Approcci multidisciplinari per la ricostruzione del paesaggio di una grande strada romana. La via Appia al Valico degli Aurunci

Il volume illustra i risultati di ricerche interdisciplinari (geologiche, fisiche, topografiche, chimiche ed archeologiche) condotte sul tratto della Via Appia compresa nel Parco Naturale dei Monti Aurunci tra Fondi e Itri

Archaeomorphological and Geological Studies on the Ancient Appian Way at the Aurunci Pass: Multidisciplinary Approaches for the Investigation of Ancient Quarries Siting and Exploitation.

An exploitation system of rock quarries was in-vestigated along a tract of the ancient Appian Way extending between the modern villages of Itri and Fondi (central Italy). Three new quarries carved into carbonatic slopes were discovered through interpretation of aerial photography and photo-grammetric restitution (this last still in progress) nearby a few extraction areas already acknowl-edged in previous works. Later, field surveys confirmed the anthropogenic nature of slope cuts as inferred from squared or rectangular morpho-logical edges and evidence of regular tool-marks. Quarries location and exploitation techniques were analysed in relation to the archaeological require-ments for the road construction and maintenance and also considering the geological setting of the area. In particular, it was demonstrated how geometric characteristics of rock masses – such as bedding and joint system spacing or intensity of brittle deformation – played a fundamental role in determining the kind of extracted material and use of different exploitation techniques. Indeed, cubic and pseudo-cubic rock blocks were extract-ed from quarries A and B during the Roman Age, as evidenced by peculiar tool-marks observed on the rock slope edges and tracing intersecting joint system. Quarry C was instead an open-pit derived from a cataclastic rock volume in the hanging-wall of a main normal fault and from which centime-tres-sized debris were derived. The present study set the basis for a further analysis of the local exploitation system which may include other minor quarries used for road maintenance works and construction of other buildings

Studi interdisciplinari geo-archeologici per l'analisi di un “Quarry landscape”. Il caso della via Appia presso la valle di Sant’Andrea.

Nell’ambito di un progetto di ricerca multidisciplinare condotto in sinergia tra il Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche e l’Università della Campania ‘Luigi Vanvitelli’ con focus sulla via Appia al Valico degli Aurunci, sono stati approfonditi, tra gli altri, studi di tipo geo-archeologico sui sistemi caveali riconosciuti lungo la via antica. In questo breve contributo si dà conto dei risultati delle rilevazioni aerofotogrammetriche, geologiche, geomorfologiche, chimico-petrografiche e isotopiche e di una loro preliminare lettura combinata

Cultural Heritage and Rockfalls: Analysis of Multi-Scale Processes Nearby the <i>Lucus Angitiae</i> Archaeological Site (Central Italy)

Archaeological areas in the mountain region of central Italy can be seriously threatened by geological hazards, and efforts are required to preserve cultural heritage. The Lucus Angitiae is a pre-Roman site located along the western edge of the Fucino Basin, the largest continental depression of central Apennines. The carbonate slope overhanging the area is affected by active rockfall processes from two main rock escarpments. In this paper, rockfall assessment was pursued through a 3D kinematic modelling, performed by adopting a probabilistic approach. Specific attention was dedicated to the choice and calibration of the input data, based on field evidence and a literature review. Two different sizes of wedge-shaped rock blocks were identified on rock escarpments, and specific stability analyses were performed. Sensitivity analyses accounting for possible triggering factors, such as water pressure increase and seismic action, were also carried out, together with an investigation of the seismological characteristics of the area. The results of the numerical simulations were used to design effective countermeasures in the framework of a mitigation plan for protection of the archaeological site. Finally, clues of gravity-driven slope deformations at the slope scale were documented, framing the rockfall process in a wider geological scenario

Cultural Heritage and Rockfalls: Analysis of Multi-Scale Processes Nearby the Lucus Angitiae Archaeological Site (Central Italy)

Archaeological areas in the mountain region of central Italy can be seriously threatened by geological hazards, and efforts are required to preserve cultural heritage. The Lucus Angitiae is a pre-Roman site located along the western edge of the Fucino Basin, the largest continental depression of central Apennines. The carbonate slope overhanging the area is affected by active rockfall processes from two main rock escarpments. In this paper, rockfall assessment was pursued through a 3D kinematic modelling, performed by adopting a probabilistic approach. Specific attention was dedicated to the choice and calibration of the input data, based on field evidence and a literature review. Two different sizes of wedge-shaped rock blocks were identified on rock escarpments, and specific stability analyses were performed. Sensitivity analyses accounting for possible triggering factors, such as water pressure increase and seismic action, were also carried out, together with an investigation of the seismological characteristics of the area. The results of the numerical simulations were used to design effective countermeasures in the framework of a mitigation plan for protection of the archaeological site. Finally, clues of gravity-driven slope deformations at the slope scale were documented, framing the rockfall process in a wider geological scenario