Immagini aeree a Tusculum: un approccio multidisciplinare

Trabajo presentado en el 2nd International Conference of Aerial Archaeology (Secondo Convegno Internazionale di Archeologia Aerea), celebrado en Roma del 3 al 5 de febrero de 2016.Since 1994, the Escuela Española de Historia y Arqueología en Roma-CSIC coordinates a research project focusing on the ancient site of Tusculum (Monte Porzio Catone) located less than 30 km. south-east of Rome. This is the institutional project of the CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) in Italy to which many universities and research bodies both Spanish and Italian have contributed. In 2012, a new multidisciplinary archaeological project, titled "Tusculum medievale: territorio, paesaggio economia e società" (Medieval Tusculum: territory, landscape, economy and society), focusing on the post-classical phases of the site, was initiated with a clear willingness to explore novel research trends and different methodological approaches. These have included aerial archaeology, geophysical surveys and archeobiological studies which have been developed with the aim of improving our knowledge on the less-known phases of the city During the last 4 years, the use of aerial images has allowed a better understanding of the urban structure of the medieval city. In fact, in 2012 and 2013 a series of UAV low-level flights over the entire archaeological area were carried out in collaboration with the International Research School of Planetary Science (Università ¿G. D¿Annunzio¿ from Chieti-Pescara) which have allowed the development of a new digital cartographic base of the site. Furthermore, during the 2013-2014 season of excavation, a series of kite aerial photographies (KAP) were taken over the acropolis (Rocca), heart of the Medieval city, producing a new set of medium/low-level (at 50-100 m. of altitude) georeferenced photographs. Finally, during the 2015 archaeological campaign, in cooperation with the Instituto de Agricultura Sostenible (IAS-CSIC) new flights have been carried out using thermal, hyperspectral, infrared and RGB cameras to obtain a diverse range of images. The integration of the data provided by aerial archaeology together with the analysis of the underground features through the use of geophysical techniches (georadar and magnetometry) and the archaeological data coming from excavations are making possible a detailed study of the city urban development as well as the exploration of the real extension of the Medieval city. What is more, the development of non-invasive techniques have permitted the identification of areas of higher archaeological interest and, therefore, the possibility of planning theis excavation saving time and costs.N