province of Bologna during the Bronze Age (Erik Zanotti),
- the Marche region from the Roman period to the Late Middle Ages (Carlo Bicchierai).
Remote sensing
Workstations in the DArchLab are also being utilized by Giuseppe Guarino for the project Urbes Revelantur: New Remote and Proximal Sensing Investigations in the Abandoned City of Suasa, part of his doctoral thesis titled Methods and Techniques for Archaeology without Excavation: Case Studies and Applications.
Launched under the MOLAB 2023 call, the project is supported by the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS) and developed in collaboration with the CNR-ISPC in Potenza. This initiative focuses on the study and enhancement of the archaeological heritage of the Roman city of Suasa, located in Castelleone di Suasa (AN), through the use of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technology.
The surveys covered an area of 200 hectares and employed advanced technologies such as UAV LiDAR and drones equipped with multispectral (VIS + RGB) and thermal (IRT) sensors.
After post-processing, the data was integrated into QGIS to enhance the interpretation of the archaeological evidence. This was combined with geophysical survey results to gain deeper insights into the urban development of Suasa, identify new archaeological features, and update the site’s urban plan.
Digital twins creation
Another area of research focuses on the acquisition of small to medium-sized objects using techniques like SfM photogrammetry and Structured Light Scanning.
The goal is to explore innovative methods for documenting and presenting archaeological finds.
In this line of research, Francesca Barchiesi is focused on the acquisition of materials related to Bronze Age metallurgical production as part of the CAST - Copper Accumulation, Supply, and Technology project, directed by Prof. Maurizio Cattani.
Additionally, within the field of Bronze Age metallurgy, Amir Abd el Rahman's master thesis, bridging SfM photogrammetry and Structured Light Scanning, has already been completed, while Gloria Valbusa is currently working on her. Diego Machetti, on the other hand, is concentrating on the study of statuary portraits from the Classical period.