Interpretation of archaeological data based on direct and remote retrieval of information

This paper focuses on the archaeological and architectural analysis of the Late Roman settlement of Umm al-Dabadib (Kharga Oasis, Egypt). The available information on the archaeological remains of this site includes on-site hand-made sketches, photographs, 3D surveys. The final aim of this specific research is the interpretation and reconstruction of the historical context of this site by combining sources of different nature. This paper presents the methodology employed to elaborate the 3D data in order to achieve a digital restitution of the archaeological map of the entire settlement, which covers an area of about one hectare. The starting point was the elaboration of the close-range photogrammetric survey of the Fortified Settlement that allowed the creation of a 3D point cloud of the whole area, based on the elaboration of over 5,000 photographs, from which a complete and detailed metric model was derived. This 3D model played a key role to extract metric information and to reconstruct the geometrical structure of the settlement, but this result could only be achieved thanks to the successful combination of the digital data with the hand-made sketches and the pictures taken in situ in the recent past. This paper represents an outcome of the project LIFE (Living In a Fringe Environment), funded by the ERC CoGrant 681673.