Results of LiDAR scanning and archaeological survey of the selected areas between the rivers Krka and Cetina from 2019 to 2021 (original) (raw)
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Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences , 2020
This paper presents the results of a research aimed at investigating by airborne LiDAR the ancient landscape of a sector of central northern Istria (Croatia) from prehistory to Roman times. The area, approximately corresponding to the territory of Oprtalj/ Portole, is located in a strategic position just north of the mid-Mirna/Quieto river, an important waterway connecting coastal Istria with the inlands since prehistory. The elaboration of high-definition LiDAR data compared with aerial and satellite images, historical cartography and field surveys allowed us to identify unreported prehistoric and Roman features and also get detailed topographic information about already known sites. Beside a few protohistoric hill forts discovered in the past, an open-air Neolithic or Copper Age site, a probable Bronze Age burial mound and three small protohistoric fortifications have been identified. These hill forts are clustered around a north-south valley, which represents a preferential access route from the larger Mirna valley to the karst plateau north of Oprtalj/Portole. In the same plateau, small Roman buildings associated with enclosures and probable artificial ponds have been interpreted as remains of farmsteads related to small-scale herding and agricultural activities. In the southern sector of the investigated area, consisting of marls, sandstones and fertile soils, large scatters of archaeological materials sometimes associated to outcropping features are probably the remains of larger structures characterized by a well-developed agricultural economy. Particularly interesting is the identification of fossil rectilinear land division features that overlap with the cardines of Istrian centuriation. Before our study, centuriation was identified only in the territories of Poreč/ Parenzo and Pula/Pola, hence believed not to extend beyond the Mirna river. The new evidence revealed by LiDAR and satellite images, however, shows that a large part of central and northern Istria, between the Mirna and the Dragonja rivers, was divided by the same grid. Based on these considerations, the archaeological evidence here presented makes the Istrian peninsula one of the largest areas in the entire Roman world to have undergone a single planned land division survey.
Roman land division in Istria, Croatia: historiography, LIDAR, structural survey and excavations
Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 21, 1., 2021
Many interpretations of the ancient cadastre of the Roman colonies of Pola and Parentium on the Istrian peninsula in Croatia have been offered recently on the basis of satellite imagery and the Croatian topographic map. This grid, spreading continuously over an area of roughly 1200 km 2 , was identified through numerous structures which correspond to the ancient Roman metric system, but they were never a part of further research. This approach enabled identification of structures that were most often visible in the contemporary cadastre, like modern roads or field boundaries, but gaps were left in areas where the modern cadastre did not reflect the ancient one. Until the commission of airborne laser scanning (ALS or LiDAR), from which our research began, one of these gaps was on the northern side of the Lim bay, in the Municipality of Vrsar. Interpretation of ALS data resulted in detecting different, multi-temporal spatial organisations of the landscape, among which were numerous, previously unidentified, remains of the Roman limites. The results of this interpretation guided the field inspection. Different surface manifestations of individual remains were categorized, and it was defined which are the original Roman structures. The results of this structural survey subsequently guided the archaeological excavations. Only with the combination of these procedures it was possible to understand the original construction of the limites.
Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology, 2024
This study introduces a new aspect in the discussions regarding military campaigns conducted over time in the western region of the Transylvania’s Iron Gates. It pertains to a possible fortification discovered near Marga, Caraș-Severin County, South of the Bistra River, situated approximately 260 meters south-southwest of the DN68 and DJ684A intersection. The identification was made through LiDAR scans, and it presents similarities to other legionary camps in the surrounding area. Its dimensions are typical for a legionary camp; about 23.8 hectares. The structure and typological analogies place this fortification among the legionary marching camps. Could this site at Marga be the last camp to the West of the Iron Gates of Transylvania – Tapae corridor?
