With the dual purpose of extending knowledge about the archaeological site of San Rossore and of assisting archaeologists in the recovery process of the ships, geophysical surveys integrated with remote sensing analyses were performed. The surveys were conducted at selected locations, placed on the plan of excavation (approximately 5 m above the ancient surface) and near the archaeological excavation area. Passive (Self Potentials) and active (Induced Polarization) electrical methods were used. The choice of geophysical methods was due to the peculiarity of the geological characteristics of the site. In fact, the sediments embodying the archaeological remains are mainly silts and silty sands, which are moderately conductive. Furthermore, a shallow groundwater hosted in the alluvial deposits (at approximately 2 m below the surface plane) is present in the site.Induced Polarization results inside the excavation area allowed identifying some anomalies related to the ship boundaries, as well as other anomalies probably attributable to archaeological features. Additionally, the Self Potentials measurements carried out in the area near the archaeological excavation evidenced the presence of other archaeological features such as two ships, a pier and other structures. Furthermore, the multitemporal remote sensing data allow the identification of many traces related to filling of channels and ditches. Finally, the integration of the data contributed to a better interpretation of the archaeological site.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows in Copertino was built in 1088 by the will of the Norman Count Goffredo of Conversano and was originally entitled to the Virgin. In 1255 Manfredi, Prince of Taranto and Count of Copertino elevated it to basilica entitling it to the Virgin of the Snows. It is the mother church of Copertino, already directed basilica and in 2011 elevated to the rank of minor basilica. GPR survey was undertaken inside the churches at Copertino village, located a few kilometres southwest of Lecce (Italy). The purpose of the survey was to obtain information about the existence of ancient structures beneath the churches. No document or writing exists to confirm the presence of structures under the church. However, there are several oral testimonies handed down over the centuries that suggest the presence of these ancient structures.Survey was carried out using a IDS Hi Mod georadar system, incorporating the dual band 200-600 MHz centre frequency antennae. The GPR time slices were constructed from closely spaced parallel profiles. The time slices, computed from averaging radar reflections over vertical time windows several nanoseconds thick, are used to map subsoil features associated with the structures, probably of anthropogenic origin. To facilitate the interpretation of the results, a three-dimensional image was constructed using closely spaced parallel profiles, which are linearly interpolated.

Paper focused on the first results of a joint geo-archaeological research project of urban archeology in the ancient Roman city of Durrës. 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 Roman's 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.

Hierapolis of Phrygia (Turkey) was one of the most important Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine city in Asia Minor. The Italian Archaeological Mission in more than 50 years of activity has brought to light and restored many monuments of the ancient city, helping to understand the urban layout in the various periods of its history. In 2011 ground-penetrating radar (GPR) prospection, with the aim of supporting the archaeological excavations and surveys, was performed in some important sample areas by a team of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the National Research Council of Italy. The analysis of the GPR measurements revealed many anomalies that could be ascribed to archaeological structures, as well as other anomalies of presumable natural origin. The data collected were georeferenced in the digital archaeological map of Hierapolis using a RTK-GPS system. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Ongoing and extensive urbanization may threaten important archaeological structures that are still buried in the urban areas. Ground Penetrating Radar method is the most promising alternative for resolving buried archaeological structures in urban territories. In this paper a case study that involves a geophysical survey employing the surface three-dimensional (3D) GPR techniques, in order to archaeologically characterize the investigated areas. The last ones are located in the south-western sector of the historical center 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 anomalies were correlated with possible ancient structures and they were integrated in the digital archaeological map of the city.

