Vecchi scavi e nuove tecnologie: primi risultati del Progetto Basilica Iulia

Abstract

The paper presents the first results of the Basilica Julia Project, aimed at the analysis and reconstruction of the transformations affecting the southern side of the Forum Romanum. In the excavation campaigns conducted between 1960 and 1964 beneath the Augustan building, the remains of the basilica of Julius Caesar, the Basilica Sempronia (169 BC), a large house with an ‘atrium’ dated to the 4th cent. BC, and traces of a 5th cent. BC building were brought to light. During the first phase of the work, the stratigraphic sequences were reconstructed according to the archive documentation and the study of the archaeological materials. In the second phase, a wide-ranging survey campaign was undertaken. The paper examines the methods of acquisition, connected to conservation demands, the lack of natural light and the complex physical configuration of the site. Surveying was undertaken by integrating topographical survey with massive data collection through 3D Laser Scanner and Structure from Motion. The paper also focuses on the process of integration of all these different data-sets into a single model, which produces a considerable quantity of information already translated into a unique system. Finally, thanks to the possibility to explore the 3D model in the restitution phase, the model made it possible to produce a 2D plan and sections in a process that ensured the correct reading of the data.