Books by Giorgio Franco Pocobelli
Atlante Tematico di Topografia Antica - Supplemento XXIV, 2024
Vulci, located on the border between Lazio and Tuscany, is one of the most important cities of th... more Vulci, located on the border between Lazio and Tuscany, is one of the most important cities of the Etruscan dodecapolis. Situated on a plateau along the Fiora River, about 11 kilometres from the coast, its name is associated with the famous paintings of the François Tomb and the rich necropolises, excavated since the 19th century, which still attract the attention of researchers.
This volume reconstructs the settlement evolution and the town-planning development of the city and the suburban area, from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, by means of the diachronic analysis of published data and of discoveries made in surveys, and also of the study of historical aerial photographs. For the purpose of the research the author elaborated a detailed cartography with very narrow contour lines (isohypses) to highlight the micro-relief, a georeferenced basis for GIS data management.
In addition to the new cartography and the discovery of previously unknown settlement areas, the most significant results include, among others, in the urban area the evidence of a theatre, a temple in opus quadratum with an adjacent public area, and the urban street plan; in the suburbs, a new sanctuary, the articulated road network and the details of numerous tombs accurately recorded on the map.
Tesi del Dottorato di Ricerca (Ph.D.) in Topografia Antica
Papers by Giorgio Franco Pocobelli
Archeologia Aerea XVII/23, 2024
The article presents the results of research on the city of Vulci, carried out through the study ... more The article presents the results of research on the city of Vulci, carried out through the study of aerial photographs and geophysical surveys.
D-Site. Drones - Systems of Information on Cultural Heritage for a spatial and social investigation, 2022
This paper aims to evaluate the performance, in terms o accuracy and speed, of various commercial... more This paper aims to evaluate the performance, in terms o accuracy and speed, of various commercial software (Reality Capture, Agisoft Metashape and 3DF Zephyr) for the integration among image and range -based survey data. Datasets were collected in the Nuragic complex called "la Prisgiona" (Arzachena, SS, Italy), during a collaborative research project between CNR-ISPC and the Municipality of Arzachena, using aerial photogrammetry, topographic and TLS survey.
Nisio S. (Eds), Giornate di Geologia & Storia. Memorie Descrittive della Carta Geologica d’Italia, Dipartimento per il Servizio Geologico d’Italia, ISPRA, 110, 2023
One of the largest and most prosperous Etruscan city-states was Vulci, located on the Fiora River... more One of the largest and most prosperous Etruscan city-states was Vulci, located on the Fiora River a few kilometers from the sea, which controlled a central and crucial sector of the Etruscan Maremma, today straddling Grossetano and Viterbese. Like other Etruscan city-states, Vulci originated due to a true geopolitical revolution, which in the course of the 10th century BC led to the abandonment of numerous flourishing villages of the Bronze Age and to the consequent formation of a single large residential area, whose first phases of life are dated from the end of the Bronze Age to the beginning of the Iron Age (late X, IX and VIII centuries BC). The site where the city was founded appears to result from a strategic choice similar to that found in other Etruscan metropolises such as Cerveteri and Tarquinia. Vulci occupied a very extensive plateau (about 100 hectares) well delimited by steep slopes on most of the perimeter, located on a crucial river course, the Fiora River, and not far from the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is currently about 11 km away. In the surroundings of the city, there are vast stretches of land potentially suitable for agriculture and breeding. His position on the Fiora River could allow an easy transit of goods from the hinterland, where there were, in addition to significant agrarian and silvopastoral resources, also some mining deposits, such as those of the Monti di Castro.
Archeologia Picena - Atti del convegno internazionale di studi (Ancona 2019), 2022
In questa sede si presentano i dati preliminari relativi agli scavi realizzati tra il 2011 ed il ... more In questa sede si presentano i dati preliminari relativi agli scavi realizzati tra il 2011 ed il 2013 presso Colfiorito di Foligno, in occasione dei lavori per la costruzione della nuova SS 77 “Val di Chienti”. Tra i vari rinvenimenti effettuati nel tratto umbro del tracciato stradale, le indagini archeologiche hanno permesso di riportare alla luce 75 tombe a fosse, alcune delle quali “monumentalizzate” con circoli di pietra.
3° Convegno Internazionale di Archeologia Aerea - Invisible cities: remote and proximal sensing in archaeology. Non invasive methods for the study of ancient cities (Lecce 2022) (in press), 2022
The ancient city of Vulci, one of the Dodecapolis (‘Twelve Cities’) in Etruria, has over the last... more The ancient city of Vulci, one of the Dodecapolis (‘Twelve Cities’) in Etruria, has over the last twenty years been the subject of the creation of an archaeological map, produced following the traditions of Ancient Topography. This has led to a detailed plan of the urban area through a study of the historical aerial photographs. The research has reconstructed the urban plan which was organised in regular areas, although not orthogonal, with an orientation that adapted to the morphology of the plateau. Drawing upon this new cartography, an excavation was conducted which led to the discovery of a temple to the east of the acropolis and the so-called Foro Orientale, confirming the aerial photo interpretation.
