Archeomatica 3

Rivista trimestrale - anno XVII - Numero - 3/2025

Sped. in abb. postale 70% - Filiale di Roma

Quarterly Magazine, Year XVII Issue 3 - 2025

www.archeomatica.it

ArcheomaticA

Cultural Heritage Technologies

Ten years of digital

documentation in Asia Minor

Heritage in Cyprus

Digital Technologies

for Archaeology

Urban Digital Survey

Cultural Heritage Technologies 3

EDITORIAL

Ten years of digital documentation in Asia Minor

The Built Heritage always tells the story of the human actions that conceived, constructed,

altered, transformed, used, or even demolished it, whether in proper or improper ways.

In the brief moment when we encounter a monument, a ruin, or an archaeological site, we

perceive the resonance of those intentions and events that have succeeded one another

over time in that very place. This is a phenomenon of superimpositions and integrations

that has taken shape through an extended temporal process, defined by human choices and

natural occurrences, leading to the appearance that these architectures present today.

This appearance is itself destined to evolve further. The ability to read and interpret

what emerges before our eyes is a complex operation, requiring rigorous preparation,

specific skills, and a refined capacity for intuition. Over the past ten years, a sustained

effort to promote educational activities dedicated to architecture in its most intricate

historical forms, carried out with students (mainly in architectural training), colleagues,

and collaborators, has, through both personal circumstances and fortuitous events, led

to the collection of a series of experiences in Asia Minor, in contemporary Turkey. These

experiences have been grounded in seminars conducted in places of exceptional value

and fascination, consistently combining documentation and knowledge acquisition with

surveying practices, contemporary technologies, and the active transmission to participants

of new abilities in representation, thinking, abstraction, comprehension, invention, and

design. All of this has been achieved through interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches,

often within limited timeframes, but it is hoped that with meaningful outcomes, capable

of embedding what was learned into the future experiences of architects and specialists

devoted to the extensive built and artistic heritage encountered in diverse contexts. In

this issue of *Archeomatica*, we are pleased to present a collection of excerpts from

the workshops held between 2014 and 2025 in contexts of great architectural and urban

complexity. All these initiatives share the intent to balance technology, education, and

the capacity to produce outputs that serve an intelligent use of knowledge and a deeper

understanding of the value of cultural heritage. A crucial transition, therefore, is to view

the creation of digital heritage not as a mere mechanical act, but as an opportunity

to stimulate, cultivate, and consolidate passion and interest for the specific values

embodied in each place, building, and fragment, fostering a productive evolution that

bridges experience and culture. In the pages that follow, the proposed itinerary begins

on the island of Cyprus, then moves to, and repeatedly returns to, Istanbul, a key hub of

exchanges and intersections between historical and architectural periods. It proceeds to

more recent explorations of cities in the Hellenistic area and concludes with a reflection

on itinerant artistic elements, which are often “restless” components in the Cultural

Heritage scenario and that demand particular and attentive consideration.

Enjoy your reading!

Giorgio Verdiani & Alessandro Camiz

SUMMARY

DOCUMENTATION

6 Built Heritage in Cyprus

By Alessandro Camiz, Carmine Canaletti,

Zeynep Ceylanlı

The Stadium in Magnesia at the Meander,

Turkey, Photogrammetry by G. Verdiani,

A. Camiz and U. Özdemir, 2024.

12 Urban digital survey in Galata/

Beyoğlu: remains of the genoese

walls and of a Caravansary/Bazar

By Roberta Spallone, Marco Vitali, Doruk

Peker, Silvia Michelon

20 Time fragments: design

proposal for Theodosius’s

Forum, Istanbul

By Alessandro Camiz

26 Priene and Magnesia ad

Maeander: main archite

ctures and urban morphology

By Görkem Kökdemir, Pelin Yoncaci Arslan

32 Priene, an ancient tale about

the fury of Nature By Elisabetta

Caterina Giovannini, Vieri Cardinali

follow us on

Facebook and Instagram

ArcheomaticA

CULTURAL HERITAGE TECHNOLOGIES

YEAR XVII, N° 3 - 2025

Archeomatica, quarterly published since 2009, is the

first Italian magazine for dissemination, promotion and

exchange of knowledge on technologies for the preservation,

enhancement and enjoyment of cultural heritage.

Publishing about technologies for survey and documentation,

analysis and diagnosis, restoration and maintenance,

museums and archaeological parks, social networking and

"smart" peripherals. As a reference point in the field is the

sharing media for the industry, the professionals, the institutions,

the academia, including research institutions and

government agencies.

Director

Renzo Carlucci

dir@archeomatica.it

Managing Editor

Michele Fasolo

michele.fasolo@archeomatica.it

Editorial board

Giuseppe Ceraudo, Annalisa Cipriani,

Maurizio Forte, Bernard Frischer,

Giuliana Galli, Giovanni Ettore Gigante,

Mario Micheli, Stefano Monti,

Luca Papi, Ramona Quattrini,

Marco Ramazzotti, Antonino Saggio,

Francesca Salvemini, Rodolfo Maria Strollo,

Grazia Tucci, Giorgio Verdiani

Editors

Valerio Carlucci

valerio.carlucci@archeomatica.it

redazione@archeomatica.it

Matteo Serpetti

matteo.serpetti@archeomatica.it

Maria Chiara Spezia

chiaraspiezia@archeomatica.it

4 ArcheomaticA N°3 2025


38 Magnesia ad Maeander, the

Stadium, a matter of scale

by Giorgio Verdiani, Francesco Tioli,

Görkem Kökdemir

ADVERTISING

CHEDAR 37

CODEVINTEC 11

COLLETTIVO DIGITALE 64

CASE STUDIES

44 On Stage in Antiquity, On

Screen in the Digital Age:

Two Thousand Years of urban

presence and integration of

the Theatre in Priene

by Giorgio Verdiani, Andrea Rosone

GECO 31

GRUPPO PANINI CULTURA 63

GTER 43

NAIS 61

XENIA SOLUTIONS 2

MAKROS 19

STONEX 62

52 The value of itinerant

fragments between Asia Minor

and Europe

By Giorgio Verdiani, Pelin Arslan,

Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini

56 Other Subjects ,

same approaches

By Andrea Pasquali, Ylenia Ricci,

Stéphane Giraudeau

60 The value of workshop teaching

and some reflections by Giorgio Verdiani, Andrea Pasquali

published by

Science & Technology Communication

Science & Technology Communication

Marketing and Subcriptions

Tatiana Iasillo

t.iasillo@mediageo.it

MediaGEO soc. coop.

Via Palestro, 95

00185 Roma

tel. 06.64.87.12.09

fax. 06.62.20.95.10

www.archeomatica.it

Graphic Design

Daniele Carlucci

daniele@archeomatica.it

Publisher

MediaGEO soc. coop.

Archeomatica è una testata registrata al

Tribunale di Roma con il numero 395/2009

del 19 novembre 2009

ISSN 2037-2485

Printed by Bona Digital Print Srl

Signed articles engages only the

responsibility of the author. It is forbidden

partial reproduction of the contents of

this journal in any form and by any means,

electronic or mechanical, including data storage

systems and download, without any written

permission.

DOCUMENTATION

Built Heritage in Cyprus

FIRST WORKSHOP IN CYPRUS:

ACHEROPOIETOS MONASTERY

The first one was held in the

Monastery called “Παναγία

Aχειροποίητος” which gets

the name from the presence

of a sacred icon said to be

«made without hands» which

was one of the main relics in

the church (Enlart, 1899). In

this artwork there was the

representation of the Virgin

Mary, a work which was consiby

Alessandro Camiz, Carmine Canaletti and Zeynep Ceylanlı

Fig. 1 - View of the Church in the Acheropoietos Monastery, QR code to a video about the workshop 2014(https://youtu.be/5mGgEIa-npc).

The two workshops held in Cyprus in collaboration with

the Girne American University and the Ozyegin University,

Istanbul, were aimed to the documentation and rethinking

of new uses for the historical Built Heritage of the

Acheiropoietos Monastery, in 2014, and of the Kyrenia

Castle, in 2018. They were the first activities of this kind

and showed how teaching, documentation and research

can be applied all together in complex cultural heritage

environments.



Fig. 2- Plan view of the Church, extracted from 3D Laser Scanner Survey 2018.

dered as created in a “miraculous”

way, and thus protected

from any possible iconoclasm.

The date of its foundation is not

known, thus, the katholikon appears

to have been built during

the XIth or early XIIth century

(Canaletti & Camiz, 2016). The

first written references to the

monastery are no older than

the XVth century.The analysis

of the building revealed the

presence of several consecutive

construction phases: for first

relevant architecture is a central

plan church covered with

a dome, probably built in the

late-Byzantine period on the

ruins of a paleo-Christian basilica,

characterized by three-naves,

then extended with three

narthexes, this transformation

changed the general aspect of

the plan layout into the one of

a longitudinal basilica. The construction

of an enclosure wall

around the church marked the

limits of the monastery, this intervention

was done in a series

of phases, following a variety of

expansions, demolitions and restorations.The

monastery settlement

is quite isolated from

the modern town of Λάμπουσα

(Lambousa, the resplendent),

and stands on the northern waterfront

of Cyprus.

The inclusion of the complex

into a military barracks in the

Seventies included the transformation

of some parts and

the addition of service structures.

In the analysis made during

the workshop, the one on

the masonry types was capable

in outlining the phases of construction

for various parts of

the original complex. The church

in itself is not suffering from

specific structural issues, even

if it has lost a large part of internal

finishing and artwork,

the massive walls and vaults are

still capable in showing an articulated

layout and interesting

architectural features. The situation

is a little worse for the

northern wing of the monastery,

which suffered a heavy structural

damage and was stabilized

with some scaffholdings.

Fig. 3 - Plan view and fronts of the Monastery from 3D Laser Scanner Survey 2018.

Fig. 4 - View from the sea of the Kyrenia Castle and QR code to access a video about the workshop 2018. (https://youtu.be/1MCzjdde3m8).

SECOND WORKSHOP IN CYPRUS:

KYRENIA CASTLE

The second workshop in Cyprus

was held in the Kyrenia Castle,

which represents the main

historical architecture on the

waterfront of this area, presenting

a very articulated transformation

through time, evolving

accordingly to the changes in

weaponry technologies and the

wills of its different owners (Camiz

et al., 2016). The Kyrenia

Castle shows three main periods

of architectural development,

representing a significant example

of the evolution from a medieval

castle to a fortress developed

for using and resisting

more modern weapons (Scott

Petre, 2010). The three periods

traceable in the architecture of

the fortifications are Byzantine

(330-1192), Lusignan (1192-

1472) and Venetian (1472-1570)

(Enlart, 1899). The special position

of this fortification, with its

strategic importance, dominating

on the seafront, is underlined

by archaeological evidence

in the castle area, Indeed it Is

possible to refer to remains of

Roman mosaics and catacombs

that suggest the presence

of even earlier settlements. To

this archaeological presence it

is possible to match the “Kyrenia

Shipwreck”, which is the

common name indicating the

important finding of a ship from

the IVth century BC in the waters

in front of Kyrenia (Katzev,

1981). This important relic, representing

one of the very first

underwater archaeology interventions,

is currently visible inside

the castle museum (Katzev,

2008).

In both workshop cases, the digital

survey intervention was conducted

using a Z+F 5006h imager

3D laser scanner unit with

the integration of photogrammetries

for the most interesting

parts and artworks and to give

a more complete and detailed

consistency to the digitalization

of these two architectures. In

2014, the aim was to produce a

complete documentation of the

religious settlement with a proper

level of details, supporting

further reading and offering a

first complete description of the

Church and monastery. In this,

the collaboration with the local

archaeologists turned out for

the most positive results, with

an extended sampling of mural

stratigraphies then connected

to the pointcloud derived from

the lasergrammetry and helpful

in supporting the construction

phase hypothesis.

In 2018, Kyrenia Castle was extensively

surveyed with a specific

attention to the spaces of

relevant historical importance,

and with a specific series of

photogrammetry on the exhibited

hull from the shipwreck

and also on a specific mural

element. In fact, in the same

room where the ancient ship

is kept, the top part of the internal

wall shows a large part

of plaster characterized by a

series of graffiti representing

ships and boats (Şevketoğlu,

2017). In most of the situations,

assigning a date and correctly

identifying the ship type in the

graffiti is not a simple or certain

task. However, as they are

often on the walls of a building,

on castle cisterns or churches,

the building they are made on

represents the terminus post

quem, the date after which the

graffiti was made.

CONCLUSIONS

Therefore, in this case it is possible

to give only an estimated

date standing in a wide span of

time, probably between the XII-

Ith and the XVIth century. In the

same way producing an appropriate

photogrammetry of this

artwork was quite challenging.

The difficult light condition as

well as the vibrations coming

from the platform giving access

to the graffiti required some

specific shrewdness for completing

a well usable photogrammetry.

Following, the resulting



Fig. 5 - Digital 3d models of the shipwreck plaster with and links to access the models in sketchfab.com (https://skfb.ly/6WyRA and

https://skfb.ly/oqFIQ) plus a video about the graffiti (https://youtu.be/Yqw1ZrdWH1A).

3D digital model allowed an accurate

tool for better studying and visualizing

the set of nautical representations

exploiting virtual light solutions

and then putting in evidence all the

traces still existing on the surface of

the plaster (Bertocci et al., 2020).

In addition to the laser-grammetry

survey of the caste, in the 2018 workshop,

it was possible to operate a

drone flight, which was a significant

contribution to the completion and

integration of the digital survey. The

UAV unit available was a DJI Spark,

equipped with a 12 Mp camera, conducting

a series of flights and then

producing a sub-selection of the

best 1303 shots, covering the roofs

and almost all the top parts of the

walls, making it possible to generate

an extensive, accurately detailed 3D

model of the entire exterior of the

castle and its adjacent area. The

workshop in the Kyrenia Castle was

the occasion to establish an operative

base of knowledge and to gather

a significant amount of data about a

castle that represents a challenging

monument in the Mediterranean scenario.

The first digitalization of this

fortification is the starting point of

a series of studies. In between, a

certain number of Master Degree

and Specialization Thesis which included

the development of an HBIM

for some parts of the castle (Capparelli

& Camiz, 2019). Among the

various studies, a specific attention

was addressed to proposals for a new

museum, encompassing a strategic

restoration plan and the improved

display of key artefacts, most notably

the Kyrenia Ship and multiple

graffiti, supported by contemporary

digital and virtual museum technologies

(Ceylanlı et al., 2019). The

historical value of the subject and

the technically advanced intervention,

mixed with professional and

academic competencies has brought

to a high-quality teaching moment,

capable of putting in evidence historical

values and specific features of a

valuable built heritage.

References

Bertocci, S., Verdiani, G. and Şevketoğlu, M. (2020) ‘Graffiti photogrammetry:

Extracting the signs from the walls of the Kyrenia Castle’,

in Börner, W. and Uhlirz, S. (eds.) Proceedings of the 23rd International

Conference on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies, Vienna, 12– 15

November 2018, pp. 1–8.

Ceylanlı, Z., Çiçek, E., Arslan, P. and Özen, P. (2019) ‘Evolving from

castle to virtual space: The case of Kyrenia Shipwreck Museum’, in

Proceedings of the 23rd International Conference on Cultural Heritage

and New Technologies 2018, Vienna.

Enlart, C. (1899) L’art gothique et la Renaissance en Chypre. Paris:

Ernest Leroux Éditeur.

Camiz, A., Khalil, S., Demir, S.C. and Nafa, H. (2016) ‘The Venetian defence

of the Mediterranean: The Kyrenia Castle, Cyprus (1540–1544)’,

in Verdiani, G. (ed.) Defensive Architecture of the Mediterranean XV to

XVIII Centuries, vol. III. University of Florence, pp. 371–378.

Canaletti, C. and Camiz, A. (2016) ‘Reading and designing the area of

Lambousa–Karavas: Acheiropoietos Monastery, Cyprus’, in Börner, W.

and Uhlirz, S. (eds.) Proceedings of the 20th International Conference

on Cultural Heritage and New Technologies, Vienna, November 2015.

