From Bits to Bytes: New 3D Digital Studies on the Roman Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina (Sicily) (15 min)

Presenters

Stephan Hassam, Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx), University of South Florida, Davide Tanasi, Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx), University of South Florida, Isabella Baldini, Università di Bologna, Italy, Kaitlyn Kingsland, Institute for Digital Exploration (IDEx), University of South Florida, Giulia Marsili, Università di Bologna, Italy, Claudia Lamanna, Università di Bologna, Italy, Paolo Barresi, Università degli Studi di Enna “Kore”, and Carla Sfameni, CNR, Istituto per le Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale (ISPC), Roma

Abstract

Three-dimensional digitization for the study of archaeological heritage and the global dissemination of knowledge has proven to be extremely beneficial to the discipline. These digital approaches are increasingly used to drastically change archaeologists’ and art historians’ perspective on Roman villas, their decorative apparatus, and the artifacts found within them. The Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina is one of the most important examples of late Roman villas with its 2500 m² of well-preserved mosaic floors and long use-life. Yet, the site is characterized by significant conservation issues, a relatively poor understanding of its later use-phases, a great deal of untapped legacy data, and relatively poor accessibility from a digital perspective. Thus, 3D visualizations hold a great deal of potential to contribute to iconographic and architectural studies, monitoring changes in the physical state of the mosaics, and the recontextualization of legacy data, while contributing to the availability of globally accessible Roman material culture online. This presentation highlights methodological best practices in 3D digital imaging and visualizations developed around the emblematic case study of the Roman Villa del Casale. The project is part of the University of Bologna’s Archaeological Heritage in Late Antique and Byzantine Sicily (ArchLABS) initiative, an international and interdisciplinary research project that aims to reassess the entire site based on new excavations, innovative studies on its architecture, and analysis of its legacy data. New digital fieldwork at the villa was carried out in 2022 and 2023 as part of the ArchLABS campaigns, resulting in the complete 3D digitization of the villa through terrestrial LiDAR and digital photogrammetry and the creation of digital replicas of legacy data from the 1950s excavations for the virtual recontextualization of the artifacts. The findings of the digitization campaign offer promising results for advancing best practices in 3D digitization for the study of Roman villas.