Tip o’ the pileus to Barnea Levy Selavan for this item from Opti-cal:
The remains of a harbour city that was one of the most important ports in Ancient Rome is to undergo a major surveying project that will allow for complete verification of its established control points and a new GNSS-based coordinate system.
Ostia Antica, which is sited at the mouth of the Tiber River and is a major Roman archaeological site, was prioritised for the survey by the Superintendent of the Archaeological Heritage of Rome due to its historic importance.
The city was founded in 620 BC as a military base and, as Rome’s importance throughout the Mediterranean grew, became the main emporium of Rome, housing a number of important civic buildings.
The results of the survey will aid with the management and planning of archaeological projects at the site in the future. Surveyors have said that the additional information will help with the preservation of the location’s well-preserved ancient buildings, frescos and mosaics.
Precision surveying equipment will be used to check and enhance the control points that currently exist in the site, and will expand the network of points further into the site.
The project will also be used as something of an educational tool for the future generations of Italian surveyors. The survey will be included in a technical and scientific study examining the use and capabilities of modern surveying equipment and techniques in the preservation or areas of archaeological and cultural importance.
Once complete, the study will be presented to a forthcoming congress of a number of Italy’s universities and its archaeological institutes.
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