The paper concerns the reconstruction of the organization of the ancient settlement of Oria (Apulia Region, Brindisi Province) between Bronze age and Late Antiquity according to archaeological documentation collected in particular in the last fifty years thanks to small-scale excavations. At this regard, also old cartographies and aerial photos are very important.The ancient settlement is quite completely covered by the modern city, with a continuity of life of more than 3,000 years. The paper discusses about the structure of the settlement, in particular the location of inhabited areas, necropolises, worship sites, and about the characteristics and routes of fortifications according to a diachronic perspective. Between Late Bronze age and Iron age, the structure of a large village with separated groups of huts is clearly identifiable; it corresponds to an organization of the settlement in groups of families. During the Archaic period, from the half of the 6th century BC, the village was progressively transformed in an urban settlement, with houses in masonry and an articulated road network; around the inhabited area, there are large necropolises, articulated along the main routes that leaved the settlement. The period of main growth of Oria corresponds to the first century of the Hellenistic age, when in the fortified acropolis there were monumental buildings and the inhabited area and mostly of the necropolises were included inside city walls built of large blocks and about 3,900 m long, which surrounded a surface of about 110 hectares. During this period, Oria was one of the main settlements in the central-northern Messapia, along the ancient road between Taranto and Brindisi, which will be retraced by via Appia, arranged in the last decades of the 3rd century BC. After the Roman conquest, in the second quarter of the 3rd century BC, and in particular starting from the end of the Hannibalic War, during the late Republican age and the Imperial period, the importance of the settlement of Oria progressively decreased to the status of rural village and the inhabited area was reduced; moreover, it is not sure that it was a municipium.

The paper is concerned with the contribution that a rich documentation of multitemporal optical satellite images with high resolutionprovides for the knowledge of the five great Assyrian capital cities (Ashur, Kar-Tukulti-Ninurta, Kalhu, Dur-Sharrukin,and Nineveh, in northern Iraq). These images also allow monitoring changes of landscape in the higher course of the Tigris duringthe last half century and document damages in archaeological sites during the two Gulf Wars. The data set, available for eachcity, consists of panchromatic and multispectral images taken between 2001 and 2007 by modern commercial satellites (Ikonos-2,QuickBird-2, andWorldView-1) and of panchromatic photographs of U.S. spy satellites operating between 1965 and 1969 (CoronaKH-4B and Gambit KH-7). These photos were taken before diffusion of mechanized agriculture and the expansion of urban areas,so they are very useful to document many archaeological features and the landscape that has been modified in the last decades, asshown by recent satellite images.

Il lavoro è incentrato sul contributo apportato negli ultimi anni dalle ricerche di topografia antica alla ricostruzione dello sviluppo storico di Hierapolis di Frigia, tra l'età ellenistica e l'epoca medio-bizantina e selgiuchide. La città sorge su un terrazzo di travertino proteso sulla valle del fiume Çürüksu, (l'antico Lykos, affluente del Meandro), situato sul versante settentrionale del cd. bacino di Denizli e attraversato longitudinalmente da una faglia attiva; questa ha causato i numerosi terremoti che hanno colpito Hierapolis, scandendone le principali fasi dello sviluppo urbano, ed è all'origine delle peculiari manifestazioni geo-termali del sito, costituite da ampie fessurazioni del terreno da cui risale acqua calda fortemente calcarea e si sprigionano emanazioni gassose con elevatissime concentrazioni di anidride carbonica. Lo studio sistematico delle manifestazioni superficiali della faglia (fessurazioni, sorgenti, sinkholes), in rapporto alle strutture antiche, ha permesso di distinguere quelle precedenti la fondazione della città da quelle verificatesi nel corso della sua storia; sono state così chiarite alcune irregolarità nel tessuto urbano in rapporto alle caratteristiche del sottosuolo ed è stata evidenziata l'importanza di tali manifestazioni in rapporto alla localizzazione delle principali aree sacre di epoca ellenistica e romano-imperiale (Santuari di Apollo e di Ade-Plutone) e ai peculiari rituali religiosi che vi si svolgevano, sia cleromantici che sacrificali.Come ulteriori risultati delle ricerche, che sono state integrate anche da prospezioni geofisiche, si possono inoltre ricordare la definizione planimetrica e cronologica dell'impianto urbano e, nello specifico, di alcuni monumenti, come il Teatro Nord e il Ponte Sud, entrambi di età imperiale, e la cinta muraria proto-bizantina, realizzata con materiali di reimpiego da edifici più antichi parzialmente o completamente demoliti, oppure l'identificazione di nuovi monumenti della città imperiale, come la cd. Stoà delle Sorgenti presso il Plutonio e il Macellum, e della basilica paleocristiana che inglobò la tomba di S. Filippo; è stata inoltre rilevata la fitta rete dei "canali in calcare", realizzati con spallette in muratura e accresciutisi grazie al carbonato di calcio depositato dalle acque, sia quelli che in epoca ellenistica e imperiale scendevano dal terrazzo di Hierapolis ella valle del Lykos, sia quelli che in epoca medio-bizantina proliferarono all'interno dell'area urbana, tra i ruderi degli edifici più antichi, raggiungendo le aree della città ancora abitate dopo il devastante terremoto della metà del VII sec. d.C. Per quanto riguarda inoltre le fasi più tarde di Hierapolis, tra XI e XIV sec., si ricordano in particolare l'identificazione di numerosi impianti per la produzione di vino e soprattutto di olio realizzati in vari settori della città, ormai in parte soggetta a ruralizzazione, e la definizione planimetrica della cd. Fortezza Selgiuchide.