Capparelli, F. and Camiz, A. (2019) ‘BIM documentation for architecture

and archaeology: The Shipwreck Museum in the Kyrenia Castle,

Cyprus’, in Conte, A. and Guida, A. (eds.) Reuso Matera. Patrimonio

in divenire, conoscere, valorizzare, abitare. Rome, pp. 2241– 2250.

Katzev, M. (1981) ‘The reconstruction of the Kyrenia ship, 1972–1975’,

National Geographic Society Research Reports, 13, pp. 315–328.

Katzev, S. (2008) ‘The Kyrenia Ship: Her recent journey’, Near Eastern

Archaeology, 71(1–2), pp. 76–81.

Petre, J.S. (2010) Crusader castles of Cyprus: The fortifications of

Cyprus under the Lusignans of 1191–1489. PhD thesis. Cardiff University.

Şevketoğlu, M. (2017) ‘Documenting ship graffiti in North Cyprus: Preliminary

results’, in Underwater Science and Technology Meeting, Izmir

Urla. Ankara University Publication, pp. 181–199.

Abstract

This paper presents two workshops in Cyprus focused on documenting

and rethinking the use of historical built heritage: the Acheiropoietos

Monastery (2014) and Kyrenia Castle (2018). Using 3D laser scanning,

photogrammetry, and UAV surveys, the projects revealed multiple

construction phases, structural features, and historical layers. Special

attention was given to the Kyrenia Shipwreck and wall graffiti. The

resulting digital models supported architectural analysis, conservation

strategies, HBIM development, and museum enhancement proposals.

These workshops demonstrate how interdisciplinary approaches

and advanced digital methods can effectively study, preserve, and

valorize cultural heritage.

Keywords

HBIM; Kyrenia Castle; 3D Laser Scanning; Photogrammetry; Digital Survey,

Acheiropoietos Monastery; Conservation;

Authors

Alessandro Camiz

alessandro.camiz@unich.it

Architecture Department, “G. d’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, Italy

Carmine Canaletti

arch.carmine.canaletti@gmail.com

Department of Architecture, University of Florence, Italy

Zeynep Ceylanlı

zeynep.ceylanli@ozyegin.edu.tr

Özyeğin University, Istanbul, Turkey

Department of Interior Architecture and Environmental Design



I georadar svelano

un antico segreto ...

La rete di gallerie sotterranee disegnata

da Leonardo è stata individuata grazie

un’indagine tecnologica realizzata dal

Politecnico di Milano insieme al Castello

Sforzesco e con il supporto tecnico di

Codevintec, con l’utilizzo delle tecnologie

georadar e laser scanner.

Sembrava una leggenda.

Oggi arriva la conferma:

tra il Castello Sforzesco

e Santa Maria delle Grazie

c’è un passaggio segreto.

VIDEO

Seleziona

il link!

CODEVINTEC

Tecnologie per le Scienze della Terra e del Mare

tel. +39 02 4830.2175 | info@codevintec.it | www.codevintec.it

DOCUMENTATION

Urban digital survey in Galata/

Beyoğlu: remains of the genoese walls

and of a Caravansary/Bazar

by Roberta Spallone,

Marco Vitali, Doruk Peker,

Silvia Michelon

A multidisciplinary investigation

of Galata’s waterfront that

combines archival and

cartographic research,

architectural-historical study,

stratigraphic urban analysis,

and advanced metric digital

surveying. By linking diachronic

urban transformations to the

physical evidence of surviving

walls and structures, the work

constructs a coherent narrative

supporting conservation,

interpretation, and public

dissemination — an experience

presented and discussed during

the International Urban Design

Workshop.

Fig. 01 – Views from the Caravansaray and drawings with orthophotos from the digital survey.

Galata, also known as

Beyoğlu or Pera, is one

of Istanbul’s oldest

and most stratified districts,

it preserves a multilayered

historical texture, a key aspect

for understanding the urban

palimpsest of the Golden Horn.

The International Urban Design

Workshop “Urban Façade:

Istanbul Waterfront” took place

from March 23rd to 30th, 2019,

at the Faculty of Architecture

and Design, Özyeğin University

in Istanbul. The workshop was

coordinated by Alessandro

Camiz and Giorgio Verdiani in

collaboration with the Italian

Universities of Parma, Rome

“Sapienza”, Naples “Federico

II”, Firenze, Dipartimento

di Architettura, Politecnico

di Torino, Dipartimento di

Architettura e Design, and

Università Mediterranea in Reggio

Calabria, the workshop focused

on the architectural survey,

analysis, and redesign of selected

blocks along Galata’s waterfront

(Dixon, Verdiani, Cornell, 2017).

The workshop’s concept was

not to teach the participants

about design transformations



as arbitrary architectural

objects but bringing them to

see the urban elements as living

organisms within the continuous

formation of urban tissues

(Camiz, Carlotti, Díez, 2017).

The studied area represents an

important connection between

the seafront and the historic

sectors in Galata; it acts like

Istanbul's “urban façade” towards

the Golden Horn (Cuneo, 1987).

The workshop addressed issues

of contemporary Istanbul,

such as the replacement of

traditional urban tissues with new

constructions offering globalized

market and generic features

(Verdiani et al., 2019). Urban

growth demands substitution of

building types, this is a certainty

in any human settlement in any

age, thus, recent interventions

have often erased traditional

structures, disrupting continuity

with the past, and inserting alien

typologies or even gross in-style

replicas into consolidated contexts

(Dallegio D’Alessio, 1946). The

teams in the workshop were

guided in distinguishing between

two modes of transformation:

one based on evolutionary

systems, considered coherent

with a diachronic urban process,

and a disruptive one, aimed at

a shifting in the development

of creative contrasts with the

existing context (Caniggia, Maffei,

1979). The raw data collected

during the fieldwork formed the

empirical basis of subsequent

studies, despite occasional

local opposition. The campaign

proved successful in documenting

the built heritage and fostering

further research, including

master’s theses by Doruk Peker

Fig. 02 – View of the point cloud from the Caravansaray and geometrical analysis of its recursive arch (S. Michelon).

(Politecnico di Torino, supervisors

R. Spallone, A. Camiz, M. Vitali)

and Silvia Michelon (University of

Florence, supervisors G. Verdiani,

A. Camiz). These works deepened

the analysis of Galata’s defensive

towers, the Beyoğlu urban

system, and the Caravansary/

Bazaar (Bordini, Cottini,

2019). The interdisciplinary

approach combined archival

and cartographic research,

architectural-historical analysis,

stratigraphic reading, and

advanced metric surveying,

linking diachronic urban

transformations to the physical

evidence of walls and related

structures, ultimately forming

a coherent narrative supporting

conservation, interpretation, and

public dissemination.

URBAN TRANSFORMATIONS OF

GALATA/BEYOĞLU

The topographical knowledge of

Constantinople and its adjunct

settlements is quite fragmentary,

and the genesis and morphological

evolution of Galata/Beyoğlu

(identified in the “Notitia

Urbis Constantinopolitana” as

Regio tertiadecima) remain

only partially reconstructed.

While the Ottoman epoch of

Galata is documented, earlier

chronological stages rely on more

limited evidence. Historically

significant contributions include

Dallegio D’Alessio’s 1946

reconstruction, Paolo Cuneo’s

analyses (1983–1987), and recent

studies on the Genoese presence

(Saĝlam, 2018). Wolfgang Müller’s

cartographic proposals (1993)

emphasize the Genoese walls as

mainly Byzantine, a perspective

partially echoed by Dewing’s

(2015) depictions that retain

the Galata Tower (erected

under Genoese administration

in 1348) as the most identifiable

medieval landmark. The

diachronic reconstruction

hypothesizes successive phases:

the initial Megarean colony,

the Roman expansions under

Constantine and Honorius,

and the later Justinian urban

reforms. Corroborating evidence

derives from sparse documentary

sources, archaeological indicators

(mostly hydraulic infrastructures)

and orientation analysis of

current urban patterns. The

integration of these data

permitted the production of a

working topographical model

localising primary components

of the Roman and Byzantine

settlement system in the Galata

area, framing the fortifications

within a broader urban evolutive

trajectory.

DIGITAL SURVEY OPERATIONS

Documenting fragmented and

altered fortifications requires

meticulous planning to guarantee

precision, comprehensiveness,

and interoperability of results.

The metric campaign adopted

a Leica Geosystems ScanStation

C10 3D Laser Scanner (time-offlight),

a unit with a declared

working range up to 300 meters

and point accuracy in the order

of a few millimetres at short

distances (Bini & Bertocci, 2012;

Bianchi et al., 2016). The scanner

records a full panoramic sweep,

producing point clouds whose

density was configured to roughly

one point per centimetre at a

10 metres working distance for

the majority of scan stations.

The device’s integrated imaging

system captured photographic

data for colour-mapping the

point cloud without introducing

parallax distortions, enabling

better reading of the fronts

in their overlays and material

identification, rendering

masonry, metal fixtures, fissures,

voids, and displaced fragments

with high visual fidelity. The

overall scanning time took three

days, covering an area of about

40.000 square metres with 98

scan stations, gathering about

one billion of points. For the

specific subject of the towers

the fieldwork comprised 40

scans: 14 stations concentrated

around the first tower (formerly

subjected to industrial use), 10

taken from a distance around

the second (which was at that

time in complete abandon and

without any possible direct

access), 15 within the sector

where recent building additions

and a restaurant about the wall

was still allowing interesting

parts of original masonry work

to emerge, and one elevated

rooftop scan to enhance intersessions

alignment. Restricted

access and hazardous conditions

prevented comprehensive

interior scanning; however,

exterior apertures and partial

interior surveys permitted metric

estimations of wall thickness

and notable internal features.

Data alignment exploited longrange

tie features, including the

Galata Tower and other distant

rooflines, to integrate sectorial

point clouds into a coherent

global model suited for CADbased

restitution using Autodesk

Recap and AutoCAD.

The focal artifact is the second

tower located southwest of the

Galata Tower: a U-shaped plan of

approximately 9.80×7.70 metres

and a height near 16 metres.

The circular facade confronts a

northern courtyard (currently a

parking area), while the southern

side intersects the city wall


Cultural Heritage Technology 15

adjacent to the local St. Peter’s

Church. Observational evidence

indicates foundational contact

with bedrock, attributable to

historical soil lowering that

gradually exposed foundational

elements. Surface traces,

remains of plaster, and imprinting

phenomena attest to successive

additions and demolished

adjacent structures; presently,

a marginal warehouse remains

adjacent to the southwestern

facade. Successive inappropriate

adaptations (fenestration

insertions, intermediate floor

insertions, non-original claddings)

have undermined structural

coherence, generating cracks,

projection of beams, and

other deterioration signs. The

absence of a weatherproof roof

accelerates material decay.

Given the incomplete internal

metric data, interpretative

restitution relied on the synthesis

of the lasergrammetry taken

Fig. 03 – The tower A in Galata, view

in the context taken from the point

cloud, and view of the point cloud

taken in the restaurant exhibiting a

part of the original masonry from the

walls of Constantinople (G. Verdiani).

Fig. 04 - Graphic boards with the complete survey of the tower A in Galata/Beyoğlu (D. Peker).



on the external and with few

scan stations operated in the

interiors. So the profile of the

walls was considered as an

offset of the external profile

getting a better accuracy using

the integration of internal

traditional measurements, on-site

photography, and comparative

analogies with better-preserved

typologies. In the case of

the Caravansary, there is the

presence of a classic old market

space like those found in Turkey

and across the Middle East (Khan

Madel, 1988). Currently, this

specific one is used by a certain

number of hardware shops

and technical services. Some

exceptions include a painter's

studio and a bicycle shop. The

robust structure, with thick walls,

does a good job in preserving the

original layout of the building.

Changes to the architectural

aspects have been small, mostly

involving the adding of features or

cutting into the walls for updating

the cooling, electrical, and

plumbing systems. However, little

focus is placed on keeping up the

external, internal, and common

areas. The documentation of

the Caravansaray was done

on a partial lasergrammetry

integrated and completed by

photogrammetry.

The overall result was perfectly

functional for analysing and

studying the layout and the

original features of the building,

especially the use of arches and

the geometry of the planning grid,

allowing a possible attribution

to Mimar Sinan himself or to

his professional circle (Verdiani

and Michelon, 2025). For these

built heritage architectures,

horizontal and vertical slices

of the point cloud produced

accurate profiles used to derive

plans, elevations, and sections

that were subsequently refined

through AutoCAD after Recap preprocessing.

This process yielded

a comprehensive yet critically

annotated graphic dataset

that records both measurable

geometry and conjectural

reconstructions based on

archaeological reasoning and

stratigraphic reading. Graphic

restitution functions as both

documentary archive and

an operative instrument for

conservation planning. The

restitution adopted a 1:50 scale

which is adequate to represent

material texture, door and

window frames, and principal

forms of degradation: structural

fractures, lacunae, material

washouts, detachments, and

biological colonisation. Selection

of horizontal section planes

responded to the identification of

original and secondary openings

(including occluded voids)

and to the placement of thin

interior slabs surveyed by direct

inspection. Plans at varied levels

were produced to characterize

vertical stratification; vertical

sections articulate masonry

discontinuities, revealing

bonding changes, insertion

planes, and back-elevation

relations. Elevations derived

from orthophotoplanes were

supplemented by in-situ eidotypes

and direct measurements.

The resulting plates synthesise

geometric accuracy with

thematic mapping of materials,

stratifications, and decay

patterns, and were designed to

be intelligible for conservation

professionals, structural

engineers, and curators. These

drawings emphasize vulnerability

hotspots and inform prioritised

conservation interventions,

underpinning the proposal for

an open-air museum focused on

urban memory and accessible

interpretation.

CONCLUSIONS

Accurate surveys and systematic

documentation of neglected

architectural heritage are of real

value, enhancing the building

condition, enabling multi-user

access to metric data, and giving

a starting point for restoration,

reuse, and virtual reconstruction.

Indeed, in the case of total loss,

drafts and detailed drawings

remain valuable for at least

partial virtual restitution and

scholarly analysis. Digital

documentation enhances the

exchange between different

professions-from architectural

historians to conservation

engineers-and opens paths to

public engagement, education,

and sustainable tourism. The

description of masonries,

morphological definitions, and

stratigraphic interpretations

obtained during the Galata case

study enable new insights into

the different construction phases

and provide a basis for targeted

interventions. Considering the

high risk of loss and progressive

alteration of the Galata area, the

documentation helps to prevent

the indiscriminate conversion

of it into an homogeneous

sector dominated by transient

commercial activities.

References

Bini, M. & Bertocci, S. (2012) *Manuale di rilievo architettonico e urbano*. Torino: CittàStudi.

Bianchi, G., Bruno, N., Dall’Asta, E., Forlani, G., Re, C., Roncella, R., Santise, M., Vernizzi, C. & Zerbi, A. (2016)

‘Integrated survey for architectural restoration: a methodological comparison of two case studies’, *International

Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences*, XLI-B5, Proceedings of the

XXIII ISPRS Congress, Prague, Czech Republic, 12–19 July 2016.

Bordini, E. & Cottini, A. (2019) ‘The hidden Caravansary: Kursunlu Han in Karaköy, Istanbul’, in Conte, A. & Guida,

A. (eds.) *Reuso Matera. Patrimonio in divenire, conoscere, valorizzare, abitare*. Rome: Gangemi International.

Dixon, J., Verdiani, G. & Cornell, P. (eds.) (2017) *Architecture, archaeology and contemporary city planning:

Issues of scale*. USA: Lulu Press.

Carlotti, P., Camiz, A. & Díez, C. (eds.) (2017) *Urban morphology and design: Joint research perspectives and

methodological comparison: Italy, Spain*. In *U+D, Urban Form and Design*. Rome: L’Erma di Bretschneider.

