No abstract

This paper presents the results of the first attempt to assess, identify and quantify the residual number of shell craters of World War I currently present in the Vezzena/Luserna/Lavarone Plateau, areas of Millegrobbe, Bisele and Cima Campo (Province of Trento, Italy). Historical sources report the existence of several thousand artillery explosions: therefore, a field survey or a classic photo-interpretation would be labour-intensive and highly time-consuming. For this reason, a digital terrain model (DTM) of the test-site was processed using the Sky-view Factor algorithm and was analysed with an object-based approach, which implied: (1) multiresolution segmentation; (2) classification (main features considered size, shape and colour). The automatically classified shell craters were thus verified during an in situ survey that determined the accuracy of the method in the order of 84% of the total occurrences.

This contribution examines the potential of object-based image analysis (OBIA) for archaeological predictive modeling starting from elevation data, by testing a ruleset for the location of “control places” on two test areas in the Alpine environment (northern Italy). The ruleset was developed on the western Asiago Plateau (Vicenza Province, Veneto) and subsequently re-applied (semi)automatically in the Isarco Valley (South Tirol). Firstly, we considered the physiographic, climatic, and morphological characteristics of the selected areas and we applied 3 DTM processing techniques: Slope, local dominance, and solar radiation. Subsequently, we employed an object-based approach to classification. Solar radiation, local dominance, and slope were visualized as a three-layer RGB image that was segmented with the multiresolution algorithm. The classification was implemented with a ruleset that selected only image–objects with high local dominance and solar radiation, but low slope, which were considered more suitable parameters for human occupation. The classification returned five areas on the Asiago Plateau that were remotely and ground controlled, confirming anthropic exploitation covering a time span from protohistory (2nd-1st millennium BC) to the First World War. Subsequently, the same model was applied to the Isarco Valley to verify the replicability of the method. The procedure resulted in 36 potential control places which find good correspondence with the archaeological sites discovered in the area. Previously unknown contexts were further controlled using very high-resolution (VHR) aerial images and digital terrain model (DTM) data, which often suggested a possible (pre-proto)historic human frequentation. The outcomes of the analysis proved the feasibility of the approach, which can be exported and applied to similar mountainous landscapes for site predictivity analysis.

Despite the key role of the Ptolemaic period in the history of glass technology, very little is known on the workshop activities and on the organization of the production. This is mainly due to the limits of the documentation currently available, consisting of very few archaeological contexts often poorly preserved. This contribution presents a first overview of the material and archival record related to the 1931 excavations in the Ptolemaic inlay workshop of Tebtynis (Fayum oasis, Egypt). Unlike other coeval sites, the data from Tebtynis revealed a complete set of evidence related to the stratigraphy and the topography of the craft area, to the shape and size of the kiln, to the furniture, the tools, the raw materials, and the finished products discovered. The interpretation of the data provides the opportunity to propose new hypotheses on the function of the spaces and the tools, but also on the chronology of the workshop, contributing to shedding light on the technological and empirical knowledge of the ancient Egyptian glassmakers in a crucial moment of glass history.

Inlays range among the most aesthetically pleasing and technically challenging glasses produced in the Ptolemaic period. Despite the central role of this phase in the history of glass technology, little is known about the recipes and the technological knowledge of the Egyptian artisans. This paper will thus focus on the study of the materials from the secondary workshop of Tebtynis (Fayum oasis, Egypt). We report the first multi-methodological study comprising textural, chemical, and mineralogical analyses (optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy coupled with energydispersive system, electron probe microanalysis, and μ-Raman spectroscopy) on a set of 81 colorless, white, blue, and green samples carefully selected among the 800+ glasses from the craft area now stored at the Museo Egizio, Turin (Italy). Our study offers the biggest compositional database of well-dated Ptolemaic glasses currently available in the literature, highlighting some interesting novelties regarding the silica and alkali sources, and the coloring and opacifying techniques employed. The results suggest a specialized craft of traditional origin, but open to innovation and experimentation, as expected from transitional phases.