El muelle romano de San Cataldo: de los datos arqueológicos a la reconstrucción 3D

[EN] The pier of San Cataldo (Lecce, Italy) is located along the Adriatic coast about 10 km east-northeast of the ancient city of Lupiae, (today's Lecce), and is the best-preserved port structure of the Roman Age in Apulia. It was researched between 2004 and 2007 by the Laboratory of Topography and Photogrammetry (LabTAF) of the University of Salento, who produced a detailed analysis of the remain and a survey of the portion still visible on the mainland. At the same time, aerial surveys and the study of historic aerial photos from the 1940s and 50s supported a topographic study of the site. Since 2013, within the activities of the LabTAF, the structure has been the subject of an excavation campaign where a further portion of the pier was discovered in the mainland, and the underwater remains were documented. This contribution aims to emphasise the importance of collecting complete metric and historical-archaeological data for a proper three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the structure. On this occasion a photogrammetric survey was conducted and a 3D image-based model created that has become the starting point of the reconstruction hypothesis of the pier and its topographical context. The final model represents a reasonable synthesis of the interpretation of the collected data, and serves as a starting point for tackling the future integration or modification of the structure.Highlights:A key requirement for a better understanding of the Roman pier of San Cataldo (Lecce, Italy) was the creation of a 3D model from an image-based survey.The 3D reconstruction process of the monument was based on a production pipeline anchored to metric data and historical-archaeological information.The final 3D reconstruction proposal shows the original shape of the Roman pier, the ancient surrounding landscape and its related activities.[ES] El muelle de San Cataldo (Lecce, Italia) está situado en la costa adriática a unos 10 km en dirección este-noreste desde la antigüa ciudad de Lupiae (actual Lecce), y es una de las estructuras portuarias de edad romana mejor conservadas de Apulia. La investigación se llevó a cabo entre 2004 y 2007 por parte del Laboratorio de Topografía y Fotogrametría (LabTAF) de la Universidad del Salento, que produjo un análisis detallados de los restos y la topografía de la porción visible en la tierra firme. Al mismo tiempo, se realizon vuelos aéreos y se estudiaron las fotografías aéreas históricas de los años 1940 y 50, dando lugar a un estudio topográfico del sitio. Desde 2013, como parte de las actividades del LabTAF, la estructura ha sido objeto de una campaña de excavación arqueologica que desenterró una ulterior porción del muelle en tierra firme, y se documentaron los restos sumergidos. Esta contribución quiere enfatizar la importancia de abordar la reconstrucción tridimensional (3D) fiel de la estructura, siendo necesarios todos los datos métricos e histórico-arqueológicos. En esta ocasión, se realizó un levantamiento fotogramétrico y un modelo 3D basado en imágenes como punto de partida para realizar la hipótesis de reconstrucción del muelle y de su contexto topográfico. El modelo final representa una síntesis razonable de la interpretación de los datos recogidos, y sirve como punto de partida para abordar la futura integración o modificación de la estructura.The authors are grateful to Prof. Giuseppe Ceraudo and Prof. Carla Maria Amici (University of Salento, coordinators of the Portus Lupiae project) and to Drs.Silvia Marchi and Mariangela Sammarco for their technical-scientific support given to carry out the documentation and study of the Roman pier of San Cataldo.Ferrari, I.; Quarta, A. (2019). The Roman pier of San Cataldo: from archaeological data to 3D reconstruction. Virtual Archaeology Review. 10(20):28-39. https://doi.org/10.4995/var.2019.7957SWORD2839102