Cuneo, P. (1987) ‘Sinan’s contribution to the design of Galata waterfront’, *Environmental Design: Journal of the

Islamic Environmental Design Research Centre*, 1–2, pp. 210–215.

Verdiani, G., Arslan, P. & Çiçek, E. (2019) ‘Urban transformation and evolution of the Beyoğlu waterfront in

Istanbul’, in Conte, A. & Guida, A. (eds.) *ReUSO Matera: Patrimonio in divenire, conoscere, valorizzare, abitare*.

Rome: Gangemi, pp. 1215–1226.

Dallegio D’Alessio, E. (1946) ‘Galata et ses environs dans l’antiquité’, *Revue des études byzantines*, 4, pp.

218–238.

Caniggia, G. & Maffei, G. L. (1979) *Composizione architettonica e tipologia edilizia. 1: Lettura dell’edilizia di

base*. Venezia: Marsilio.

Sağlam, H. S. (2018) *Urban palimpsest at Galata and an architectural inventory study for the Genoese colonial

territories in Asia Minor*. PhD thesis. Milan: Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture and Urban Studies.

Müller-Wiener, W. (1977) *Bildlexikon zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion–Konstantinupolis–Istanbul bis zum Beginn

des 17. Jahrhunderts*. Tübingen: Wasmuth.

Dewing, H. B. (2015) *Procopius Caesariensis*. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Khan Madel, G. (1988) *I caravanserragli turchi*. Bergamo–Rome: Lucchetti.

Verdiani, G. & Michelon, S. (2025) ‘Digital survey in Beyoğlu, Istanbul: Reading the shapes and values from the built

heritage’, in Camiz, A. & Özkuvancı Şimşir, Ö. (eds.) *Urban façade: Designing Istanbul’s waterfront*. Istanbul:

DRUM Press.

Abstract

Galata, one of the most historically layered districts of Istanbul, represents a critical site for understanding the

urban palimpsest of the Golden Horn. The research focuses on the analysis and documentation of selected blocks

along the Galata waterfront, investigating the relationship between surviving defensive structures, later architectural

additions, and contemporary transformations affecting the district. The study adopts an interdisciplinary

methodology combining archival and cartographic research, architectural-historical analysis, stratigraphic

urban reading, and advanced metric digital surveying through 3D laser scanning. The resulting point clouds, orthophotos,

and CAD restitutions enabled the reconstruction of diachronic transformations and the identification

of alterations, discontinuities, and degradation patterns within key architectural artifacts, including the second

tower of the fortification system and the historic Caravansary complex.

The integration of empirical survey data and historical sources facilitated the development of a coherent interpretative

narrative linking urban growth processes to the physical evidence of masonry structures and spatial

organization. This approach contributes to understanding the dynamics through which traditional urban tissues

have been replaced by new construction driven by globalized market logic, often compromising typological continuity

and authenticity. The outcomes support conservation-oriented strategies, promote informed decision-making

for restoration and reuse, and provide a framework for future research and public dissemination. The work,

presented and discussed during the International Urban Design Workshop “Urban Façade: Istanbul Waterfront”

(2019), highlights the value of accurate documentation as a tool for preserving memory and guiding culturally

responsible urban transformation.

Keywords

Digital metric survey, 3D laser scanning, Point cloud processing, Stratigraphic reading, Archival and cartographic research,

Architectural-historical analysis, Orthophoto and CAD restitution, Urban morphological analysis, Diachronic transformation

mapping, Heritage conservation strategies

Authors

Roberta Spallone, roberta.spallone@polito.it, Dipartimento di Architettura e Design (DAD), Politecnico di Torino

Marco Vitali, marco.vitali@polito.it, Dipartimento di Architettura e Design (DAD), Politecnico di Torino

Doruk Peker, dorukpeker@gmail.com, Dipartimento di Architettura e Design (DAD), Politecnico di Torino

Silvia Michelon, silvia_michelon@hotmail.it, Dipartimento di Architettura (DiDA), Università degli Studi di Firenze



Ogni giorno, archivi, musei e banche

rischiano di perdere la loro storia

a causa di due nemici:

- FUOCO

- DEGRADO BIOLOGICO

I sistemi antincendio tradizionali

salvano l'edificio,

ma distruggono i beni contenuti

all'interno con acqua o gas

Makros protegge il patrimonio culturale

utilizzando tecnologie avanzate

e intelligenza artificiale.

Con Bacteria - Blockfire® e ACS

conserviamo materiali e memoria

DOCUMENTATION

Time fragments: design proposal for

Theodosius’s Forum, Istanbul

by Alessandro Camiz

The 3D laser scanner survey

of the remains of the Forum

of Theodosius in Istanbul,

conducted by Zemastek in

cooperation with Giorgio

Verdiani, was the foundation

for the design developed

during the international

Fig. 1 - The design proposal plan and section (DRUM Design, 2023).

workshop Architecture and

Archaeology. Theodosius’

Forum, Istanbul. The

design proposes the

partial demolition of the

Şimkeşhane building,

defining a new excavation

of the area of the forum,

revealing the ancient Mese.

The project also includes a

small pavilion as the gate

of the archaeological area,

with an Analogical and

digital Augmented Reality

(AR) device displaying

the reconstruction of

Theodosius’ arch.

PRELIMINARY NOTES ON THE

TOPOGRAPHY OF THEODOSIUS'

FORUM IN CONSTANTINOPLE

We conducted a preliminary

research on the topography of

Theodosius’ forum in order to

define a credible hypothesis on

its form and location. To define

the plan (fig. 1) we examined the

archaeological findings of the

area, the main historical sources,

and the diachronic sequence of

cartographical representations of

the area starting from Giovanni

Andreas Vavassore, Byzantivm

sive Costantineopolis, 1535.

The comparative analysis of the

monuments described in the

Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitana

for the regions VII and VIII of

Constantinople allowed us to

establish the location of the

Basilica Theodosiana on the

northern side of the Mese.

We identified the Thermae

Carosianas on the north with

the great Nymphaeum at the

end of Valens aqueduct, and the

porticus connecting this forum

to the other one dedicated to

Constantine. We defined the

location of the tortile column

of Theodosium, by comparing

Vavassore’s plan, where it is

depicted still standing, with

other later plans such as the

Alman Mavilleri (1913-1914). This

hypothesis seemed sufficiently

coherent with the description

of the forum given by the Patria

Constantinopoleos.

“About Taurus. That in the

Taurus there is a stele of the

great Theodosius, but it was

formerly of silver, Although he

received those from the nations

who came, there were former

palaces there and a palace of



the "Romans", although in the

so-called "Alonitzin". On top of

the great column Theodosius was

placed, and his sons, Honorius

on the stone arch to the west,

and Arkadius on the stone arch

to the east, above the arches of

the great tetradesians columns.

And in the middle of the court

is a great horse, whom some

call Jesus the son of Naeus, and

others Bellerophon, who came

from the great Antioch. And the

four-sided stone horse is covered

with the history of the city's end,

of the future gates of this city.”

(Preger, 1901).

The plan was essential for the

design. Since the design intends

to partially re-establish the forum

within the surrounding most

central area of Beyazit and its

monuments and urban tissues,

it was necessary to outline our

interpretation of what the forum

and its monuments used to be.

Designing within an archaeological

area, in our opinion, is almost

impossible without a detailed

survey of the context. The needed

survey is usually multiscalar,

operating at the territorial scale,

the building scale, and at the scale

of the architectural fragments.

Architectural fragments which

in this case are abundantly lying

on the sidewalks without any

indication of their importance.

We are very thankful to Fahrettin

Doğan Tekin (Zemastek Yapı

İnşaat Restorasyon) for the LIDAR

survey of Theodosius’ forum and

to Giorgio Verdiani (University

of Florence) for the scientific

coordination of the LIDAR survey

and the photogrammetric survey

of the architectural fragments.

Without their contribution, it

would have been impossible for

us to define a credible design

proposal. If we could generalise

this principle, we should say that

in an archaeological area, survey

and design must walk together, at

the same time, instead of being

two separate and independent

actions as usually happens.

Upon this principle of scientific

cooperation, we have based the

action of more than 10 years of

activity within the workshops

and summer schools organised

by the International Network for

Architecture and Archaeology.

INAA is an international network

of scholars, researchers and

practitioners who in the past

10 years have been working

in the field of Architecture

and Archaeology. Each year it

organises a summer school open

to students of architecture,

restoration, archaeology

and design. https://www.

architecture-archaeology.com/

DIDa: Fig. 3 - 3D digital model of

the stand designed to show the

architectural fragments (DRUM

Design, 2023).

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK

OF THEODOSIUS IN ISTANBUL:

DESIGN PROPOSAL

Currently the only visible remains

of the forum are two bases of the

columns of the monumental arch,

and a collection of architectural

fragments, mostly belonging to

the arch as well, scattered along

the sidewalk of Ordu Caddesi.

The fragments consist mainly in

marble elements belonging to

the architectural order of the

arch, very singularly a Heracles

Corinthian. The columns had

notches on the shaft, just as

Heracles’ classical statues

depicted the club, and to

enhance this symbolism, the

column’s imoscape displayed

the hand of the mythical figure

sculpted. The arch was built to

hold the statues of the two sons

of Theodosius, Arcadius and

Honorius, and perhaps it was

meant to express a menace to the

population in times of trouble.

The bases and the fragments are

the result of an excavation, that

was possible after the partial

Fig. 2 - 3D digital model of the design proposal with materials (DRUM Design, 2023).

Fig. 3 - 3D digital model of the stand designed to show the architectural fragments (DRUM Design, 2023).

demolition of Şimkeşhane, by

British archaeologists Stanley

Casson and David Talbot Rice

(1927-1928) leading to the

discovery Theodosius triumphal

arch (A.M.W. 1929). After the

excavations, there was a partial

anastylosis of some columns on

top of the bases, still visible,

the side of the Şimkeşhane was

reconstructed in order to function

as a market again, and another

base is currently visible in one

of the shops on the ground floor.

After the understanding that

most of the Şimkeşhane as we see

it is not the original building but a

modern reconstruction, we came

to the conclusions that it could be

possible to demolish it (partially)

in order to establish a wider and

deeper excavation capable of

uncovering the pavement of the

forum and the Mese. We based

the design on this assumption

and on a number of key design

concepts such as time, limit/

enclosure, levels, entrance,

fragments, public space and

narrative. After the subtraction

provided by the proposed

archaeological excavation our

proposal included the partial

anastylosis of the columns over

their bases, a small pavilion

providing the entrance to the

archaeological area on the street

level, a vertical distribution to

reach the archaeological level,

small archaeological laboratories

and deposits on the lower lever.

Within the entrance gate, a glass

with the printed reconstruction

of the arch would provide to the

visitor the analogic augmented



Fig. 4 - Analogical and digital Augmented Reality AR for the reconstruction of Theodosius’ arch. (DRUM Design, 2023).

Fig. 5 - Analogical and digital Augmented Reality AR for the reconstruction of Theodosius’ arch. (DRUM Design, 2023).a Fig. 5 - Analogical

and digital Augmented Reality AR for the reconstruction of Theodosius’ arch. (DRUM Design, 2023).

reality view of the forum. On

the lower level, we designed a

path for the visitor, displaying

on properly designed stands

with captions, the remaining

fragments. We conceived the

retaining walls of the excavation,

as well as the pavilion itself, as

entirely covered with a green

wall system.

CONCLUSIONS

Not only as we mentioned,

the digital survey of the

premises were essential for the

development of this proposal, but

also the deep understanding of

the site and the ongoing identified

process. A conformal design is

based upon the understanding

of all the phases, including

the first construction, the

collapse following the historical

earthquakes, the subsequent

ottoman buildings constructed

atop, but also the modern

excavations and restorations. The

knowledge of these phases in an

archaeological area is the starting

point for a properly conceived

design, a design conceived as

the continuation of an identified

ongoing process.

CREDITS

This project was developed during

the +10 ISTANBUL RESEARCH

WORKSHOP 2023, Architecture

and Archaeology. Theodosius’

Forum, Istanbul, organised by

the Dynamic Research on Urban

Morphology DRUM Lab, at the

Faculty of Architecture and

Design of Özyeğin University,

Istanbul, from 10th to 21st July,

2023. The design team “DRUM

Design: Theodosius’ Forum,

Time Fragments” was directed

by Alessandro Camiz, (Özyeğin

University) with the tutors

Mariagrazia Leonardi (University

of Catania), Hülya Yavaş (Özyeğin

University), Berke Baybaş

(Özyeğin University), Tan Atayurt

(Özyeğin University) and Erdinç

Can (Özyeğin University) and

the students: Dur Ali Mohammed

Mudhafar (Özyeğin University)

and Vera Akbülbül (Özyeğin

University).

Chronology

337-373 Valens Aqueduct

370, april 9 church of holy apostles inaugurated

373 Nymphaeum Maius (prefect Clearchus)

375 Thermae Carosianae

378 Valens dies at Hadrianopolis

379 Theodosius I Augustus

381 Council in Constantinople

383 Theodosius quinquennalia in Constantinople

386 Construction works start for the column

393 Forum Tauri is renamed after Emperor Theodosius I, and inaugurated

as Forum of Theodosius

394 Theodosius I Emperor

395 Theodosius dies kal feb (Chron, Pasc. 565) in Milan

395 Column of Theodosius

395 Theodosius statue kal aug (Chron, Pasc. 565)

395 Arch of Theodosius

407 earthquake, “aereae tegulae Fori Theodosii a tectia excussae

in Coenopolim delatae fuerint, (Chron, Pasc. 570)

465 Fire burns the Basilica (Mango, 1985)

480 Earthquake Statue of Theodosius falls

506 Statue of Athanasius replaces Statue of Theodosius

532 Nika riots

527–565 Basilica A

558 the central arch and the statue of Arcadius collapsed

740 Earthquake destroys the arch

1454-1458 Eski Saray is built

1460 Construction of the Mint (Sirmakesh Han)

1500-1505 Beyazıt Hamam

1500-1505 Bayezid II Mosque

1509 Earthquake damages Mosque

1540–1541 Eski Saray is destroyed by a fire

1535 Giovanni Andreas Vavassore, Byzantivm sive Costantineopolis

1557 Süleymaniye Mosque is built

1572 G. Braun and F. Hogenberg, Byzantium nunc Constantinopolis

1573–1574 Mimar Sinan restores the mosque

1625-1632 Eski Saray is restored

1687 Another fire destroys Eski Saray

1749 Fire-watch timber tower in Beyazıt

1756 Great Fire of Cibali destroys Beyazıt Tower

1836-1837 Ministry of Wa-rBâb-ı Seraskeri

1828 New Beyazıt Tower

1889 Earthquake damages the Beyazıt Tower

1927-8 excavations in Simkeş Hanı by British archaeologists Stanley

Casson and David Talbot Rice.

1928 Discovery of Theodosius triumphal arch (Rice et al 1929)

1942 Sedad Faculty Istanbul University

1948 and 1961 Works to enlarge Ordu Street and Beyazıt Square



References

Preger T. ed. (1901) Scriptores originum Constantinopolitanarum, B.G. Teubner, Lipsiae.

A.M.W. (1929) Second Report upon the Excavations carried out in and near the Hippodrome of Constantinople

in 1928 on behalf of the British Academy. London: Published for the British Academy by

Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press

Raymond J. (1955) ‘Du Forum Bovis au Forum Tauri. Étude de topographie’, Revue des études byzantines,

13, pp. 85-108.

Naumann R. (1976) ‘Neue Beobachtungen am Theodosiusbogen und Forum Tauri in Istanbul’, Istanbuler

Mitteilungen, 26, pp. 117–141.

Mango C.A. (1985) Le développement urbain de Constantinople, IVe-VIIe siècles, Diffusion de Boccard,

Paris.

Berger A. (2000) ‘Streets and Public Spaces in Constantinople’, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 54, pp. 161-172.

Gurallar N. (2007) ‘From a Courtyard to a Square Transformation of the Beyazıt Meydanı in Early Nineteenth

Century İstanbul’, METU Journal of the Faculty of Architecture, 24(1), pp. 71-92.

