Leopoli-Cencelle beyond virtual reality Documentazione, interpretazione e comprensione di una città medievale

The medieval city of Leopoli-Cencelle (founded by Pope Leo IV in 854 AD, surrounded by walls, protected by towers, located on the top of a hill in not far from Civitavecchia - a harbour city about 60 kilometres North-East of Rome-) has been investigated since 1994 using traditional excavation. The stratigraphy brought to light the huge number of transformation the city encountered along its life-time (about 600 years). Houses, towers, workshops have been interpreted in the past years according to the two-dimensional drawn excavation data. The main goal of this work is to re-interpret excavation data using digital technologies. The experiment involves laser-scanning, computer vision (Structure From Motion) and 3D modelling technologies. A three-dimensional visualization of the remains acquired by a laser-scanner, is combined with 3D models allowing several interpretation hypotheses about the shape of the buildings and the purpose of the spaces. Modelling space and time as room of possibilities, combines scanned data with philological 3D reconstruction, and gives the opportunity to switch between several possible interpretation of the building features. The project aims to go beyond virtual reality, giving the opportunity to analyse the remains and to re-interpret the buildings' purposes both during and after the excavation. From a research point of view, the visualization of hypothesis in the fieldwork process, provides a deeper understanding of an archaeological context. A second goal deals with the public communication, allowing also non-archaeologists to understand and experience the archaeological interpretation process, providing more than just one final hypothesis.