There has also been an accompanying growth in geophysical prospection at the site, which given its accessibility and support from the local authorities, has led to trials of different techniques. Since 2019 the British School at Rome, as part of the Understanding Urban Identities project led by the University of Gothenburg, has undertaken several surveys at Vulci, concentrating on the eastern area of the plateau and outside the West Gate. The results derived from a Ground-Penetrating Radar survey provide a detailed plan of the urban area to the north of the Decumanus maximus, indicating an area of dense urban settlement. This paper draws together the results from the aerial photography study and the geophysical prospection, assessing areas of agreement and discrepancy between the datasets.
GEOmedia 6, 2020
How do archaeologists use aerial photographs? How can I identify the marks of buried ancient stru... more How do archaeologists use aerial photographs? How can I identify the marks of buried ancient structures? Are all the marks in the aerial photographs referring to archaeological structures? Where can I find the aerial photographs taken by the RAF during the Second World War?
The answers are in the present article, written by an archaeologist specialised in aerial photo interpretation and professor at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici of the University of Florence.
IOP conference series, Jun 1, 2018
The most time-honoured tool for understanding the processes of the human past is represented by a... more The most time-honoured tool for understanding the processes of the human past is represented by archaeological excavation. By examining an area at discrete temporal periods, archaeologists are literally able to look backwards in time: they can analyse incomplete material records in order to understand and reconstruct the cultural history of an area at particular moments in time. Since the digging process destroys the site forever, great care must be paid during both the excavation and the documentation. In general, after a stratum has been completely excavated, both the floors and walls are cleaned and made ready for documentation. Photos of both the sides and bedrock of a given excavation are collected, and several sketches of what the archaeologists have seen in the trenches are made. In these drawings are delineated the features and shapes of artefacts on the horizontal plane. In addition, depending on the colours and similarities of the textures, drawing are also made of the archaeological layers. This approach is time-consuming, is affected by human ability, and does not make possible a prompt digitization of the results. Within this context, the automatized identification of archaeological stratigraphy during excavation work is welcomed by archaeologists. Here, a k-means unsupervised machine learning algorithm has been used for colour clustering digital images of excavation sites. The algorithm that we have developed attempts to enhance the colour similarity while keeping the colours separate one from another as much as possible. The main idea is that pixels belonging to the same colour cluster are a part of the same layer. Once the layer has been identified, a statistical approach based on Haralick features is used to characterize each strata in terms of texture. Unsupervised machine learning combined with texture analysis could become a good practice in speeding up the documentation work of archaeologists and paving the way towards the creation of an "automated archaeologist".
Handbook of Cultural Heritage Analysis, 2022
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this p... more The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering, 2018
2018 Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (MetroArchaeo), 2018
An acoustic device was custom-designed and implemented to characterize the acoustic properties of... more An acoustic device was custom-designed and implemented to characterize the acoustic properties of several types of soil with good spatial resolution. The aim was to enhance the differences in soil’ s physical properties, such as compactness, porosity, density, etc.. The device consisted of a highly directional loudspeaker for generating the acoustic excitation, and a microphone for detecting the signal backreflected by the surface under test. The device is PC controlled and dedicated software was also developed for managing the acoustic generation and detection, to collect and display the data and calibrate the system. The device has been used to characterize different stratigraphic units in an archaeological excavation site in the center of Florence.
How do archaeologists use aerial photographs? How can the marks of buried ancient structures be i... more How do archaeologists use aerial photographs? How can the marks of buried ancient structures be identified? Do all the marks in aerial photographs refer to archaeological structures? Where are WWII RAF aerials to be found in Italy? Answers to these questions are given by an archaeologist specialised in aerial photo interpretation, teacher at the University of Florence Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici.
Lecture notes in mechanical engineering, Oct 12, 2022
Painted between 1557 and 1566 by Giorgio Vasari and Giovanni Stradano, the polychrome wooden ceil... more Painted between 1557 and 1566 by Giorgio Vasari and Giovanni Stradano, the polychrome wooden ceiling of the Terrace of Saturn at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence (Italy) is one of the case studies of the Smart4CH2 project. During the diagnostic campaign, data from scientific analysis and monitoring of environmental conditions were collected to identify the materials and techniques used and to assess the state of conservation of the ceiling. A multi- analytical characterisation, both in situ and in the laboratory, was performed on the Terrace ceiling. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) was adopted as a preliminary on-site investigation, while on the samples collected, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Raman Spectroscopy and Optical Microscopy (OM) were employed. Pigments, binders, painting techniques and restorations were identified. Materials under characterisation have revealed that their majority were applied during previous restoration works and they are affected by several decay processes. Results were combined with data collected by thermo-hygrometric data loggers located close to the ceiling and in the attic too. The analysis of the correlation between diagnostic results and environmental conditions will point out whether the decay processes are still ongoing.
the nonexclusive right to publish the Work electronically and in a non-commercial purpose make it... more the nonexclusive right to publish the Work electronically and in a non-commercial purpose make it accessible on the Internet. The Author warrants that he/she is the author to the Work, and warrants that the Work does not contain text, pictures or other material that violates copyright law. ! The Author shall, when transferring the rights of the Work to a third party (for example a publisher or a company), acknowledge the third party about this agreement. If the Author has signed a copyright agreement with a third party regarding the Work, the Author warrants hereby that he/she has obtained any necessary permission from this third party to let Chalmers University of Technology and University of Gothenburg store the Work electronically and make it accessible on the Internet.