Ersin Ö. (2007) İstanbul Beyazıt’taki Theodosıus Forumu Geç Antik Dönemden Osmanlı Dönemi’ne Kadar

Forum Ve Yapılarının Değişimi, Thesis (M.Sc.), İstanbul Technical University, Institute of Science and

Technology,

Küçük E. and Sema Kubat A. (2018) Rethinking Urban Design Problems through Morphological Regions:

Case of Beyazıt Square, in V. Colomer (ed.) City and territory in the Globalization Age, 24th ISUF International

Conference proceedings, Editorial Universitat Politècnica de Valencia, Valencia, pp. 463-470.

Camiz A. (2019) Architettura e Archeologia: la composizione conforme dello strato contemporaneo, in

A. Calderoni, B. Di Palma, A. Nitti and G. Oliva (eds.) Il Progetto di Architettura come intersezione di

saperi. Per una nozione rinnovata di Patrimonio, Società Scientifica nazionale dei docenti di Progettazione

Architettonica, SSD ICAR 14, 15 e 16, Naples. pp. 342- 346.

Camiz A. (2024) ‘Architecture and archaeology: the common meaning of past and future built forms’,

FORMA CIVITATIS: International journal of urban and territorial morphological studies, 4(1), pp. 8-15.

Camiz, A.(2025) Cyclical Inversion of limit and centre. The formation process of the thirteenth and

fourteenth regions of Constantinople, Istanbul, in Camiz, A. and Özkuvancı Şimşir Ö. (eds. ) (2025)

URBAN FAÇADE: DESIGNING ISTANBUL’S WATERFRONT, DRUM Press, Istanbul, pp. 22-39.

Dakari A. (2022) The public places in Late Antique Constantinople. The case of fora, Thesis (MA), International

Hellenic University, Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean Studies.

Notitia Urbis Constantinopolitanae, Ms. canon. misc. 378, (1436), Bodleian Library, University of Oxford

Abstract

The Laser scanner survey of the remains of the Forum of Theodosius in Istanbul, conducted by Zemastek

in cooperation with Giorgio Verdiani, was the foundation for the design developed during the international

workshop Architecture and Archaeology. Theodosius’ Forum, Istanbul. The design proposes

the partial demolition of the Şimkeşhane building, defining a new excavation of the area of the forum,

revealing the ancient Mese. The project also includes a small pavilion as the gate of the archaeological

area, with an Analogical and digital Augmented Reality (AR) device displaying the reconstruction of

Theodosius’ arch.

Keywords

Architectural Design; Archaeology; Architectural Heritage; Urban Design; Urban Morphology

Authors

Alessandro Camiz

alessandro.camiz@unich.it

Dipartimento di Architettura, Università degli Studi “Gabriele d’Annunzio” Chieti - Pescara

DOCUMENTATION

Priene and Magnesia ad Maeander:

main architectures and urban morphology

by Görkem Kökdemir, Pelin Yoncaci Arslan

Despite differences in scale, origin,

and topographical context, Priene

and Magnesia ad Maeander share

fundamental planning principles rooted

in the Hippodamian urban model,

characterized by orthogonal layouts

and a clear hierarchy of civic, religious,

and residential spaces. The impact of

environmental dynamics, including

seismic activity and fluvial processes,

has a significant impact on the urban

evolution of both cities. Recent digital

survey campaigns using photogrammetry

and 3D laser scanner technologies in

the present time are essential tools for

documenting, analysing, and interpreting

these complex archaeological contexts.

The cities of Priene and

Magnesia ad Maeander

represent two important

examples for the study of urban

development, the relationship

between environments and

settlements, and architectural

expression in the Hellenistic

area, in a territory later known

as Asia Minor. Both communities,

situated in the Maeander valley

of western Anatolia, reflect the

dynamics of power in the aftermath

of Alexander the Great’s

conquest and the subsequent

events of his sudden and premature

death, through the Roman

conquest, subsequent transformation

and abandonment. The

two cities have different origins,

scales, and urban trajectories,

but both share a series of

events in which the local Greek

communities negotiated autonomy

and identity within a rapidly

transforming geopolitical

environment until the Roman

intervention. They also share a

series of natural disasters and

transformations that should

impress and prompt reflections

on how an odd environmental

transformation may bring ruin

and chaos to formerly wealthy

settlements.

Their archaeological remains,

particularly the well-preserved

urban fabric of Priene and

the monumental sanctuaries

of Magnesia, offer opportunities

to read and interpret the

urban setup originally defined

by the civic ideologies of Hellenistic

cities and later adapted,

expanded, and transformed in

the Roman period. Both cities

share the specific urban rational

layout defined by Hippódamos

of Miletus, with rigorous planning

and a coherent integration

of architecture, public, social,

religious, and private spaces

into a system that would shape

and influence the future developments

for centuries.

Fig. 01 - Map of the area with Priene, Magnesia and Mileto with the progressive transformation

of the coastline, data from R.J.A. Talbert (base map from openstreetmap.org).



THE URBAN CONTEXT IN PRIENE

Priene is situated on the southern

slope of Mount Mykale, overlooking

what in antiquity was

a gulf opening into the Aegean

Sea. By the Hellenistic period,

however, the silting of the Maeander

had already begun to

push the coastline westward,

thus gradually detaching Priene

from the seashore that had once

defined its economy and strategic

importance. The city was

architecturally replanned in the

fourth century BCE, providing

a model for a rational, orthogonal

urban plan organized into

a series of large terraces. The

sloppy topography imposed serious

constraints that required a

specific architectural attention,

producing one of the clearest

surviving examples of Hellenistic

city planning.

Priene is a paradigmatic example

of urban planning of that

time (Wycherley, 1945). Its

street grid, which recognizes

Hippodamian principles, organises

the city into regular sectors

aligned with the cardinal directions,

though subtly adapted

to the mountain slope. Public

buildings, including the Agora,

the Bouleuterion, the Prytaneion,

and the Theatre, share

a coherent architectural vocabulary,

offering specific solutions

while remaining consistent with

the city’s layout. The Temple of

Athena Polias, designed by the

architect Pytheos, stands as the

city’s principal monument and

embodies the refined Ionian tradition.

It was dedicated by Alexander

the Great during his campaign.

The temple symbolised

the city’s religious devotion and

its strategic engagement with

broader geopolitical forces. At

the same time, the city suffered

from the compromise of

the harbour; its economy likely

faced serious problems from the

progressive silting of its port,

which probably led to a shift

in efforts toward agriculture,

craftsmanship, and cultural

institutions, helping realign

productive activities. At the

same time, the occurrence of

some unfortunate events, such

as strong earthquakes and occasional

rocks falling from the

mountain’s sides, certainly created

difficult situations. After

its final abandonment, the city

preserved a substantial amount

of its original architecture; the

laborious work required to

remove blocks probably made

the ruins less interesting for

Fig. 02 - View on the Bouleuterion in Priene, 3D laser scanner pointcloud, July 2022, H.B. Yavuz, F.D. Tekin (Litech, Turkey), with a QR code

to access a youtube video about the workshop held in Priene in 2022.

reuse, leaving them to wait for

centuries before being rediscovered

and excavated.

The German archaeological

campaign at the end of the

XIXth century brought to light

the main buildings and revealed

the urban pattern. Intervention

by French and English missions

led to the discovery and expansion

of the excavated areas. The

present Turkish activity led by

Ibrahim Hakan Mert is mainly

oriented to maintenance and

specific exploring interventions.

THE URBAN CONTEXT IN MAG-

NESIA AD MAEANDER

Magnesia ad Maeander, instead,

occupied a lowland setting on

the south bank of the Maeander

River, several kilometres East

of Priene. Unlike its neighbour,

Magnesia developed in a flatter

environment that facilitated

expansion and allowed

the construction of monumental

sanctuaries and civic spaces

on a scale beyond the capacity

of Priene’s terraced hillside.

Although less well preserved,

Magnesia’s remains, especially

the Artemision and the stadium,

demonstrate how a city with

strong regional connections

and external patronage could

reshape its urban environment

to communicate prosperity,

cultural refinement, and political

significance. Both cities

navigated the shifting imperial

administrations of the Hellenistic

period. Initially subject to

Persian authority, they were

successively incorporated into

the realms of the Diadochi,

most notably the Seleucid and

Attalid kingdoms. The interests

of these monarchies, whether

expressed through benefactions,

administrative oversight,

or military imposition, significantly

influenced the development

of the two communities.

Yet both Priene and Magnesia

retained strong civic identities,

expressed in epigraphic

culture, religious activity, and

the maintenance of traditional

institutions.

Magnesia’s urban organization is

less comprehensively preserved,

but archaeological evidence

suggests a dynamic and ambitious

program of monumental

construction, particularly

during the second century BCE,

when the city benefited from

the patronage of the Attalid

Fig. 03 - View on the Agora in Magnesia, on the background, at the right, the Temple of Zeus, 3D laser scanner pointcloud, September 2025.



dynasty and later from Roman

domination. The Artemision of

Magnesia, dedicated to Artemis

Leukophryena, was celebrated

in antiquity as one of

the most impressive temples

in Asia Minor (Dunand, 1978).

Designed by the architect Hermogenes,

the building introduced

the pseudodipteral plan,

a significant innovation that

influenced temple architecture

throughout the Hellenistic and

Roman worlds. The sanctuary

served not only as a religious

focus but also as a symbol of

civic prestige, emphasizing the

city’s role as the guardian of a

renowned cult and host of the

Leukophryena festival, which

attracted participants from

across the Aegean. The urban

fabric of Magnesia was further

enhanced by its stadium, still

well preserved (notwithstanding

a series of significant disruptions),

and by numerous public

buildings. The scale and the

quality of these structures show

how a city positioned inland,

away from the major coastal circuits,

could nevertheless thrive

through agricultural wealth and

strategic alliances.

The city was economically

shaped by its position in the

Maeander valley, a fertile region

that produced agricultural surpluses

and supported a network

of overland and fluvial

trade routes. Magnesia probably

enjoyed more sustained

prosperity than Priene, due to

its more adaptable geographical

position and the benefits of

royal patronage. Its sanctuaries

attracted pilgrims and visitors,

adding a religious dimension to

the local economy. The recent

archaeological discovery demonstrates

the reuse and insertion

of buildings over a wide span

of time; the final abandonment

caused the city to completely

get lost in the mud of the floods

until its rediscovery by French

and German archaeological missions

at the end of the XIXth

century (Humann, 1904). After

almost a century, the interventions

resumed in 1984 with a

mission led by Orhan Bingöl,

which identified new sectors

and improved the urban layout

(Bingöl, 1998). The richness of

the discoveries yet to be made

is confirmed by ongoing archaeological

work led by Görkem

Kökdemir, which is unearthing

Fig. 04 - Photogrammetry of a series of columns in the Agora of Magnesia, September 2025.

vast, complex areas, limiting

the still-present menace of

floods, and reconstructing significant

parts, giving visitors

a better opportunity to read

the original aspects.

DIGITAL SURVEY CAMPAIGNS

The digital survey interventions,

operated in 2022

(Priene), 2024 and 2025

(Magnesia) allowed the gathering

of both architectural

and urban data, defining an

archive previously usable for

further research and study

works. The interventions

in 2022 and 2025 were conducted

using 3D laser scanner

units, terrestrial and aerial

(drone/UAV) photogrammetry

(the intervention in 2024

was based only on photogrammetry

of the stadium and of

some sparse findings). In this

way, the level of detail gathered

may range from the city

scale to the single building to

the specific detail, enabling a

continuous reading in a real

interdisciplinary mode. This

was widely achieved through

the use of 3D laser scanner

units with a consistent operating

range and high accuracy,

UAVs combined with terrestrial

image capture, and terrestrial

photogrammetry with

varying distances for specific

details. In this way, we have

obtained different densities in

describing architectural parts

and artworks while maintaining

the overall context without

increasing computational

time or model complexity.

References

Bingöl, O. (1998). Magnesia ad Maeandrum: Magnesia on the Meander.

Turchia: Dönmez Offset.

Humann, C. (1904). Magnesia am Maeander. Bericht über die Ergebnisse

der Ausgrabungen der Jahre 1891–1893. Berlin, Reimer.

Dunand, F. (1978). Sens et fonction de la fête dans la Grèce hellénistique.

Les cérémonies en l’honneur d’Artémis Leucophryéné, in

Dialogues d’histoire ancienne, n. 4, pp. 201-215.

Talbert, R.J.A., (2000) Barrington Atlas Map-by-Map Directory

(Two-Volumes), Princeton University Press.

Wycherley, R. E. (1945). Priene and Modern Planning, in Greece &

Rome, Jan., 1945, Vol. 14, No. 40 (Jan., 1945), pp. 12-16, Cambridge

University Press on behalf of The Classical Association.

Abstract

Priene and Magnesia ad Maeander constitute two emblematic case studies

for investigating Hellenistic urban planning, architectural form,

and the relationship between cities and their environmental settings

in western Anatolia. Both settlements developed within the Maeander

valley during the Hellenistic period, under complex political and

cultural conditions following Alexander the Great’s conquests, and later

underwent significant transformations during Roman rule before

abandonment. Despite differences in scale, origin, and topographical

context, the two cities share fundamental planning principles rooted

in the Hippodamian urban model, characterized by orthogonal layouts

and a clear hierarchy of civic, religious, and residential spaces. Priene,

founded on the steep slopes of Mount Mykale, represents one of

the most complete examples of an orthogonal urban system adapted

to a challenging terrain. Its preserved street grid, domestic quarters,

and monumental buildings, including the Temple of Athena Polias,

reflect the ideological coherence of Hellenistic urbanism. Magnesia

ad Maeander, established in a flatter landscape, developed on a larger

scale, enabling the construction of extensive monumental complexes

such as the Artemision and the stadium, which expressed civic identity

and regional importance. The impact of environmental dynamics,

including seismic activity and fluvial processes, have a significant

impact on the urban evolution of both cities. Recent digital survey

campaigns using photogrammetry and 3D laser scanner technologies

in the present time, are essential tools for documenting, analysing,

and interpreting these complex archaeological contexts.

Keywords

Architecture; archaeology; urban development; survey; Hellenistic period;

survey; 3D laser scanner; photogrammetry; uavs; mapping

Authors

Görkem Kökdemir

gkokdemir@ankara.edu .tr

Department of Classical Archaeology, Ankara University, Turkey

Pelin Yoncacı Arslan

pyoncaci@metu.edu.tr

History of Architecture Department, Middle East Technical University,

Ankara, Turkey



GECO: digital innovation to preserve, interpret, and transmit cultural heritage.

Key Actions

Scientific Documentation

High-precision 3D technologies and GIS to ensure accurate and reliable heritage records.

Process Quality

Every step is traceable and reproduible, following rigorous digital protocols.

Interpretive Innovation

We create immersive and inclusive narratives to engage diverse audiences.

Knowledge Transmission

We share tools and insights to foster skills, collaboration, and cultural responsibility

20 years

of experience in the world

of recording Cultural Heritage

60 people

Academics and freelancers

from diverse backgrounds and countries

250 cultural heritage asset

digitally recorded and promoted

in Italy and worldwide

30 national and European research initiatives

coordinated or participated in, focused on

cultural heritage innovation and dissemination

300 publications

on cultural heritage in international contexts

Follow our journey and contribute:

DOCUMENTATION

Priene, an ancient tale about

the fury of Nature

Digital technologies applied to the archaeological site

by Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini,

Vieri Cardinali

The combination of

methodologies and

What remains today

of the ancient city

of Priene, a Hellenic

settlement in Asia Minor,

is an archaeological site

located in the modern

region of Aydın in

Turkey. Nevertheless,

the story behind these

techniques belonging to the

hard sciences with those

peculiar to the humanities

thus represent, particularly

for the field of archaeology

and architecture, an

innovation with respect to

traditional practices thanks

to the use of Computer

Graphics methodologies,

both 2D and 3D.

ruins highlights the

rise and decline of an

ancient population that

endured natural disasters

and enemy invasions.

