Archaeological markers below the lagoon waters Elisa Costa Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy Carlotta Lucarini Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Italy This is a section of Tenth InternationaSymposium Monitoring of Mediterranean Coastal Areas: Problems and Measurement Techniques(DOI: 10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6) by Laura Bonora, Marcantonio Catelani, Matteo De Vincenzi, Giorgio Matteucci Firenze University Press Florence 2024 https://doi.org/10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6.51

Available for academic research purposes

Open Access

Copyright Author(s)

Content licence CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Metadata licence CC0 1.0

This is original content, published for academic research purposes

 Digital edition XML powered by Booksflow

This paper focusses on the documentation of some archaeological case studies in the northern part of the Venice lagoon, an extreme and at the same time vulnerable ecosystem. The study emphasises the challenges of working underwater in this environment and the necessity of incorporating both traditional and modern digital techniques. Through the use of different technologies, such as Multibeam Echo Sounder, topographic surveys with the total station and DGPS, and photogrammetry, it is possible to reach a high level of detail in the documentation and analysis of the archaeological contexts. The data management with GIS software allows an efficient and easier consultation and the effective dissemination of the research results. Thanks to the synergic use of these tools, it is possible to produce an entire overview of underwater archaeological sites, which implies enormous advantages for their understanding and analysis of archaeological markers. The methodology we tested in this highly complex environment turned out to be crucial also in monitoring the state of conservation and degradation of underwater archaeological heritage.

 Underwater archaeology Digital techniques Lagoonal landscape Photogrammetry GIS

It is available online at https://doi.org/10.36253/979-12-215-0556-6.51

References Abdelaziz M., Elsayed M. (2019) - Underwater photogrammetry digital surface model (DSM) of the submerged site of the ancient lighthouse near Qaitbay fort in Alexandria, Egypt, The International Archives of the Photogrammetry Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences XLII-2/W10, pp. 1-8. 10.5194/isprs-archives-XLII-2-W10-1-2019 Auriemma R., Solinas E. (2009) - Archaeological remains as sea level change markers: A review, Quaternary International, 206(1–2), 134–146 10.1016/j.quaint.2008.11.012 Ballard R. D., Stager L. E., Master D., Yoerger D., Mindell D., Whitcomb L. L., Singh H., Piechota D. (2002) - Iron Age Shipwrecks in Deep Water off Ashkelon, Israel, AJA, 106.2, pp. 151-168. 10.2307/4126241 Balletti C., Beltrame C., Costa E., Guerra F., Vernier P. (2016) - 3D reconstruction of marble shipwreck cargos based on underwater multi-image photogrammetry, Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 3, 1-8. 10.1016/j.daach.2015.11.003 Beltrame C., Costa E. (2018) - 3D survey and modelling of shipwrecks in different underwater environments, Journal of Cultural Heritage, 29, 82-88. 10.1016/j.culher.2017.08.005 Beltrame C., Medas S., Mozzi P., Ricci G. (2023) - Roman ‘Well-cisterns’, Navigational Routes, and Landscape Modifications in the Venice Lagoon and Northeastern Adriatic, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology. 10.1080/10572414.2023.2182984 Beltrame C., Mozzi P. (2023) - Recenti indagini su contesti archeologici sommersi di età romana nella laguna nord di Venezia, Rivista di Archeologia, XLVII, 15-29. 10.26406/RdA47-3 Bowens A. (ed) (2009) - Underwater Archaeology: The NAS Guide to Principles and Practice, Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford. Canal, E. (2013) - Archeologia della laguna di Venezia: 1960-2010, Cierre edizioni, Sommacampagna (VE). Costa E. (2022) - Survey and photogrammetry in underwater archaeological contexts at low visibility in the Venice lagoon, Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, 24, e00215. 10.1016/j.daach.2022.e00215 Costa E. (2023) - Il rilievo e la documentazione subacquea in ambiente lagunare, Rivista di Archeologia, XLVII, 119-136. 10.26406/RdA47-9 D’Agostino M., Fozzati L., Medas S. (2020) - Lio Piccolo, laguna di Venezia: indagini, rilievi e operazioni di restauro di un pozzo-cisterna di epoca imperiale, Archeologia marittima mediterranea 17, 27-101. 10.19272/202004501003 D’Agostino M., Medas S. (2010) - Roman Navigation in Venice Lagoon: the Results of Underwater Research, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 39, 286-294. 10.1111/j.1095-9270.2009.00255.x Ditta M., Auer J. (2021) - The ‘Big Ship’ of Wismar: a well-preserved 12th century cargo vessel from the harbour of Wismar, in Boetto G., Pomey P., Poveda P. (eds.), Archaeonautica, 21, Paris, 191-195. 10.4000/archaeonautica.3180 Fontana A., Vinci G., Tasca G., Mozzi P., Vacchi M., Bivi G., Salvador S., Rossato S., Antonioli F., Asioli A., Bresolin M., Di Mario F., Hajdas I. (2017) - Lagoonal settlements and relative sea level during Bronze Age in Northern Adriatic: Geoarchaeological evidence and paleogeographic constraints, Quaternary International, 439, 17-36. 10.1016/j.quaint.2016.12.038 Goti Vola, V. (2019) - La Villa Romana della Laguna Nord di Venezia. Apparati decorativi e contesto archeologico, Il leggio, Chioggia (VE). Holt P. 2003, An assessment of quality in underwater archaeological surveys using tape measurements, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, 32.2, 246-251. Primon S., Mozzi P. (2023) - Antichi paesaggi a Jesolo. Trasformazioni ambientali alle foci del Piave dall’età romana al Medioevo, All’Insegna del Giglio, Firenze. Previato, C. (2019) - Modi d’uso e sistemi di messa in opera del laterizio in Italia settentrionale in età repubblicana. Alle origini del laterizio romano: Nascita e diffusione del mattone cotto nel Mediterraneo tra IV e I secolo a.C., pp. 369-382. Rule N. (1989) - The Direct Survey Method (DSM) of underwater survey, and its application underwater, International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 18.2, 157-162. Stanley J.-D., Nickerson G. A. J., Bernasconi M. P., Fischer S., McClure N., Segal T. e Royal J. G. (2011) - Multibeam Sonar Technology and Geology to Interpret Ancient Harbor Subsidence off Crotone Peninsula, Italy, Méditerranée 117, 127-141. 10.4000/mediterranee.6041 Vacchi M., Marriner N., Morhange C., Spada G., Fontana A., Rovere A. (2016) - Multiproxy assessment of Holocene relative sea-level changes in the western Mediterranean: Sea-level variability and improvements in the definition of the isostatic signal, Earth-Science Reviews, 155, 172–197. 10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.02.002