A new computational method to quantify morphological standardization and variation within ceramic assemblages

Analysis of ceramic standardization and variation provides a powerful tool for evaluating the scale, organization, and technological practices behind pre-modern production and for gauging the coordination and complexity of past economic systems. The selection of formal attributes to allow effective measurement and comparison of complex shapes, though, presents a crucial challenge to systematic study. Alongside fabric composition and surface treatment, consistent linear dimensions offer helpful metrics for assessing standardized production. More difficult to measure, though, are the many finely graduated variations in shape that can reflect how these processes were implemented and the limits to large-scale serial productions like those of the ancient Mediterranean world. We offer here a new method and computational pipeline, developed using open-source libraries, to quantify morphological similarities and differences among ceramics. Grounded in point cloud comparison, our method enables comprehensive 3D characterization of geometries down to the pixel level and leverages state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms and high-speed data structures for efficiency and scalability across large assemblages. Case studies of transport amphoras from two late antique shipwrecks off the coast of southwest Turkey demonstrate the robustness of the methodology and pipeline. Together, they provide an analytically rigorous and flexible approach to quantifying formal variation within a dataset. The first results suggest strategies for controlling the capacities of these transport jars within late ancient systems of production, but the method should also prove useful in formal analysis of artifacts of other forms and contexts

Digital models for the analysis and enhancement of hybrid spaces: Architecture of the mattanza

Project ‘U Mari examines the long-term relationship between the sea, coast, and local peoples through the various lenses of maritime mobilities, interactions, and livelihoods along the shore of southeast Sicily, specifically between the Vendicari Reserve and Capo Passero. With an eye toward valorizing the ‘mattanza’ as intangible cultural heritage, our work focuses on the rich material remains of this distinctive Mediterranean form of bluefin tuna trap fishing, using 3D recording and visualization of its associated objects, spaces, and landscapes to relate vivid diachronic stories for the public. Our methodology integrates archaeological survey of the landscape, architecture, and social practices of tuna fishing that act as a bridge between ancient, early modern, and contemporary livelihoods. Through comprehensive digitization, we generate interoperable and parametric models aimed not only at the recording and restoration of objects and spaces, but also—in combination with interviews and archival work—at the valorization and revitalization of traditional practice within contemporary socioeconomic contexts. Through these digital methods, Project ‘U Mari seeks to engage the public with a deeper understanding of historical maritime lifeways using exhibition, virtual environments, and revived traditions. Such an approach can encourage environmentally sound fishing practices that draw on local knowledge and yield local economic benefits and responsible tourism. In this way, the historic and archaeological past offers the opportunity to create a new common language for understanding and communicating the architectural evidence of local traditions, history, and livelihoods in this rich maritime landscape

Il “relitto della chiesa”Marzamemi II, partenariato di ricerca e studio nel sud-est della Sicilia

Lo studio del relitto Marzamemi II, meglio conosciuto come il “relitto della chiesa”, occupa da tempo un posto importante nell’archeologia subacquea del Mediterraneo: esso rappresenta uno dei primi relitti ampiamente indagati divenendo, fin dai primi anni dello sviluppo dell’archeologia subacquea, un esempio per la metodologia della ricerca scientifica in contesti marini. Il carico di elementi architettonici e decorativi prefabbricati ha fatto sì che il relitto assumesse un posto speciale nei dibattiti sul commercio di materiali da costruzione su larga scala per l’edificazione di monumenti a supporto delle strategie di propaganda dell’Impero. Tali materiali, tra i quali un imponente carico di colonne, imbarcati nella stiva di questa nave insieme ad arredi sacri, attestano relazioni tra mecenatismo e produzione artistica, evidenziando anche la natura dei collegamenti nel Mediterraneo durante la tarda antichità

Virtual simulation of a late antique shipwreck at Marzamemi, Sicily: Integrated processes for 3D documentation, analysis and representation of underwater archaeological data

Three‐dimensional (3D) models derived from digital survey techniques have increasingly become a mainstay of archaeological research and cultural heritage management. The high accuracy of such modelling makes it an attractive solution for a wide range of challenges from site recording and interpretation to object analysis and reconstruction. The present paper focuses on a new 3D digitization method using stereoscopic video for the documentation, analysis, and representation of archaeological contexts as part of shipwreck investigations off southeast Sicily at Marzamemi. This sixth‐century CE vessel sank in shallow water (7–8m) while carrying a massive cargo of largely prefabricated architectural elements intended for the construction and decoration of a church somewhere in the late antique west. This dynamic site presents significant challenges to the interpretation of depositional and post‐depositional events as well the reconstruction of the original cargo and individual architectural elements. Therefore, 3D documentation underwater at Marzamemi has centred on new methods for stereoscopic scanning of the site, topography, and large architectural finds, allowing not only more rapid and precise mapping but insights into site formation processes and the organizational mechanisms behind the cargo assemblage. The adoption of this new system based on a precise workflow and simple, inexpensive hardware combined with readily available software allows more accurate and rapid digital recording underwater to a high standard across scales, from the site level down to the individual artefact. This process, named ISU3D (Integrated System for Underwater 3D Digitization), offers innovative solutions not only for archaeological field research but for heritage management and public outreach

Three-dimensional underwater survey: representing the past with new tools for musealization

3D models derived from digital survey techniques have increasingly developed and focused on many fields of application, from urban survey and landscapes to individual objects of cultural heritage. The high detailed content and accuracy of such models makes them attractive and useful for a wide range of purposes. The present paper focuses mainly on the combined use of 3D survey techniques of small and medium objects, using the conventional scanner Artec, with ScubaLibre, a 3D stereoscopic scanner system developed by the Suor Orsola Benincasa University team. This paper presents the results obtained during the underwater excavation of a ship that sank near Marzamemi, southeast Sicily, in the 6th century AD. The data collected and processed offers the basis for new analysis of contexts and artifacts found and the development of new forms of musealization of cultural heritage through innovative technologies for augmented reality and immersive environments

A manifesto for the study of ancient Mediterranean maritime networks

In this one-off, extended Project Gallery article, the participants of a recent workshop jointly present a manifesto for the study of ancient Mediterranean maritime connectivity. Reviewing the advantages and perils of network modelling, they advance conceptual and methodological frameworks for the productive study of seaborne connectivity. They show how progressive research methods can overcome some of the problems encountered when working with uneven datasets spanning large geographical regions and long periods of time. The manifesto suggests research directions that could better inform our interpretations of human connections, both within and beyond the Mediterranean