… Aerea. Studi di Aerotopografia Archeologica', Istituto …, 2004
The poster presents the results based on the study of aerial photographs of Pisa and the surround... more The poster presents the results based on the study of aerial photographs of Pisa and the surrounding area, which also includes part of the neighboring municipal districts of San Giuliano Terme and Cascina. The research was conducted as part of the "MAPPA Project" (Methodologies Applied to Archaeological Potential Predictability) directed by M.L. Gualandi Pisa’s University. The study was developed with the objective of analyzing aerial images integrating traditional archaeological methods of photo-interpretation with GIS technologies, to manage in the project’s geodatabase an informational level with the anomalies identified and mapped. The 14 flights analized, dated from 1943 to 2010, made it possible to identify with certainty numerous traces attributable mainly to the agrarian division of the Roman period. There are, however, archaeological evidence within the urban area - like the traces of visible structures in Piazza del Duomo - or related to the successive phases of urban development of Pisa as the traces of the defensive bastions of the XVII century. Very interesting the testimony provided by RAF flights on the bombing of the city during the second world war.
in S. D'Amico, V. Venuti (eds), Handbook of Cultural Heritage Analysis, Springer, Cham , 2022
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Books by Giorgio Franco Pocobelli
This volume reconstructs the settlement evolution and the town-planning development of the city and the suburban area, from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, by means of the diachronic analysis of published data and of discoveries made in surveys, and also of the study of historical aerial photographs. For the purpose of the research the author elaborated a detailed cartography with very narrow contour lines (isohypses) to highlight the micro-relief, a georeferenced basis for GIS data management.
In addition to the new cartography and the discovery of previously unknown settlement areas, the most significant results include, among others, in the urban area the evidence of a theatre, a temple in opus quadratum with an adjacent public area, and the urban street plan; in the suburbs, a new sanctuary, the articulated road network and the details of numerous tombs accurately recorded on the map.
Papers by Giorgio Franco Pocobelli
There has also been an accompanying growth in geophysical prospection at the site, which given its accessibility and support from the local authorities, has led to trials of different techniques. Since 2019 the British School at Rome, as part of the Understanding Urban Identities project led by the University of Gothenburg, has undertaken several surveys at Vulci, concentrating on the eastern area of the plateau and outside the West Gate. The results derived from a Ground-Penetrating Radar survey provide a detailed plan of the urban area to the north of the Decumanus maximus, indicating an area of dense urban settlement. This paper draws together the results from the aerial photography study and the geophysical prospection, assessing areas of agreement and discrepancy between the datasets.
The answers are in the present article, written by an archaeologist specialised in aerial photo interpretation and professor at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici of the University of Florence.
This volume reconstructs the settlement evolution and the town-planning development of the city and the suburban area, from Prehistory to Late Antiquity, by means of the diachronic analysis of published data and of discoveries made in surveys, and also of the study of historical aerial photographs. For the purpose of the research the author elaborated a detailed cartography with very narrow contour lines (isohypses) to highlight the micro-relief, a georeferenced basis for GIS data management.
In addition to the new cartography and the discovery of previously unknown settlement areas, the most significant results include, among others, in the urban area the evidence of a theatre, a temple in opus quadratum with an adjacent public area, and the urban street plan; in the suburbs, a new sanctuary, the articulated road network and the details of numerous tombs accurately recorded on the map.
There has also been an accompanying growth in geophysical prospection at the site, which given its accessibility and support from the local authorities, has led to trials of different techniques. Since 2019 the British School at Rome, as part of the Understanding Urban Identities project led by the University of Gothenburg, has undertaken several surveys at Vulci, concentrating on the eastern area of the plateau and outside the West Gate. The results derived from a Ground-Penetrating Radar survey provide a detailed plan of the urban area to the north of the Decumanus maximus, indicating an area of dense urban settlement. This paper draws together the results from the aerial photography study and the geophysical prospection, assessing areas of agreement and discrepancy between the datasets.
The answers are in the present article, written by an archaeologist specialised in aerial photo interpretation and professor at the Scuola di Specializzazione in Beni Archeologici of the University of Florence.
The study was developed with the objective of analyzing aerial images integrating traditional archaeological methods of photo-interpretation with GIS technologies, to manage in the project’s geodatabase an informational level with the anomalies identified and mapped.
The 14 flights analized, dated from 1943 to 2010, made it possible to identify with certainty numerous traces attributable mainly to the agrarian division of the Roman period. There are, however, archaeological evidence within the urban area - like the traces of visible structures in Piazza del Duomo - or related to the successive phases of urban development of Pisa as the traces of the defensive bastions of the XVII century.
Very interesting the testimony provided by RAF flights on the bombing of the city during the second world war.