Imma Ditaranto

This study presents new archaeological data concerning the ancient layout of Piammiano, an Etruscan and Roman settlement located in the Tiberine internal Etru-ria (probably corresponding to the ancient town of Statonia), still little known. These data have been obtained by geophysical surveys performed using the Electrical Resis-tivity Tomography technique. These investigations were carried out in the central sector of the plateau where the settlement lies, and they have documented the presence of ancient buried structures at a depth of between about 0.5 and 2.5 m. These structures has the same orientation of the main road of the ancient settlement, and they are also consistent with the orientation of the structures documented in previous geophysical surveys and archaeological excavations carried out in the west-ernmost sector of the investigated area. Specifically, the new geophysical surveys have highlighted the presence of the buried remains of the road and numerous walls, some of which are pertaining to a large building with porticoes on the two sides overlooking the Tiber valley. Furthermore, a channel network perhaps linked to a cistern was documented at more depth. K E Y W O R D S archaeology, burial buildings, Electrical Resistivity Tomography, Etruscan and Roman settlement, Piammiano-Statonia, Tiber valley

Sorgenti termominerali ad alta temperatura (da 52 ° C a 65 ° C) con acque solfato-alcaline-terrose e le terme romane di Viterbo si trovano lungo il percorso della Via Cassia nel territorio immediatamente ad ovest di questa città, in una ristretta area, "Piano di Viterbo" o "Piano dei Bagni", caratte-rizzata da estese formazioni di travertino. Queste terme furono usate tra la tarda età repubblicana e la tarda epoca imperiale; in molti casi, furono riutilizzate durante l'epoca tardo medievale e moderna. Questa singolare quantità di antiche installazioni è strettamente legata al contesto geologico dell'area: un settore del grande plateau vulcanico prodotto dalla messa in posto delle lave e dei depositi piroclastici di tre distretti vulcanici (Ci-mino, Vico e Volsini), attivi tra 1,35 Ma e 90 ka. Quest'area cor-risponde a un alto strutturale sepolto, interpretato a partire principalmente da dati geofisici come un horst complesso che in precedenza era stato coinvolto nella tettonica compressiva e successivamente disarticolato dalla tettonica estensionale plio-quaternaria. Le sorgenti termonerali sono ubicate lungo le principali discontinuità strutturali prodotte dalla tettonica po-lifasica (estensionale e / o transtensiva) e dalla successiva atti-vità vulcano-tettonica. I rilievi di terreno, l'analisi geomorfologica e l'analisi di facies dei relativi depositi carbo-natici continentali, nonché l'interpretazione dei dati geofisici e del sottosuolo, associati ai dati storici e archeologici, sono stati gestiti in un modello GIS per definire le complesse interazioni tra tutti questi aspetti. L'analisi è stata integrata con l'interpre-tazione di foto aeree storiche e recenti che mostrano alcune tracce archeologiche che oggi non sono visibili. Questo studio ha permesso la ricostruzione dell'antica topografia dell'area at-traversata da Via Cassia e la raccolta di nuovi dati interdiscipli-nari per la conoscenza dei complessi monumentali e delle loro caratteristiche. PAROLE CHIAVE: Terme romane, sorgenti geotermali, travertini, rilievi archeologici, foto aeree, Via Cassia, Viterbo ABSTRACT-Geothermal high temperature springs (52°C to 65 °C) of sulphate-alkaline-earthy waters and the remains of Roman thermal baths of Viterbo are located along the Via Cas-sia road in the territory immediately west of this city, in a delimited area, the "Piano di Viterbo" or "Piano dei Bagni", characterized by extensive travertine formations. These baths were used between the Late Republican age and the Late Imperial times; in many cases, they were re-used during the late Medieval and Modern epochs. This peculiar amount of ancient installations is strictly linked to the geological setting of the area: a sector of the large volcanic plateau produced by the emplacement of lavas and pyroclastic deposits from three volcanic districts (Cimino, Vico, and Volsini), active between 1,35 Ma e 90 ka. This area corresponds to a buried structural high, interpreted mainly on geophysical data as a complex horst that was previously involved in thrust folds and later affected by the Plio-Quaternary extensional tectonics. The geothermal springs occur along the main structural discontin-uity produced by polyphasic tectonics (extentional and/or transtensional) and by the subsequent volcano-tectonic activity. The results of field work, geomorphological and facies analyses of related continental carbonate deposits, as well as the interpretation of geophysical and drilling data, associated with the historical and archaeological data, were managed in a GIS model to define the complex interactions between all these aspects. The analysis has been integrated with the interpretation of historical and recent aerial photos that show some archaeological traces and remains nowadays not visible. This study allowed the reconstruction of the ancient topography of the area crossed by Via Cassia and the collection of new inter-disciplinary data for the knowledge of the monumental complexes and their features.

The Messapian necropolis of Monte D'Elia is related to one of the most important ancient settlements in the Salento Peninsula (in south Italy). In order to understand the extension and layout of this necropolis in the various periods of its use, a ground-penetrating radar (GPR) prospection was undertaken in some important sample areas by a team of the Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage of the National Research Council of Italy. The analysis of the GPR measurements revealed many anomalies that could be ascribed to archaeological structures (tombs), as well as other anomalies of presumable natural origin or referable to modern features. The data collected were georeferenced in the digital archaeological map of the site and integrated with a virtual reconstruction of the surveyed area.

This study concerns the main results of the research activity aimed at a new integrated knowledge of Casalrotto, a Medieval cave village (12th-13th century) near Mottola (Province of Taranto southern Italy). The research was based on archaeological and geophysical surveys performed in 2015. In particular, archaeological investigations have allowed the upgrading of the existing plan of the village through Differential Global Position System (DGPS) topographical surveys, while geophysical measurements, using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and magnetometry in gradiometry configuration, have allowed a better delimitation of the necropolis and the detection of buried structures.