Advanced research using

new digital tools makes it

possible to identify traces

of this past, offering

insights into the city’s

development and helping

to enhance the value of

what survives.

Fig. 1 - Plan of Priene, in Griechische Städteanlagen. Copyrighted work available under Creative

Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0. Credit: Wellcome Library, London.



In the natural context, the

human being has always looked

for places to live in safety.

Shelters against predators,

protections from the cold and the

rain, the realization of houses to

live in can be seen as an outcome

of a research of protection.

At a wider scale, the urban

settlements, the villages and

the cities, have represented the

association of more individuals

into stronger societies.

The anthropization of the

environment has been, in history,

the response to the human need

to accommodate nature to their

will, passing from an hostile place

to an Eden garden providing foods

and supplies.

Nonetheless, the unequal battle

between humans and nature has

revealed on many occasions the

power of planet Earth, capable

of destroying rapidly what has

required years of work. Floods,

storms, earthquakes, volcanos

are the most catastrophic ways

to point out the ephemeral

presence of human settlements

in the world.

In history, the battle for ancient

civilisations was harder than

nowadays. Despite the more

famous events, e.g. the Pompeian

destruction occurred in 79 BC.,

many minor episodes have led to

the collapse of ancient societies.

In this context, earthquakes are

within the most dramatic natural

hazards. The unexpected ground

shaking is causing the collapse

of the constructions, leading

to death and injuries. In the

unfortunate cases, this can bring

further destruction. The most

iconic and well-known example is

given by the Lisbon earthquake of

1755; after the mainshock, which

led to damage and collapse of

constructions, fires started in the

houses, while a tsunami hit the

lower part of the city. When the

fury of nature stopped, around

85% of the city was destroyed,

with around one third of the

population’s death.

Dealing with the topic, when an

urban settlement was devastated

by an earthquake, in many cases,

the easiest way to re-start was

to relocate the city to another

place.

This is something still documented

in recent years (e.g. the case

of Gibellina, in Sicily IT), as in

ancient times.

NATURAL AND HUMAN

FURY IMPACTING PRIENE

In minor Asia, the history of

the city of Priene, its ascent

and decay, are a testimony that

reminds the perseverance of

human beings to realize their

spaces and protect them against

the force of nature and the

changes of the world.

According to tradition Priene was

founded in the eleventh century

BC by Aepytus, grandson of the

legendary Athenian King Codrus,

in association with the Theban

Philotas.

Priene represented an important

town in Ionia and according to

ancient historical sources such as

Pliny the Elder and Strabo, the

city was struck by a devastating

earthquake in the fourth century

BC. The event caused significant

damage, leading to the collapse

of many buildings.

Priene was destroyed not only

by natural disasters but also

by human activity, enduring

repeated attacks from the

Cimmerians, Lydians, and

Persians. Following the Persian

Wars, it joined the Delian League

under Athens, which intervened

in 441 during a dispute between

Miletus and Samos over control of

Priene. (Cook & Spawforth, 2016)

However, it appears that Priene

was relocated to a different site

during the time of Alexander the

Great; he himself visited around

334 BC, and it was then that the

transfer took place, reportedly

accompanied by an inscription

granting an exemption from

tribute. The new city was built

on a series of terraces along the

steep slope of Mount Mycale,

facing Miletus and overshadowed

by its acropolis on Teloneia Hill.

This second Priene, relocated

about 3.7 km from the original

city (roughly twenty stadia), is a

prime example of urban planning

and the best surviving instance

of a town from this period.

With its walls stretching along

a broad ridge, descending from

the steep face of the Teloneia

toward what must have been the

estuary of the Maeander, the new

settlement featured a systematic,

symmetrical grid layout based

on the Hippodamian grid plan,

designed to accommodate a

population of perhaps 5,000 (Fig. 1).

The most prominent building,

towering above a lofty terrace

with a Doric Stoa, was the

sanctuary of Athena Polias.

It was designed, according

to Vitruvius, by Pytheus, the

architect of the Mausoleum at

Halicarnassus. Initially dedicated

to Alexander the Great (though

not completed at that time), it

was later rededicated to Athena

and Augustus. The shrine was

adorned with various sculptural

groups dating from the late

fourth century BC to the early

second century AD. In front of

the temple stood a monumental

altar designed by the renowned

Hermogenes of Priene (c. 150

BC), of which little has survived.

(Cordan & Besgen, 2022)

Research has shown that the

vulnerabilities and resilience

of Priene's inhabitants shaped

their responses to seismic

activity, influencing the city's

reconstruction efforts after

major earthquakes recorded in

various periods, including 68 AD

and 1653. (Altunel, 1998; Topal,

2019; Mozafari et al., 2019)

These discussions highlight

the interplay between cultural

heritage, societal structures,

and technological advancements

in understanding and mitigating

the impacts of disasters.

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES

IN DISASTER DOCUMENTATION

Despite advancements

in documenting Priene

digitally, challenges remain,

including the need for

standardised methodologies

and collaborative approaches

among interdisciplinary teams.

The integration of emerging

technologies with traditional

archaeological practices offers

promising pathways to ensure the

sustainability of cultural heritage

while addressing ethical concerns

about accessibility and community

engagement. (Giovannini et al.,

2023).

Digital technologies are vital for

documenting and safeguarding the

cultural heritage of archaeological

sites, especially during disasters.

As disasters become more

frequent and severe, the ability

to monitor, manage, and protect

architectural heritage has become

increasingly important. These

technologies enable the creation

of digital archives that not only

record the current conditions of

sites but also support disaster

response and recovery efforts

(Mendoza et al., 2023).

One of the primary methods used

in disaster documentation is 3D

scanning and photogrammetry.

These techniques enable the

collection of highly accurate data

for the virtual reconstruction

of archaeological artefacts

and sites. The combination of

historical records with 3D outputs

improves understanding of site

contexts and helps in conserving

fragile items that might be

threatened by environmental

damage or disasters. The use

of these technologies enables

the creation of detailed digital

models that serve as references

for future preservation and

restoration efforts. (Maietti,

2023).

Alongside technical

documentation, digital

technologies support the

creation of virtual exhibits and

online databases. Platforms like

Europeana, the Smithsonian's

Digital Collections or commercial

Fig. 2 - Superimposition

between point cloud of the

Athena Polia Temple and Doric

Stoa areas (159 scans) with

the reverse modelling output.

Credit: E.C.Giovannnini.


Fig. 3 - Propylon of Athena Temple at

Priene: comparison between point cloud,

picture (V. Cardinali) and portion of

Beilage 8 (Hennemeyer, 2013). Credit: E.C.

Giovannini


ones like sketchfab offer access

to millions of digitised items,

including artefacts threatened

by disasters. By making these

resources available online,

researchers and the public

can engage with and study

objects that may be physically

inaccessible due to fragility or

location. (Champion & Rahaman,

2020).

DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES APPLIED

TO PRIENE RUINS

Digital preservation not only

helps protect cultural heritage

but also ensures that knowledge

about these artefacts is shared

globally. The methodologies used

in the study of Priene involve a

systematic literature review

and bibliometric analysis based

on previous German research.

One of the main challenges

is balancing technological

innovation with the authenticity

of cultural narratives. The risk of

oversimplifying complex histories

to engage broader audiences

requires a careful approach to

digital preservation.

As digitisation projects continue

to digitise artefacts and

create virtual exhibits, best

practices for data management

must be established. Within

digital acquisition in Priene,

an integrated workflow was

Fig. 4 - Collection of 3D models about monuments, fragments and statues of the Priene archaeological area. Credit: E.C. Giovannini & G. Verdiani.

implemented to acquire and

disseminate Priene monuments

digitally, demonstrating how

digital technologies can transform

the understanding, preservation,

and communication of

archaeological heritage (figs. 2-3).

These approaches include the

practical storage of raw collection

data, processed files, and related

metadata.

The point clouds obtained (raw

data), document large-scale

survey campaigns using laser

scanning, UAV and terrestrial

photogrammetry. 3D models

(processed files) allow the analysis

of major structures such as the

Doric Stoa terrace wall and the

Theatre, revealing construction

methods, structural behaviour,

and patterns of historical damage,

particularly from seismic events.

(Giovannini et al., 2024)

Archival research (from online

platforms, e.g., iDAI.world

repository or Census database)

and 360° images and virtual tours

provide remote, georeferenced

access to Priene’s artefacts. This

includes not only monuments but

also marble statues now housed

abroad, showing how digital

acquisition, object biographies,

and virtual tours can virtually

reunite objects with their original

context (fig. 4). (Verdiani &

Giovannini, 2024)

By integrating reality-based

models, historical documentation,

semantic structuring, and online

dissemination platforms, the

projects demonstrate how

digital tools validate and expand

prior archaeological knowledge,

support conservation planning,

and make cultural heritage more

accessible to specialists and the

general public.

As researchers continue to

explore the complexities of the

past, Priene stands as a testament

to the enduring relationship

between humanity and nature,

illuminating the lessons learned

from the past as we face the

uncertainties of the future.

References

Topal, S. (2019) Evaluation of relative

tectonic activity along the

Priene-Sazlı Fault (Söke Basin,

southwest Anatolia): Insights from

geomorphic indices and drainage

analysis. Journal of Mountain Science,

16(4), pp.909-923.

Altunel, E. (1998) Evidence for

damaging historical earthquakes

at Priene, Western Turkey. Turkish

Journal of Earth Sciences, 7(1),

pp.25-36.

Cook, J., & Spawforth, A. (2016,

March 07) Priene. Oxford Classical

Dictionary. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5326

Cordan, O. and Besgen, A. (2022).

No Times But Principles, A Case Study

From Priene, Anatol.

Mozafari, N., Tikhomirov, D., Sumer,

Ö., Özkaymak, Ç., Uzel, B.,

Yeşilyurt, S., Ivy-Ochs, S., Vockenhuber,

C., Sözbilir, H. and Akçar, N.

(2019). Dating of active normal

fault scarps in the Büyük Menderes

Graben (western Anatolia) and

its implications for seismic history.

Quaternary Science Reviews, 220,

pp.111-123.

Giovannini, E.C., Tomalini, A., Bono,

J. and Pristeri, E., 2023. 3D Outputs

for an Archeological Site: The Priene

Theater. In Beyond Digital Representation:

Advanced Experiences in

AR and AI for Cultural Heritage and

Innovative Design (pp. 621-638).

Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland.

Giovannini, E.C., Verdiani, G. and

Cardinali, V. (2024) Priene, a Monumental

Disaster in the Aegean:

Digital Approaches to the Doric Stoa’s

and the Theater’s Lost Evidence.

Heritage, 7(8), pp.4538-4561.

Verdiani, G. and Giovannini, E.C.

(2024, October) From Priene to Berlin

from Berlin to Digital: Travelling

remains and digital applications for

objects’ biographies phase one. In

Proceedings of the 21th International

Conference on Culture and Computer

Science: from Humanism to

Digital Humanities (pp. 1-10).

Mendoza, M.A.D., De La Hoz Franco,

E. and Gómez, J.E.G. (2023) Technologies

for the preservation of cultural

heritage—a systematic review

of the literature. Sustainability,

15(2), p.1059.

Maietti, F. (2023) Heritage enhancement

through digital tools for

sustainable fruition—A conceptual

framework. Sustainability, 15(15),

p.11799.

Champion, E. and Rahaman, H.

(2020) Survey of 3D digital heritage

repositories and platforms. Virtual

Archaeology Review, 11(23), pp.1-

15.

Abstract

The paper describes Priene’s long

history of natural and human destruction,

focusing on how earthquakes

shaped its urban development

and relocation. It highlights

the role of modern digital technologies,

such as 3D scanning, photogrammetry,

and virtual archives,

in documenting damage, preserving

cultural heritage, and reconnecting

dispersed artefacts. Through

integrated digital workflows,

the study demonstrates how these

tools enhance archaeological understanding

and support future

conservation.

Keywords

Digital Archeology; Integrated survey;

3D digital assets; digital applications to

archeology; virtual reconstructions

Authors

Elisabetta Caterina Giovannini,

elisabettacaterina.giovannini@polito.it

Department of Architecture and Design

DAD, Politecnico di Torino

Vieri Cardinali,

vieri.cardinali@gmail.com

Department of Architecture DIDA,

University of Florence



FLORENCE, 26th – 28th August 2026

“An international symposium on advanced digital technologies

— including Artificial Intelligence, Digital Twins and FAIR data —

shaping the future of cultural heritage.”

https://digitalecosystems4h.org/

SUPPORTED BY

DOCUMENTATION

Magnesia ad Maeander,

the Stadium, a matter of scale

by Giorgio Verdiani, Francesco Tioli, Görkem Kökdemir

The Stadium of Magnesia

represents a typical

large architecture once

dedicated to sport

activities, the size and

the relationship with its

environment, together with

the remaining details, make

it a specific and fascinating

survey subject

The Stadium of Magnesia ad

Maeandrum is situated in

the southwest sector of

the ancient city, it was built in

the Ist century AD exploiting

the slopes between two hills

oriented according to a North-

South axis. It was built with

the logic of a great structure,

with a track length of about

189 meters (638 Roman Feet)

and an estimated seating

capacity of 30,000 spectators,

it represents a significant

monumental structure in the

region and for that age. It was

made on the border of the main

historical settlement, thus it was

thought as strictly connected

to the city of Magnesia, as a

high quality architecture. Its

archaeological investigations had

taken a significant step forward

since 2008, with methodic

excavations, unearthing the

stands and starting the discovery

of its architectural parts and

functional artworks. In time,

Fig. 01 - Entering the Stadium in Magnesia, September 2024.



Fig. 02 - 3D model from UAV/Drone photogrammetry, two views from the textured model version.

the stadium had suffered from

multiple old damages caused

by seismic activity, terrain

movements, floods, vegetative

overgrowth, and the looting of

stone for reuse and for lime

production, but even after such

a long series of small and great

disasters the stadium remains

one of the best-preserved

examples in Anatolia and the

wider Mediterranean world.

Extensive excavation efforts,

particularly those concluding in

2018 regarding the sphendone

(the curved end of the stadium),

have revealed architectural

properties that distinguish

this structure from known

contemporaries (Bingöl, 2020).

The reason for the creation of

such a complex and extended

architecture may be found in

its initial dedication to serve as

the venue for the Leucophryena,

a major festival dedicated to

Artemis Leucophryene (Bingöl,

2005). In this event a series

of games were used to take

place, they comprised the three

Fig. 03 - Orthophotos from SfM/IM photogrammetry of relieves with gladiator’s fights and carriage’s races.

primary branches of gymnastics

(athletics), equestrian events

(mostly horse and chariot racing)

and musical competitions. It

is of some interest reflecting

about the fact that the musical

contests were intended for the

Theatron, which appears as an

incomplete building, which may

suggest that the stadium may

have served a multi-purpose

function. Overall this last

feature was not influencing

the architectural choices in

planning this architecture,

which appears oriented to host

efficiently equestrian activities

and multiple parallel sport

exhibitions or matches.

THE STADIUM ARCHITECTURE

The architecture of the

stadium features three main

technical installations for the

administration of races: the

start structure, located at the

North end, features a complex

arrangement of 24 pillars and

arches. Excavation of the

postaments (bases) revealed

slots for a mechanism designed

to ensure a simultaneous start

for all the runners in the race.

The second is the finish line:

Located 189 meters South of the

start, the finish line is marked



by four double-prismatic freestanding

pillars. The spaces

between these pillars likely held

ribbons to determine the victor.

The third Structure is

represented by the herms,

which are the finish line pillars

decorated with double busts,

featuring both bearded and

clean-shaven figures. These

likely commemorate famous

athletes, or they may symbolize

a philosophical reflection on

the duality of victory and life

somehow recalling the "Two-

Faced Janus" (Janus Duplex)

allegorical figure (Casini, 2018).