New Light on a Roman Fort Based on a LiDAR Survey in the Forested Landscape from Porolissvm
The aim of this research is to identify and map new archaeological remains from a steep and forested area using information that was acquired by means of high-resolution airborne laser scanning (ALS or LiDAR-Light Detection And Ranging). In order to test the effectiveness of this active remote sensing technique the LiDAR data were collected by a helicopter on an area of 10 km2 from the forested landscape at Porolissvum archeological site. The raw LiDAR data were used to create very accurate digital terrain models (DTM with 0.5 m ground resolution). Two visualisation models of the LiDAR-derived DTM were generated in the ArcGIS 10 software: Hill-shading from Multiple Directions and Slope. We particularly analysed a very steep and forested area from the Citera Hill to test if the archaeological features can be identified using this non-invasive method for the surrounding environment. Our results confirm the effectiveness LiDAR-derived DTM visualization techniques for the detection of the unknown and hidden beneath forests archaeological remains. Employing one of the latest non-invasive active remote sensing techniques we have contributed to the database necessary for the enlisting of this sector of the Roman limes on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This would provide the protection of these archaeological monuments and in the same time promote the cultural tourism within Moigrad-Porolissvum area.
Archaeologia Austriaca, 2020
For many decades the villa maritima of Vižula had been considered as one of the largest of its kind in Istria, Croatia. In order to prove this theory, large-scale archaeological prospection was applied in Vižula from 2014 onwards, including geophysics (Ground Penetrating Radar) and remote sensing (Airborne Laser Scanning/Airborne Laser Bathymetry). Integrating the results of these non-invasive techniques with terrestrial and underwater surveys and excavations provided an opportunity to evaluate this architecture from a different perspective. Our research indicates that instead of a single luxurious residence, several contemporary complexes existed on Vižula, namely two villae maritimae and two villae rusticae. Furthermore, the results show that the combined methodology is able to integrate detail and context into an interpretative coherent model of a landscape going far beyond the analytical capabilities of each individual method. Keywords Mediterranean, Roman villa maritima, archaeological prospection, ALS/ALB, GPR, underwater archaeology, integrated interpretation of prospection data. Zusammenfassung-Archäologische Prospektion von Siedlungen im Küstenbereich. Neubewertung der römischen Architektur von Vižula, Kroatien Viele Jahrzehnte lang galt die villa maritima von Vižula als eine der größten ihrer Art in Istrien, Kroatien. Um diese Theorie zu überprü-fen, wurde seit 2014 großflächige archäologische Prospektion in die Erforschung von Vižula einbezogen, und das Gebiet mittels Geo-physik (Bodenradar) und Fernerkundung (Luftbild, Airborne Laser Scanning / Airborne Laser Bathymetrie) untersucht. Die Integration der Ergebnisse dieser nicht-invasiven Techniken in die Resultate der terrestrischen und Unterwasserausgrabungen bot die Gelegenheit, diese Architektur aus einer neuen, gesamtheitlichen Perspektive zu bewerten. Unsere Forschungen deuten darauf hin, dass statt einer einzigen luxuriösen Residenz mehrere zeitgenössische Komplexe auf Vižula existierten, nämlich zwei villae maritimae und zwei villae rusticae. Darüber hinaus zeigen die Ergebnisse, dass eine kombinierte Interpretation von integrierter Prospektion und Ausgrabungen Re-sultate ermöglicht, die weit über die analytischen Möglichkeiten der einzelnen Methoden hinausgehen. Schlüsselbegriffe Mittelmeer, römische villa maritima, archäologische Prospektion, ALS/ALB, GPR, Unterwasserarchäologie, integrierte Interpretation von Prospektionsdaten.
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Archaeological and anthropological sciences 12, 2020
Demystifying the Roman fort at Gračine (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
In: S. Golubović et al. (eds.), LIMES XXIIII. Proceedings of the 24th International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies, 2nd − 9th September 2018 Viminacium − Belgrade, Serbia, Belgrade 2023 (sic!) (= Institute of Archaeology, Belgrade. Monographies 81/2), 1141–1151.