New technologies and traditional approaches in reconstructing the ancient landscape assessment

The paper illustrates the different approaches in the study of the ancient territories of three archaeological sites, either Greek and Italico-Roman contexts, which represent the main GIS projects of the Department. The projects involves the use of field survey and excavation in combination with remote sensing on aerial and satellite HD images, geological prospecting, DGPS positioning and integrated multilayer GIS database. Natural consequence of the wide differentiation of scientific approaches is the use of a large team including in the projects scholars and students with very different backgrounds, provenances, attitudes and experiences. The survey Project of the chora of the Greek colony of Cyrene (Shahat-Libya), is mainly focused on the mapping of the extra-urban sanctuaries located homogenously around Cyrene and playing an important role in the rural and economic organization and exploitation of fields and natural resources of this rich and fertile area. Moreover, together with the intensive survey and mapping of the rural and rocky sanctuaries, last five seasons have been also dedicated to the extensive and judgemental survey of a wider area of the territory of Cyrene, in order to contextualise more appropriately finds and sites. During these phases of the project several rural villages have been localised and recorded and for some of them a program of detailed mapping is now in progress. Iuvanum Survey Project, which has been planned as a joined project between English and Italian Institutions, analyses the mechanisms of settling in the area of the Romano-Italic Sanctuary of Iuvanum (Chieti-Abruzzo), later Roman municipium, looking particularly to the location of the main sites, to their hierarchic organization through the different periods and their inter-visibility for reconstructing territorial sub-units and districts.