While the Leucophryena included

equestrian events, architectural

analysis suggests the stadium

was ill-suited for heavy chariot

racing. The presence of fragile

free-standing pillars and Herms

at the finish line would have

posed a severe collision risk

during the high-speed turns

required in chariot races. It

is therefore posited that the

stadium hosted only symbolic

or light equestrian events,

while it is possible to suppose

that full-scale chariot races were

likely held in a separate, as-yetundiscovered

hippodrome. The

stadium represents a multi-scale

architecture, even in ruins the

specific features in Magnesia

demonstrate how the massive

body of the main building is

connected to the landscape

itself, It is a sign and a trace

visible from the distance and its

“U” shape create a spectacular

entrance from the side of the

city. At the same time it soon

varied its scale at the dimension

of the details, with well defined

particular use of rich materials,

like multicoloured stones and

marbles, creating a constant

attention and curiosity in the

visitor and a fascinating passage

from territorial scale to minimal

scratches on stones.

The stadium contains also a

significant epigraphic archive,

presenting a series of epigraphy

elements connected to the

ancient social stratification

of the city. This is manifest

with inscriptions found on seat

backrests and podium façades

offering insights into the social,

economic, and political levels of

the inhabitants of Magnesia.

But there are also writes that

testify inter-city relations:

an inscription on the podium

marks a section reserved for the

"Ephesians," indicating a formal

protocol for hosting spectators

from rival or neighboring cities.

Other inscriptions tell about

professional associations, like

those on the 11th, 12th, and 13th

cercises, while specific writings

name unions and associations.

These areas functioned not

only as spectator seating but

as designated spaces for guild

meetings. In the end, the

epigraphic writes testify the

elite patronage: specific rows

were allocated to prominent

families. For instance, the

"Council of Elders" and members

of the Claudian family held

reserved seating.

In the variety of sculpted writes,

a particularly notable inscription,

Mangragoreiton, can be found

across two rows adorned with

bull heads and a lion relief.

This refers to the producers

of mandrake (Mandragora), a

root characterized by a sort of

anthropomorphic shape, which

historically was associated

with aphrodisiac and medicinal

properties.

To testify the variety of

spectacular activities taking

place in the arena, a significant

contribution may come from

the podium reliefs and their

Fig. 04 - Orthographic view of the whole stadium, September 2024.

clear iconography. In fact, a

distinct characteristic of this

stadium is the extensive use

of reliefs adorning the podium

walls of the arena. Although

the original plan likely called

for approximately 150 reliefs,

only twenty-six have been

found during the unearthed

operations across the twentyseven

cercises (wedgeshaped

seating sections).

The most significant reliefs

were dedicated to athletic

and equestrian depiction:

the reliefs portray various

activities, like horse and

chariot racing, alongside

depictions of awarded prizes

and some talamoni probably

used to gather some “good

luck” in superstitious gesture

from the participants to the

competitions. The reliefs

representing gladiatorial

contexts are undoubtedly

extremely fascinating, and

capture significant attention.

Recent excavations have

uncovered these reliefs

depicting single and couples

of gladiators. However,

distinct architectural evidence

suggests that the stadium

was not the place of Bloody,

deadly confrontations, so

these reliefs probably do not

represent lethal combats.

Unlike other structures in

the same area, dedicated to

gladiatorial matches, likes the

stadia at Perge or Aphrodisias,

Magnesia lacks the protective

barriers or high walls necessary

to shield spectators from

wild animals or desperate

combatants. Consequently,

it is hypothesized that these

reliefs deficit gladiatorial

training or exhibition matches

rather than fights to the death.

Nowadays, the principal group

of reliefs is usually protected

by a robust metal cage, used to

avoid damages from the visitors

or potential thieves or vandals.

DIGITAL SURVEY

To digitally document the

Stadium and its rich set of artistic

and cultural/social elements, it

was planned a three step session

based on photogrammetry,

in September 2024, a team

composed by G. Verdiani, A.

Camiz and U. Özdemir operated

a general coverage of the whole

architectural surface of the

stadium, operating about 1000

drone/UAV shots and about

5000 terrestrial shots, all these

data were processed in a single

photogrammetry producing a

well detailed general model of

the stadium, with an high level

of details and full texturing.

In September 2025, a unit

composed by G. Verdiani, E.C.

Giovannini, F. Tioli, A. Rosone,

C. Mastroberti and E. Miho

operated the photogrammetry

of all the reliefs of the podium,

getting them in a lucky moment,

with all the cages temporarily

removed. This produced about

4000 pictures from which It

was obtained a full set of very

high resolution models and

orthophotos of these particular

artworks.

The models derived from

this second session showed

interesting aspects, in fact, It is

possible to notice some original

features: the size of the stones in

the podium is constant in height

(about 82 centimetres) while the

widths may vary. This variation

sees the realization of the reliefs

on one main stone, but then,

they are easy at having parts

on the consequent block, even

for just minor details or small

parts of the figures. In this way

there is often the presence of

richly sculpted stones connected

to almost flat ones if not for

single details. This may allow

us to hypothesize the original

presence of painting completing

the scene and having the reliefs

emerging in colours and from

a flat scenario. Something

impossible to verify, while time

and nature have completely

cancelled any trace of paint

from the surfaces, but something

stimulating the speculation

about the original aspects of

the arena and worth of further

research. In the end, the third

session would be planned in the

future for completing the survey

of the writes and decorations

along the stands. The aim is

developing a 3D map of this

specific built heritage using the

main model of the stadium as a

reference for each detail making

possible and easily accessible a

multi-resolution model of this

fascinating building.



References

Bingöl, O. (2005). Theatron. Magnesia on the Meander. Theatron.

Menderes Magnesiasi, in Magnesia Ad Maeandrum Monografilieri 1 264.

Bingöl, O. (2020). Magnesia Ad Maeandrum 1984-2020, Bilgin Cültür Sanat Sti Ltd. Turkey.

Casini, F. D. (2018). Giano Bifronte, il padre dimenticato dei Romani, in Aliseo, 26 12, ISSN 3035-0956.

Abstract

The Stadium of Magnesia ad Maeander represents one of the most monumental and well-preserved athletic

architectures of Asia Minor, distinguished by its scale, architectural complexity, and rich cultural significance.

Built in the first century AD along the slopes of two hills, the stadium accommodated approximately 30,000

spectators, closely connected to the city’s civic life. Archaeological investigations have progressively revealed its

architectural layout, installations for athletic competitions, and extensive sculptural and epigraphic programs.

Originally associated with the Leucophryena festival dedicated to Artemis, the stadium hosted a wide range of

events. Architectural analysis, however, suggests that its design was optimized primarily for athletic and light

equestrian activities rather than full-scale chariot racing. Of particular importance are the reliefs decorating

the podium walls and the numerous inscriptions carved on seating and architectural elements, which provide valuable

insights into social stratification, professional associations, inter-city relations, and elite patronage within

Magnesia. Recent digital documentation campaigns employing UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry have enabled

the creation of high-resolution 3D models of the stadium and its sculptural elements. These digital datasets

support multi-scalar analysis, enhance interpretative possibilities, and contribute significantly to the long-term

study, conservation, and dissemination of this exceptional architectural complex.

Keywords

Architecture; Archaeology; 3D model; UAV; Drone; photogrammetry;

mesh; texture

Authors

Giorgio Verdiani

giorgio.verdiani@unifi.it

Dipartimeno di Architettura, University of Florence, Italy

Francesco Tioli

francesco.tioli@unifi.it


Görkem Kökdemir

gkokdemir@ankara.edu.tr

Department of Classical Archaeolgy, Ankara University, Turkey

Görkem Kökdemir

CASE STUDIES

On Stage in Antiquity, On Screen in the Digital Age:

Two Thousand Years of urban presence and integration

of the Theatre in Priene

by Giorgio Verdiani, Andrea Rosone

The theatre of Priene,

among the best-preserved

in Asia Minor, represents

an exemplary case study

for testing integrated

methods of digital

surveying, procedural

modeling, and virtual

reality applied to

archaeology.

ANCIENT PRIENE AND

ITS THEATRE

Priene was founded in the Caria

region of the western part of

Anatolia, the present Turkey,

the settlement is situated on the

southern slope of Mount Mykale,

overlooking what in antiquity was

a gulf opening into the Aegean

Sea. From the Archaic period to

the Hellenistic age, however, the

silting of the Maeander river, once

entering the sea at the East of

Priene, had gradually pushed the

coastline westward, detaching

Priene from the seashore that

had once defined its economy

and strategic importance.

The city was architecturally

realised in the IV century BCE,

providing a model environment

for the implementation of a

rational, orthogonal urban plan,

organized in a series of large

terraces, the sloppy topography

imposed constraints that

required a specific architectural

attention, producing one of the

Fig. 01 - View of the theatre, July 2022; View of

the archaeological site of the theatre. Panorama

taken during the photographic survey phase.



clearest surviving examples of

Hellenistic city planning. Priene

is a paradigmatic example of

urban planning of that time

(Wycherley,1945). Its street

grid, in which It Is possible to

recognize the Hippodamian

principles, organises the city

into regular sectors aligned to

the cardinal directions, though

subtly adapted to the mountain

slope. Public buildings at

Priene, including the Agora, the

Bouleuterion, the Prytaneion,

and the Theatre, participate

in a coherent architectural

vocabulary, presenting specific

solutions, but remaining coherent

to the city layout.

The Theatre of Priene is situated

on the third urban terrace of the

ancient city, in an intermediate

position between the agora and

the sanctuary of Athena Polias.

The building, exploits the terrain

and cliff slope and has most of

the additional parts and all the

external elements constructed

in marble blocks. It exhibits the

canonical articulation of Greek

theatres (Lawrence, Tomlinson,

1996): cavea, proedria, orchestra,

proskenion, stage building, and

parodoi. The cavea is organized

into five radial sectors, separated

by six stairways approximately

0.92–0.96 metres wide. The lower

rows are carved directly into the

rock, while the upper ones rest

on an artificial foundation made

of regular stone blocks; only part

of these upper rows survives

today, while many of the benches

have been lost. The seats consist

of superimposed slabs with an

average height between 39 and

40 centimetres, calibrated to the

natural slope of the hillside.

The curved layout of the benches,

reconstructible thanks to

historical surveys and comparison

with photogrammetry, shows

slight irregularities suggesting the

use of arcs with non-coincident

centers. This aspect, apparently

secondary, becomes relevant

in digital modeling because it

requires avoiding geometric

simplifications that are too rigid

and would misrepresent the

original construction logic.

Between the cavea and the

orchestra lies the proedria,

arranged as a paved band of

stone blocks that hosted the

row of honorary seats. In this

area, five marble thrones and a

central altar are still preserved,

elements likely added during

a later phase compared to the

original configuration. The

thrones feature articulated

bases, lion-paw legs, ivy motifs,

and curved backs with Ionicvolute

armrests; the quality of

the carving and attention to

detail confirm the representative

function of this zone, reserved

for civic and religious authorities.

The orchestra measures 18.65

m in diameter and corresponds

almost exactly to the length of the

proskenion. The latter represents

one of the distinguishing features

of the Theatre of Priene, as it

preserves twelve frontal pillars

and several lateral ones still

standing. The Doric entablature,

now fragmentary, originally

displayed rich polychromy:

triglyphs outlined in purple,

metopes alternating in black and

white, red cornices and fillets,

blue architraves. These painted

traces, documented by Wiegand

and Schrader, were adopted as

references for defining materials

in the digital reconstruction

(Wiegand, Schrader, 1895-1898).

From the proskenion façade,

stone beams project toward the

rear, connecting the scene front

to the back wall and supporting

the wooden floor of the upper

level. The stage rooms, now

completely lost, were accessible

through five doors whose

positions are reconstructible

thanks to historical drawings.

The stage building, particularly

its vertical development and its

relationship with the proskenion,

was reconstructed following the

hypothesis proposed by Armin

von Gerkan, which integrates

the Priene data with typological

comparisons to other theatres

(Gerkan, 1921). The parodoi,

located on the sides of the scene,

still preserve their masonry

access structures and constitute

an additional point of comparison

between the existing state and

the reconstruction.

Overall, the Theatre of Priene

stands out for the exceptional

amount of preserved lower

architectural elements and for

the quality of the historical

documentation available. This

dual condition makes it possible to

produce a digital reconstruction

that does not merely offer a

formal restitution but explicitly

clarifies the relationship between

what is preserved, what can be

reconstructed with reasonable

certainty, and what remains

hypothetical.

THE PHOTOGRAMMETRIC SURVEY

The definition of the current

state was carried out through

a photogrammetric survey that

combined ground-based and

drone-based imagery. A total of

824 images were acquired: 795

ground shots taken with a SONY

ILCE-6000 mirrorless camera

and, for the detailed recording of

the proedria, with a Nikon D800e

equipped with a macro lens; and

29 aerial images, produced using

a DJI Spark drone flying at low

altitude above the orchestra

and the cavea. The ground shots

followed a radial path along the

cavea and a linear path along

the proskenion, with multiple

fan-shaped captures to ensure

redundant coverage of shaded

areas.

Processing was performed in

RealityCapture. The initial

alignment of the images generated

several separate components due

to the presence of vegetation,

visual discontinuities, and scale

differences between aerial and

terrestrial shots. To bring the

model into a single reference

system, shared Control Points

were identified across the

various components, placed on

clearly recognizable elements

(slab edges, throne bases, joint

intersections). Introducing at

least three common points

made it possible to merge

all components into a single

macro-model.

DIGITAL MODELLING

The goal of the digital modeling

process was not to produce

a single static model, but

Fig. 02 - Plan view

from the SfM/IM photogrammetry;

Final restitution

of the photogrammetric

model of the existing state

exported from RealityCapture

after the alignment of all components

(drone and ground photos)

through control points.



Fig. 03 - Digital reconstruction of the theatre; Final phase of the modelling process in Blender, after importing the construction details

through metadata via a Python script. The resulting model was obtained by refining the construction details through sculpting and texturing

using OpenShadingLanguage.

to construct an information

structure capable of explicitly

describing the geometric and

typological functioning of the

theatre. To this end, the work

was carried out in Rhinoceros 7

with the support of Grasshopper,

organizing the complexity of

the monument into a network

of objects, instances, and

metadata.

Deconstruction

and macro-structure

The theatre was divided into five

macro-groups: cavea, proedria,

orchestra, proskenion and stage

building, and parodoi. Each

group includes sets of recurring

elements: steps, benches, bases,

backs, thrones, columns, pillars,

beams, slabs. For each typology,

a single reference object was

modeled, conceived as a simple

geometric “prototype.” The

repetition of elements within

the theatre occurs exclusively

through instances, generated and

controlled parametrically.

This choice makes it possible

to drastically reduce the

computational weight of the

model, simplify updates, and

make the relationship between

typology and occurrence explicit.

Any modification to the reference

object automatically propagates

to all its instances, maintaining

the overall coherence of the

system.

Generative elements

Generative elements are

abstract geometries that define

the spatial arrangement of the

components. Linear elements

rely on points and vectors,

curved ones on oriented

curves, and complex joints on

reference planes or surfaces.

The curves were extracted from

the photogrammetric model by

projecting the outlines of the

cavea, the proedria, and the

proskenion onto plan view and

removing local irregularities.

These curves were parametrized

within the 0–1 interval, assigning

each parametric value a point

in space and a local reference

system (a triad of axes). On these

planes, the transformations

required to place the instances,

translation, rotation, and,

where necessary, slight scaling,

were calculated. This ensures

that the repetition of seats or

proskenion blocks follows the

real curvature of the theatre,

including small deviations from

an ideal geometry.

In areas where the original

blocks are no longer present,

particularly in the upper part of

the cavea, the arrangement was

reconstructed by interpolating

the available data: the average

distance between slabs, the

apparent radius of preserved

sectors, and the alignment

with the retaining walls. The

geometric assumptions adopted

were explicitly marked in

later stages through metadata

categorization (Rosone, Verdiani,

2024).