The paper concerns the results of research activities, still in progress, of the ItalianArchaeological Expedition at Hierapolis in Phrygia (Director Prof. FrancescoD'Andria), that during last years (2004-2008) have allowed the discovery of numerousarchaeological remains referable to facilities for olive oil and wine production,dating to Imperial Roman and Byzantine periods. The archaeological evidencewas discovered both during excavations in the urban area, and most of all duringarchaeological surveys carried out inside the city and in its territory, in theeastern part of the Çürüksu (ancient Lykos) river valley and in the plateau northof Hierapolis. Installations for olive oil (and perhaps also wine) production wereexcavated in the northern part of the ancient city, between the Frontinus Gate andthe Tomb of Flavius Zeuxis, and in the area of the so-called "Great Edifice", respectivelydating to Imperial and Middle Byzantine periods; remains of the same type ofinstallations (and of the same periods) were also found during intra-site survey inthe central and eastern areas of the city.During archaeological research in the territory that was under the authority ofHierapolis, a rich documentation referable to installations for wine and most ofall for olive oil productions (the last one particularly in the territory immediatelysurrounding the city) was also discovered, always connected to farms or small ruralvillages of Roman and Byzantine periods: particularly, were found monolithiccrushing basins for olives and convex mill stones, and stone parts of presses, suchas slotted piers (arbores), press beds (arae), large upright stones with a niche for anchoringthe fixed end of the press beam (prelum) and many weight-stones.The remains of presses found during research at Hierapolis and its territory for themost part were connected to lever and screw presses, described by both Pliny theElder and Hero of Alexandria. This type of press was used in the Mediterraneanbasin during Roman period, but the vast majority of screw presses found in theOrient, however, are from the Late Roman and the Byzantine periods and later.In the territory of Hierapolis, the archaeological evidence for this type of press consists of a lot of cylindrical and rectangular screw weights, respectively of theso-called "Samaria" and "Arginunta" types; these types are also widespread in theMediterranean basin during Roman Imperial period, but in the Near East they aremostly found in later contexts, beginning from Late Roman times. Regarding theolive crushers found in Hierapolis, these are essentially of two types with monolithicround crushing basins and revolving mill stones: one has a concave crushing surfacewith a central protrusion with a small socket or without socket, while the other,less common, shows concave crushing surface with a central sunken socket. Themill stones can be cylindrical or, more frequently, convex

The paper evidences the importance of old aerial and satellite photos of ancient topography studies, with examples concerning archaeological and geo-archaeological research conducted in Italy and Turkey, during a cooperation between the Ancient Topography, Archaeology and Remote Sensing Laboratory (AnTAReS Lab) of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the Italian National Research Council (IBAM-CNR) and the Ancient Topography and Photogrammetry Laboratory (LabTAF) of Salento University. The historical aerial photos, i.e. those before the big transformationsof the 1950's and 1960's, and the space photostaken in the 1960's and 1970's, particularly useful for theNear East, represent a fundamental tool for the study of theterritory. In many cases, in fact, they document landscapesthat have been modified by urbanization, building of largeinfrastructures, transformations in the land use and diffusionof mechanized agricultural methods. Only through the detailedanalysis of these aerial and space photos it is possibleto recover a fundamental documentation concerning the existence,the location and the layout of archaeological evidenceand paleo-environmental elements otherwise lost; so, theiruse during research is very important for the reconstructionof the ancient topography of urban and territorial contexts.

