ABSTRACT
The construction history of a site is partially preserved underground and can be revealed through archaeological investigations, including excavations, integrated with earth observation (EO) methods and technologies that make it possible to overcome some operational limits regarding the areal dimensions and the investigation depths along with the invasiveness of the excavations themselves. An integrated approach based on EO and archaeological records has been applied to improve the knowledge of Machu Picchu. The attention has been focused on the first construction phase of Machu Picchu, and for this reason the investigations were directed to the imaging and characterization of the subsoil of the Plaza principal, considered the core of the whole archaeological area. Archaeological records and multiscale remote sensing (including satellite, UAS, and geophysical surveys) enabled the identification and characterization of the first construction phase of the site, including the preparation phases before building Machu Picchu. The interpretative hypothesis on the constructive history of Machu Picchu started from the identification and use of the quarry, followed by the planification and set of the drainage systems and by the next steps based on diverse reshaping phases of what would be the central plaza.
ABSTRACT
By analysing the technical advantages and characteristics of imaging radar in cultural heritage, we provide new insights for the future development of cutting-edge Digital Heritage approaches through technical integration and interdisciplinary synergy.
ABSTRACT
In recent years, the impact of Climate change, anthropogenic and natural hazards (such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, tsunamis, fires) has dramatically increased and adversely affected modern and past human buildings including outstanding cultural properties and UNESCO heritage sites. Research about protection/monitoring of cultural heritage is crucial to preserve our cultural properties and (with them also) our history and identity. This paper is focused on the use of the open-source Google Earth Engine tool herein used to analyze flood and fire events which affected the area of Metaponto (southern Italy), near the homonymous Greek-Roman archaeological site. The use of the Google Earth Engine has allowed the supervised and unsupervised classification of areas affected by flooding (2013-2020) and fire (2017) in the past years, obtaining remarkable results and useful information for setting up strategies to mitigate damage and support the preservation of areas and landscape rich in cultural and natural heritage.
ABSTRACT
One of the most complex challenges of heritage sciences is the identification and protection of buried archaeological heritage in urban areas and the need to manage, maintain and inspect underground services. Archaeology and geophysics, used in an integrated way, provide an important contribution to open new perspectives in understanding both the history of cities and in helping the decision makers in planning and governing the urban development and management. The problems of identification and interpretation of geophysical features in urban subsoil make it necessary to develop ad hoc procedures to be implemented and validated in significant case studies. This paper deals with the results of an interdisciplinary project in Cusco (Peru), the capital of Inca Empire, where the georadar method was applied for the first time in the main square. The georadar method was successfully employed based on knowledge of the historical evolution of Cusco and the availability of archaeological records provided by some excavations nearby the study area. Starting from a model for the electromagnetic wave reflection from archaeological structures and pipes, georadar results were interpreted by means of comparative morphological analysis of high amplitude values observed from time slices with reflectors visualized in the radargrams.