The resulting mesh was densified

and subsequently simplified,

maintaining high definition in

key areas (proedria, proskenion,

orchestra) and reducing detail in

peripheral zones. A set of highresolution

textures preserved

the chromatic and material

information necessary for the

reconstruction phase. Metric

verification was carried out

by comparing the model with

the measurements recorded

by Wiegand and Schrader:

the deviations observed fall

within an acceptable margin

for an indirect survey, making

the model suitable for the

subsequent phase of procedural

modeling.

Objects, instances,

and deformations

The objects were modeled in

Rhinoceros as low-complexity

meshes, sufficient to clearly

describe the basic form of each

element. The instances are

generated in Grasshopper, which

calculates for each one the full

set of transformations derived

from the generative elements.

This procedure produced

thousands of components with

complete control over their

positioning.

For curved elements or those

adapted to non-planar surfaces,

such as the backs of the proedria

or certain slabs of the cavea, the

process continued in Blender

using CurveDeform and similar

modifiers. In practice, the linear

object is “wrapped” along a

reference curve while maintaining

consistent proportions and detail.

Here as well, the deformation is

described within the metadata,

ensuring that the relationship

between object, curve, and

instance remains fully traceable.

XML metadata

The informational structure of

the model is defined through a

metadata system exported in

XML format (Erik T. Ray, 2001).

Each object and each instance

corresponds to a node within

the XML tree and is described

through:

4 the name of the typological

object;

4 the path to the reference

mesh file;

4 any associated generative

curve or surface;

4 position, rotation, and scale

coordinates;

4 the assigned morphological

variant;

4 the reliability category

(existing state, confirmed

reconstruction, hypothesis).

This structure allows the model

to be reloaded and regenerated

across different environments

without loss of information. The

XML file therefore does not simply

list objects: it describes the

procedural logic that determined

their spatial arrangement,

enabling the entire process to

be reconstructed directly from

the data.

Once the procedural model was

generated, it was imported back

into Rhinoceros and overlaid

onto the photogrammetric

mesh. Verification concerned

both geometric coherence

and the relationships between

parts (alignments, symmetries,

distances between key elements).

To express the degree of reliability

across different portions,

a chromatic classification

system was adopted: green for

elements matching the surveyed

existing state; yellow for parts



reconstructed with strong

support from historical sources;

red for hypothetical elements,

especially in the upper portions

of the stage and the higher levels

of the proskenion.

This visual distinction, combined

with the categories stored

within the metadata, allows

anyone using the model to

immediately recognize the

nature of each element, avoiding

the misconception of a unified

reconstruction when in reality it

is based on very different levels

of certainty.

DIGITAL RENDERING

AND PHOTOREALISM

The transition from procedural

modeling to graphical rendering

Fig.04 - The

APP for the

virtual visit,

screenshot

from the 3D

and contents;

Through the

app, created

with Unity,

it was possible

to select

viewpoints

exported

from the final

model as HDRI

panoramas

for the exploration

of the

reconstructed

site according

to the

archaeological

hypotheses.

took place in Blender, where the

model was imported together

with its XML metadata. The

goal was not merely to obtain

a convincing image, but to

construct a scene consistent

with the historical period

chosen for the reconstruction,

corresponding to the Doric

phase documented by Wiegand,

Schrader, and Gerkan, while

excluding later additions from

the advanced Hellenistic and

Roman periods.

Sculpting and

morphological variants

Although typological objects

had been modeled correctly,

they initially appeared too

“perfect” when compared to

the real appearance of stone

blocks. For this reason, each

object underwent a sculpting

process (Xury Greer, 2022), which

involved temporarily increasing

polygon density in order to add

micro-irregularities such as

chipped edges, abrasions, small

fractures, and depressions. The

work was carried out using a

graphics tablet, treating the

elements as proper digital

sculptures.

From each base object,

several variants were then

produced, differing in the

intensity of imperfections and

fracture patterns. During scene

generation, these variants were

assigned to instances through

a controlled randomization

system, avoiding visual repetition

and restoring the natural

heterogeneity of the materials.

Procedural materials

In parallel with geometric

work, material definition

was developed. Based on the

photographic dataset from the

survey, reference textures were

created and integrated with

procedural maps in Blender’s

Shader Editor. Normal, roughness,

and displacement maps were

combined to reproduce the grain

of the stone, surface absorption

variations, and ageing effects.

The procedural component,

managed also through Open

Shading Language (Larry Gritz,

2020), introduced microscopic

random variations in color and

roughness without requiring an

excessive number of distinct

textures. Here too, the link

between material and instance

is stored within the metadata,

enabling controlled regeneration

of the model in different

environments.

Environment and context

The theatre was placed within

a simplified environment

reproducing the current

landscape of the site, without

reconstructing the entire ancient

city to keep computational

costs and complexity under

control. The main slope,

selected vegetation masses,

and an HDRI-based lighting setup

were modeled and calibrated

to simulate neutral daylight.

This configuration allows for a

clear reading of the theatre’s

volumetry, cast shadows, and

the overall visual effect of the

scene reconstructed according to

Gerkan’s hypothesis.

VIRTUAL REALITY

The model, once prepared,

was exported into Unity for

the creation of an immersive

environment (J. G. Bond, 2017).

The goal was to offer a virtual

visit experience useful for

comparing the current state with

the proposed reconstruction.

Importing and

optimization in Unity

Within the game engine, several

panoramic camera positions

were created, corresponding

to significant viewpoints: the

orchestra, the proedria, the

lateral sectors of the cavea,

and the lowered viewpoint

at stage level. Each position

was transformed into a 360°

panorama, allowing the user to

explore the surroundings through

gyroscopic sensors or standard

joystick-based controls.

Interface and

interpretative functions

The navigation interface

features a simplified map of the

theatre, with buttons enabling

rapid selection of the desired

viewpoint.

The application was developed

for Android devices and desktop

computers, with the possibility

of use both through VR headsets

and in “flat-screen” mode.

This dual configuration makes

it suitable for exhibition and

museum contexts as well as

for educational and research

scenarios.

CONCLUSIONS

The work carried out on the

Theatre of Priene shows how

the integration of historical

sources, photogrammetric

survey, procedural modeling,

and virtual reality can generate

a digital model that is not merely

a three-dimensional replica, but

an actual tool of knowledge. The

centrality attributed to Armin

von Gerkan’s reconstruction

hypotheses for the scene, verified



and integrated in light of the

survey and the documentation

of Wiegand and Schrader,

demonstrates how digitalization

does not replace archaeological

judgment, but makes it more

readable, verifiable, and

communicable.

The decomposition of the

theatre into typological objects

and instances, described

through XML metadata, enabled

the construction of a scalable,

updatable, and interoperable

information model across

different software environments.

The rendering phase in Blender

transformed this abstract model

into a photorealistic scene able

to convey the material quality of

the marble, the imperfections

accumulated over time, and

the spatial articulation of the

complex. The implementation in

Unity finally made the theatre an

explorable environment.

In this sense, the Theatre of

Priene becomes a laboratory

for defining procedures that

can be transferred to other

contexts of archaeological

heritage: a method that starts

from historical documentation,

compares it with digital

surveying, builds a transparent

procedural model, and returns

it in accessible an d immersive

forms. The scene, which in

antiquity hosted theatrical

performance, became today a

space for the representation of

knowledge, no longer only a place

of spectacle, but an interface

between data, interpretations,

and contemporary audiences.

From a methodological point of

view, one of the most significant

outcomes is the possibility of

keeping three levels separate

yet in continuous dialogue: the

measured data, its geometric

abstraction, and its immersive

translation. The transition from

the survey to the VR scene

does not occur in leaps, but

through a chain of traceable

transformations, each of which

leaves a “signature” within

the metadata. This makes the

model not only reusable but

also open to critical revision: a

hypothesis can be replaced, a

parameter updated, an entire

section regenerated without

having to start again from

scratch. In a context where

technologies evolve rapidly, this

capacity for adaptation becomes

a fundamental requirement for

any digital archaeology project

that aims to endure over time.

Abstract

The Theatre of Priene is a well-preserved example of Greek theatrical architecture, offering an exceptional

case study for the integration of historical documentation and digital methodologies. The theatre dates to the

late Classical and early Hellenistic period and preserves cavea, orchestra, proedria, and proskenion. It was the

subject of extensive documentation during late 19th-century excavations, which provides a solid foundation

for interpretative reconstruction. This study presents a comprehensive digital workflow combining photogrammetric

survey, parametric modelling, and virtual reality visualisation. UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry

allowed producing a metrically reliable 3D model, subsequently refined through data cleaning and validation

against historical sources. The model was then transposed into typological elements governed by generative

rules, enabling the creation of a metadata-based system. The integration of detailed modelling and material

rendering further enhanced the legibility of architectural forms and surface characteristics. Finally, the digital

model was implemented within a virtual environment to support immersive exploration and comparative

analysis between the current state and reconstructed hypotheses, demonstrating how the convergence of archaeological

evidence, digital survey techniques, and advanced visualisation tools can produce a coherent and

accessible narrative for both scholarly investigation and public dissemination.

Keywords

Architecture; Archaeology; 3D model; UAV ; Drone; photogrammetry; mesh; texture; Virtual Reality,

APP; digital reconstruction;

Authors

Giorgio Verdiani



CASE STUDIES

The value of itinerant fragments

between Asia Minor and Europe

by Giorgio Verdiani, Pelin Arslan,


Built heritage embodies

accumulated layers

of human activity,

including construction,

transformation, abandonment,

reuse, destruction, and

rediscovery. Each monument or

archaeological site constitutes a

palimpsest whose interpretation

requires both technical rigor and

intellectual sensitivity. When

the life of a building brings it to

the present time, in the form of

archaeological remains, it may

appear as a fascinating ruin or

a poor mass of rubbles. In any

case it may offer an interesting

occasion of reconstruction

and a complex situation of

musealization or reuse. It may

bring in its ruins the presence

of invaluable artworks, statues,

mosaics, frescoes, past items

for everyday life, and even old

weapons.

These elements are well known

by archaeologists or other

professionals in the field of

cultural heritage, in practices

that often collect and may

take in a short trip these

findings to a restoration and

then to a local museum or to

some abroad destination. This

second condition was extremely

common during the past two

centuries. The collection and

exhibition in the museum of

findings from the smaller to

entire parts of architectures,

was a procedure seen as aimed

at the preservation of important

materials from difficult context

and was supported by the

early passage from a logic

of “collection” to the one of

“patrimony of humanity”. Thus,

Fig. 01 - Photogrammetric

3D model of the statue of

priestess Nikeso (inv. Sk

1928), with QR code for

direct access to sketchfab.com

(https://skfb.ly/

when architectural fragments

have been removed from

their context and relocated to

museums, the results in spatial

and interpretive disconnections

may complicate reconstruction

efforts. The “itinerant” artworks,



parts or other archaeological

findings, may be resumed into

two main categories: the first

collects those items, like small

statues, tools, accessories and

artworks which are independent

from the architectural setup of a

place, which may have a minimal

impact on the aspect and

readability of an archaeological

site and/or its physical or

virtual reconstruction. The

second regards statues and

architectural parts that are

key elements in the reading

and interpreting the original

shape of the archaeological

building, which once removed

and placed in a museum cause

a lack in the possibility of

reading their balance between

the architectural dimension

and the displaced part. For

example, in the course of

the XIX and XX centuries,

archaeological exploration of

monumental sites in Asia Minor

led to the discovery of large

urban scenarios, recovering

significant sets of findings

and moving them to European

museums for restoration, study,

safe storage and exhibition.

About one century later, digital

technologies provide the means

to mitigate the spatial and

interpretive fragmentation

caused by historical removals.

Photogrammetry, modelling

from point-cloud dataset, and

3D visualization enable precise

comparisons between objects

preserved in museums and

those remaining in situ. These

techniques allow scholars to

virtually reunite dispersed

materials, reconstruct their

architectural relationships, and

reassess hypotheses regarding

their original placement or

function. Even more, the creation

of proper digital replicas,

potentially allow the physical

Fig. 02 - Entrance of the Demeter and Kore’s Sanctuary in Priene, partial view of the area where

once the statue of priestess Nikeso was placed. September 2025.

reconstruction of dispersed

items, their completion with

missing parts, interpolation by

abstraction, or using reference

models, and then allow the

production of real parts that may

be put back in place in the best

affordable conditions. In fact,

it is important to remember

that all the displaced items

have no chance in going back to

their original site, they may, at

the best, go back into another

museum, while an accurate

reproduction can go back on

site, in a digitally enhanced

anastylosis that put no threat

to the original piece.

Developing researches in

this field appears extremely

interesting, recomposing the

parts has also the additional

value of recreating a two ways

condition that is very valuable,

from one side it is possible to

bring back virtually or even

physically one or more missing

parts to their original location,

not as ruins, but as working

part of a reconstructed system;

from the other it is possible to

enrich the present location of

the item or parts with a virtual

environment that re-connect the

subject to its original location. A

sort of double site-specific setup

that can be considered one of

the most innovative progresses

in exhibition setup.

Taking as subject a small set

of statues and architectural

remains from Priene, in the

Hellenistic area of the actual

Turkey, whose excavation

and subsequent dispersal of

artefacts, particularly to Berlin,

appeared like an ideal test

research aimed at the digital

reunification of items and places

using digital solutions. The

occasion to start this experiment

of virtual recompositing of

the parts between Priene

and the European museum

Fig. 03 - Photogrammetric

3D model of

the partial reconstruction

of an altar,

Priene, Sanctuary of

Athena Polias, ca.

200 BCE, Pergamon

Museum, Berlin, with

the QR code for direct

access to sketchfab.

com (https://skfb.ly/

pEuOw).

was supported by the kind

availability from the Altes and

Pergamon Museum in Berlin, in

the specific, a special thank goes

to the director of both museums,

Martin Maischberger, who

hosted and gave full availability

welcoming and trusting a first

series of surveys in both museum

collections. In October 2022 and

in May 2024, two single days of

photogrammetric operations

allowed taking the data from

some significant items and

starting a study about how to

restore a link between places

and elements using digital

models. The Altes museum hosts

mostly statues, with only one,

the Priestess Nikeso, with a clear

and specific relationship with

the architectural space; all the

architectural parts are instead

preserved at the Pergamon

museum. In the case of the

statue of Priestess Nikeso, its

finding happened in 1898 in the

Fig. 04 - The 3D digital model of the entablature from Priene exhibited in the archaeological

museum in Mileto, with the QR code for direct access to sketchfab.com (https://skfb.ly/prJS9).



ruins next to the statue in-situ

plinth, in front of the main

entrance to the Sanctuary of

Demeter and Kore. The sculpture

consists of two main parts: the

statue, missing the head, and its

plinth, the overall height is of

about two metres. The statue

of the priestess is made of finegrained

yellowish-white marble,

while the plinth is made of grey

crystalline marble it may be

supposed to be a reused element,

on it there is a write in Greek

indicating “Nikeso, daughter of

Hipposthenes, wife of Eukritos,

priestess of Demeter and Kore”.

The figure is upright, with her

upper body and shoulders

slightly turned left. The other

statues digitalized at the Altes

Museum and coming from Priene

are: a Statuette of Dionysus

(height: 70.5 cm), a Statuette

of Aphrodite (height: 61.5 cm),

a Statuette of a Young Man

(height: 76.5 cm), a fragmented

statuette of Alexander the

Great (partial height: 31.6 cm).

All these statues present a high

artistical value, thus they can’t

be defined as key elements of

an architectural space. Instead,

the statue of Nikeso looks clearly

in a robust relationship with

the spatial organization of the

Demetra’s Temple, defining a

specific aspect of its entrance.