Extensive urbanization cover important archaeological structures that are still buried in the urban areas. Ground Penetrating Radar method is the most promising alternative for resolving buried archaeological structures in urban territories. In this paper a case study that involves a geophysical survey employing the surface three-dimensional (3D) GPR techniques, in order to archaeologically characterize the investigated areas. GPR measurements, integrated with archaeological and topographical research aimed at the production of a digital archaeological map integrated in a webGIS platform, were carried out in some areas in the historical centre of Lecce (Apulia, Italy). The investigate areas are related to some sectors of the Messapian necropolises (dated mainly in 4th-3rd century BC), characterized by different types of graves (pits dug in the bedrock or built with slabs, sarcophagi and hypogea) that lied also inside the settlement surrounded by city walls. Geophysical survey was carried out using the IDS Hi Mod georadar system, incorporating the dual band 200-600 MHz centre frequency antennae. The GPR time slices were constructed from closely spaced parallel profiles. The time slices, computed from averaging radar reflections over vertical time windows several nanoseconds thick, are used to map subsoil features associated with the structures, probably of anthropogenic origin. The time slices were georeferenced in the archaeological map of Lecce in order to acquire new data on the distribution and the ancient topography of the funerary areas inside the settlements. Moreover, to facilitate the interpretation of the results, a three-dimensional image was constructed using closely spaced parallel profiles, which are interpolated.

This paper is focused on the presentation and discussion of an object oriented approach, applied to the Hierapolis (Turkey) site, to automatically detect the subtle features linked to buried archaeological remains. The data processing is applied twice: (i) first, globally at the whole image and, (ii) second, at the significant subsets identified by global analysis, in order to refine the previously obtained categorization. Object oriented approaches are usually based on two main steps: i) first the segmentation, ii) then the classification. Herein, we first performed the unsupervised classification step and, then, the segmentation. This choice is given by the specificity of archaeological issue, in particular: (i) the subtle features/targets to be identified are partially or totally unknown and characterized by a very small spectral separability from the background, and therefore (ii) the discrimination between archaeological class and substrates likely suffers significant confusion. To cope with these issues, the first step is based on an unsupervised classification, which provides a first 'rough' categorization of pixels; the second step, based on the segmentation, enables us to extract the geometric shape, and, in turn, to only categorize as archaeological class those pixels belonging to geometrically (rectangular and linear) shaped clusters. Outputs from this classification identify rectangular and linear features of archaeological interest whose size suggested that they may be a farm and some sectors of an aqueduct, respectively. Results from satellite based analysis were successfully evaluated by georadar and geomagnetic prospection along with field survey. From georadar and geomagnetic prospection we were able i) to confirm the presence of buried remains and ii) to detail and characterize these archaeological features at the subsoil level as well as to define the local stratigraphy. From field survey we dated the detected buried remains to a period spanning from Imperial Roman to early Byzantine historical times.

In the years 2005-2009, The Institute for Archaeological Monuments and Sites (CNR-IBAM) participated with "The Virtual Museum ofIraq," sponsored by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and developed with the scientific coordination of the National Council of Research.This paper describes in detail the peculiarities of the webGIS implemented for the submission of certain centers of ancient Mesopotamia.From image processing to extract the satellite map data for documentary base, until the creation of the structure and web interface: anexperiment in communication history and archeology that extends the classical concept of "museum", extending also to contexts ofdiscovery and the link between the historic landscape and man.