The architectural parts at the

Pergamon museum were a

partial reconstruction of an

altar, with a statue and a small

fragment of bass-relief coming

from the Sanctuary of Athena

Polias, ca. 200 BCE, a partial

reconstruction of the Sanctuary

of Athena Polias’ entablature,

and a partial reconstruction

of the temple entablature,

from the Temple of Asklepios,

the Agora, IVth–Ist centuries

BCE. For the entablature from

Athena Polias, it was possible

to have a parallel with another

part, this time hosted at the

Archaeological Museum in Mileto,

Turkey another part of the same

architecture, migrated not that

far, but another fragmentation

of the original building. The

full survey work in Berlin was

conducted by photogrammetry,

using specific cameras and

lenses to help achieve the

most complete and optimized

results and with the benefit

of using movable scaffolding

in the case of the Pergamon

Museum. The survey operation

in Priene was completed using

both photogrammetry and 3D

laser scanner survey, this second

option was extremely efficient

for the survey of the large

architectural remains in Priene

in 2022 during the workshop.

The photogrammetry was

instead used on architecture for

the Demetra’s temple, covered

by a combination of terrestrial

and drone/UAV shooting as side

activity during the workshop in

Magnesia in 2025. At the moment

of writing the development of

the research is still ongoing,

the first complete digital

recompositing will be probably

the virtual recoloration of the

Priestness Nikesa in the ruins

of the Demetra’s temple on the

Priene hill.

Abstract

Built heritage constitutes a layered record of human activity, often surviving as fragmented architecture and dispersed

artefacts. Historical excavation practices frequently removed architectural elements from their original

contexts, generating spatial and interpretive disconnections. This study explores the potential of digital technologies

to virtually reunite displaced heritage, focusing on selected statues and architectural fragments from the Hellenistic

city of Priene, now divided between the archaeological site and museums in Berlin. Through photogrammetry, laser

scanning, and 3D modelling, the research investigates original spatial relationships and proposes a dual framework in

which digital recomposition enhances both archaeological interpretation and museum presentation while preserving

the integrity of the original artefacts.

Keywords

Built heritage; digital recomposition; digital technologies; fragments; photogrammetry; laser scanning;

3d modelling; spatial relationships

Authors

Giorgio Verdiani




elisabettacaterina.giovannini@polito.it

Department of Architecture and Design DAD , Politecnico di Torino, Italy

Pelin Arslan

pelinarslan13@gmail.com

Beykent University, Istanbul, Turkey

CASE STUDIES

Other Subjects, same approaches

By Andrea Pasquali, Ylenia Ricci,

Stéphane Giraudeau.

Contemporary architectural

practice often privileges

new construction, risking

the loss of architecture’s

socio-cultural dimension

in favour of standardized,

market-oriented production.

This paper argues for the

re-emergence of reuse as a

fundamental design strategy,

rooted in historical building

practices that emphasized

adaptation and material

continuity.

The contemporary evolution

of people’s identities

and the fragmentation

of cultures developed in

the modern age, supported by

current geopolitical ideologies,

define a highly urgent landscape.

Today’s conception of

architecture tends to consider

the boundary of the territory

as a rigid and defined category,

fixing languages, methods and

materials within coherent but

obligatory design models. We are

faced with a form of engineering

of design thinking that could

lead to the loss of the socio-cultural

component of architecture

in favour of a consumerist application

of the activity of building.

The danger is that architecture

will become more of a product

to be consumed than a cultural

act, transforming itself into

something standardised, fast,

productive and market oriented.

Although much of contemporary

practice concerns

existing heritage, the imagery of

today’s architecture continues

to emphasise new construction

as the prevailing model of innovation.

Technological progress

and the demand for low-impact

buildings have led to architectural

works being conceived as a

set of new components, created

or assembled at the same time

as the building itself.

This approach to design reached

its peak in the second half of the

XIX century and continues today

as the correct and canonical

method, defining architectural

design as the use of “the new”

as the only strategy for resolving

a project. Looking at the history

of architecture and construction,

particularly before the industrial

revolutions, and more markedly

in the former but subsequently

also in the civil/popular sphere

of the latter, the act of building

(adapting and reconstructing)

has always been associated

with strategies for reusing and

adapting architectural components

and building materials.

By its very nature, reuse, both

as a practice of stripping and

as recovery from rubble, is not

subject to a codifiable method

or a defined proportional measure,

and constitutes an essential

element of design identity. The

rhetoric of the new introduced

by industrial society and amplified

in the twentieth century

by the shift away from the rural

world has gradually marginalized

this dimension. However, in

contemporary times, reuse must

re-emerge as an integral part

of the act of building. A mindset

oriented towards reuse can

facilitate the search for design

solutions capable of minimising

the impact of new works on the

environment and, at the same

time, attributing a higher identity

and historical value to the

building. Looking back at history,

where the use of non-contemporary

architectural fragments in

new constructions is a recurring

practice, it is possible to recognise

in these grafts the strongest

elements of cultural continuity

and memory of the built

environment. Furthermore, the

presence of such elements helps

us to understand the evolution

of the property and adds to the

architectural object’s response

to living a method of archiving,

not only of the artefact but also

of the historical events that took

place during its construction.

The interpretation described

above has matured in our contemporary

age thanks to cultural

movements and dialogues that

emerged at the dawn of the



Fig. 01 - Rendering of the current

state inside the Basilica Cistern.

modern world. structuring the

interpretation of architecture

from a historical perspective.

It is easy to accept that the

design philosophy of the past

was not guided by this awareness

but rather by a functionalist

approach that led to the choice

of existing components because

they were more advantageous

both in economic terms and in

terms of optimising processing

times. This outlines a basic

structure more consistent with

the functionalist perspective of

post-industrial modernist thinking,

which finds accuracy in the

statement “architecture is an

image of its time because it is

the fruit of that time”. So, what

is the architecture of this time?

Can our contemporary world

still conceive of building as a

form of writing with characters

and methods generated entirely

from scratch, or, learning from

the past, evolve into a more reasoned

form that allows for reuse

and goes beyond the functionalism

for which it was created,

arriving at a more culturally

evolved and useful profile?. This

line of reasoning aims to open

up a possible interpretation of

the design structure without

providing a final summary. The

input of interest is to describe

cases addressed in past research

and work that define a useful

set of elements to justify the

reasoning profile. A case study

particularly relevant to this

theoretical framework is represented

by the Medusa protomes

preserved in the Basilica Cistern

in Istanbul. These are two stone

blocks carved with the head of

Gorgon, most likely belonging to

previous monumental contexts

and reused during the construction

of the great cistern

commissioned by Justinian in 535

AD (Önlü, 2010; Kaldellis, 2016).

Their current location, used as

bases for two columns, is an eloquent

example of the transition

from spolia in se to spolia in re

(Settis, 1984): the elements, created

with a specific symbolic and

apotropaic function, lose their

original meaning and take on an

entirely pragmatic and structural

role within the new architectural

structure.

Their reuse, devoid of iconographic

intent and determined

by considerations of material

availability and constructional

functionality, has nevertheless

produced a paradoxical effect: it

is precisely this practical reinterpretation

that has ensured the

preservation of the artefacts to

the present day. The protomes,

which survived because they

were transformed into simple

supporting elements, are therefore

an emblematic example of

how reuse can alter, suspend or

overwrite the original cultural

value while ensuring the material

survival of the object.

Survival that is perpetuated over

time thanks to recent technologies

for the digitisation of architectural

heritage, which allow

specific means and methodologies

to be used to collect data

(Guidi, 2013), produce material

and bring to light faded morphologies

of ancient ruins, giving

them new life in the digital age.

A new dimension of usability is

created for the asset, and the

reused fragment becomes a cognitive

artefact, capable of inhabiting

digital, virtual and immersive

scenarios, inaugurating a

third life in the present.

One of the further potentials

of digitisation lies in its ability

to restore context to fragments

that, for various reasons, have

found themselves without a

background capable of enhancing

them. A representative case

is that of the Tetrarchs of St.

Mark’s Square in Venice (Verdiani,

2019), a double group of

statues in Egyptian red porphyry

depicting four figures in high

relief, located at the corner of

St. Mark’s Treasury. During their

removal, one of the statues lost

a foot, but the fragment, now

preserved in Istanbul, is nevertheless

deprived of its original

context and displayed in a secondary

position. This creates

the risk of a lack of knowledge

and requires an interpretative

awareness about the artefact.

Digitisation can help to remedy

through virtual reconstruction

and a new narrative of its historical

and material value, promoting

its dissemination to the

masses (Verdiani et al., 2022).

In light of these considerations,

the issue of reuse takes on a dual

significance. On the one hand, it

constitutes a current and necessary

design approach, capable

of reducing the impact of new

works and restoring meaning

and identity to buildings. On

the other hand, it is precisely

the reuse adopted in past centuries

that has allowed the survival

of numerous architectural

elements which, reinserted into

subsequent structures, have survived

the passage of time to the

present day. It is thanks to this

material continuity, the result of

layered grafts and reuses, that

we now have a rich heritage,

ideal for digitisation, documentation

and accessibility through

contemporary digital survey

technologies.



Fig. 02 - Rendering view of

the current state inside the

Basilica Cistern in Istanbul.

References

Guidi, G. (2013). Metrological characterization

of 3D imaging devices. In Proceedings

of SPIE: Videometrics, Range

Imaging, and Applications XII; and Automated

Visual Inspection, 87910M. Bellingham,

WA: SPIE

Kaldellis, A. (2016). The Forum of Constantine

in Constantinople: What do we

know about its original architecture and

adornment?. In Greek, Roman, and Byzantine

Studies, 56, pp. 714–739

Önlü, Ş. (2010). Analysis of Structural

Elements of Basilica Cistern. Istanbul Technical

University, Turkey

Settis, S. (ed.) (1984) Memoria dell’antico

nell’arte italiana. Torino: Einaudi

Verdiani, G., Pasquali, A., Ricci, Y.

(2019). Floating in the Sea/Floating in

the Data. The “Immaginario Bragadin”

experience around Venezia, Italy, In Brush,

C., Kassung, C. and Sieck, J. (eds.)

Kultur und Informatik: Extended Reality.

Poland: VWH Verlag

Verdiani, G., Rodriguez Navarro, P., Pasquali,

A., Ricci, Y. (2022). Fragments of

Stories and Arts: Hidden and not so Hidden

Stories. in Russo, M. et al. (eds.) Representation

Challenges. Diségno. Milan:

FrancoAngeli

Abstract

Contemporary architectural practice

often privileges new construction,

risking the loss of architecture’s socio-cultural

dimension in favour of

standardized, market-oriented production.

This paper argues for the

re-emergence of reuse as a fundamental

design strategy, rooted in

historical building practices that

emphasized adaptation and material

continuity. Through the lens of architectural

spolia, reuse is interpreted

as both a pragmatic and cultural act,

capable of preserving memory while

transforming meaning. Case studies

such as the Medusa protomes in

Istanbul and the Tetrarchs in Venice

illustrate how reuse has ensured material

survival. Digital technologies

further extend this process, enabling

contextual reconstruction and inaugurating

new cognitive lives for reused

architectural fragments.

Keywords

3D model; rendering; digital heritage

Authors

Andrea Pasquali

andrea.pasquali@unifi.it

Dipartimento di Architettura

University of Florence, Italy

Ylenia Ricci

ylenia.ricci@unifi.it

Dipartimento di Architettura

University of Florence, Italy

Stéphane Giraudeau

stephane.giraudeau@unifi.it

CONCLUSIONS

The value of workshop

teaching and some reflections

by Giorgio Verdiani, Andrea Pasquali

Beyond the pleasure coming

from working in beautiful

places, operating on

extremely interesting architectures,

getting feedback from the

participants and seeing them

taking significant step forward

as professional and cultural operators,

the lessons learned from

fourteen different workshops and

from a large set of activities in

Archaeological areas, Built Heritage

and valuable Cultural Heritage

items in the past ten years,

is double. On one hand it comes

clear that a correct dataset,

proper documentation and following

archiving is always a valuable

resource for the management

of the Patrimony and allows the

real development of knowledge

and the connection between the

historical value and any following

event along the way. In any

possible future case, from new

research to possible transformations

of the surveyed subjects,

these archives are a witness that

goes far from the simple photos

and fix a robust point in the state

of knowledge about a place and

its architectures. Operating in

articulated scenarios, like it is for

the “recomposition” of itinerant

items moved from the place of

finding to far (and very far) museums

is a classic sample of how

the research may be widening a

field and pose solutions in line

with the Logic of “Patrimony of

the Humanity” which is a strong

concept that should be reasoned

keeping the distance from nationalistic

or just melancholic logics

of real or supposed belonging.

What comes out from this variety

of activities, May appear

fragmentary, isolated, a series of

sparse parts in episodic research.

But this can be more a point of

strength than a weakness. Indeed,

at now the structuring of rational

national and international digital

archives is on the way, pretty far

for being completed and efficient,

a number of tentatives in

years have taken their way, proposing

more or less innovative

approaches and interventions in

the creation of dedicated archives

that rarely remained alive after

the end of each financed projects.

But things are ongoing and this

progress is on two fronts: the

first correspond to the group of

large, structured archives, like

the Italian National Digitalization

Program (Progetto Nazionale di

Digitalizzazione - PND) and Internet

Culturale (Biblioteca Digitale

Italiana - BDI) or Portale Inventari

& Archivio Digitale (Sistema Archivistico

Nazionale - SAN) and Europeana,

which may considered the

most aged tentative of defining

an extended catalogue, at the

moment their real capacity in

offering access to digital survey

products is quite inconsistent,

but not out of the intentions. The

other front is one of the initiatives

from the school, academic,

research and enthusiast communities,

single or multiple tentatives,

at small or even medium size, that

aim at the production of specific

contents and are spontaneously

creating a vast and sparse archive

of contributions. They may look

dispersive, but in their multiplicity

they contribute to other research

and produce results and enhancements

to the knowledge in the

most various fields. In this series

of products the use of existing

platforms for sharing and presenting

contents is quite common,

with results that are sometimes

solid and durable, sometimes live

just the time of each project. In

this scenario, keeping durable,

efficient, archives of the materials

is not helped by the software

development, which tends more

in a stubborn innovation with poor

real benefits than in promoting

easy recovering procedures for

the older data. The logic of

“throwing away” old things seems

uncompliant with any Digital Heritage

intentions, but is constantly

applied in the software market.

For this, producing and storing the

original data “as acquired”, developing

them in the most various

software, but in the whole producing

basic, long term compliant



formats, looks like the best way

to give a future chance to gather

data. Storing them online can be

a proper solution, thus a wearisome,

time consuming and quite

expensive physical backup (especially

on optical supports like DVD

and Blue-Ray discs) is still nowadays

an extra safeguard for important

contents. Some updates on

the data formats, along the years,

may contribute to an even more

complete and efficient long life of

the digital survey datasets.

This first point, obviously, does

not solve how this procedure

leaves an apparently incoherent

group of original and processed

data. The most effective reply to

this condition is probably leaving

them in this way and embracing

the logic of dissemination

“from the base”, taking time for

producing accurate and shareable

models and representations

exploiting existing platforms

that make these archives easy

to retrieve and find. A model

uploaded in sketchfab.com can

be found by a variety of people

searching for that specific item;

one or more graphic boards or

short reports produced from a

thesis or at the end of a research

may be uploaded and shared on

zenodo.org or figshare.com with

instant and efficient DOI (Digital

Object Identifier) attribution,

so to make their localization a

constant from that moment. A

short video, even without a professional

cut or montage, may

take part to the youtube.com or

vimeo.com platforms, allowing

the fast communication of some

results or leaving a trace of that

workshop or research activity.

The interlinking of these contents

to other scientific products may

expand and enhance the quality

of papers in conference proceedings

and journals, bringing them

a step forward in the digital heritage

scenario and extending the

options for clear and exhaustive

communication.

In conclusion, until the definition

of archiving protocols that take

into account the preservation of

usability and guarantee the maintenance

of future readability of

the data, both collected and processed,

the open dissemination of

all the components of the studies

and projects is to be considered

the most appropriate strategy for

improving the longevity and integrity

of the scientific documentation

of the Cultural Heritage.

XVS

vSLAM 3D Scanner

CONTATTACI

PER INFO

Seguici sui Social

www.stonex.it



Archeomatica 3 - 2025

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Archeomatica 3 - 2025

Transform your PDFs into Flipbooks and boost your revenue!

Delete template?

Save as template ?