Institute for Mediterranean Studies

"How could we approach mountainous rocky landscapes in the absence of detailed cadastral maps, if the 1:5.000 maps do not depict hydrography to support the understanding of soil-marks and geological erosion, if crop-marks (or “scrub-marks” of the typical Mediterranean macchia) are undistinguishable, if the over-exposure of some military photos hides shadow-features, if a road can produce a similar signature as a wall or a fault in different geological setting a few meters away, if the monumentality of some ancient constructions means that scale does not work well as a discriminating factor, …? These are amongst the challenges of creating a specific protocol in archaeological photo-interpretation of mountainous rocky areas.
Taking the mountainous terrain of East Crete as a demonstration case study, a simplified cadastre has been produced according to the aerial photographical evidences with the 4th coordinate as the time changes. On this generated map, the known archaeological features were placed: a data mining analysis is carried out to understand why a particular archaeological feature was visible from the ground and if and how its position influenced the recognition itself. The description of every single anomaly via abstraction levels, groups homogeneous elements in a bigger category.
On the base of these first subdivisions, the comparison of similar recurrence of combination of colour/contrast allowed the description of dubious cases or the definition of “false-features”. The availability of an extensive architectural field-survey with accurate digital measurements, such as the Digital Crete Archaeological Atlas, allowed to improve the feature recognition and to address a higher number of archaeological questions. This paper discusses some results that arose from Cantoro's PhD research and their later enhancement through the further refinement of interpretation. A combination of remote sensing and ground-truthing was exploited for the specific geomorphology of the area of Eastern Crete, trying to extend it even further to other geographical contexts. "

The scientific and scholarly study concerned with the search for material traces of the past comprise a significant level towards the cultural heritage management and preservation. Ground based and satellite/aerial technologies can be utilized for capturing both the dynamics and the evolution of the cultural landscapes creating a digital archive for the management of cultural resources. The research directive that has been initiated by FORTH and is under the auspices of various cultural and research foundations aims towards the establishment of a best practice guide for the application of geo-information technologies for the study, management and preservation cultural landscapes. In the archaeological site of "Malia",, conventional photogrammetric and laser scanning techniques have been carried out in collaboration with the French School of Athens, in order to provide a 3D model of the "Magasins Dessenne" area which have subsequently been backfilled for conservation reasons . The different approaches have provided a realistic orthorectified model that can be used for the further studies of the monuments of the particular section of the site. In "Eleftherna", on the hill of "Pyrgi", the focus has been to map the aqueduct of the ancient town through the application of electrical resistivity tomography. The continuation of the water tunnel which lies 8m below the surface towards the south where two large water reservoirs have been cut into the rock was examined through a high resolution three-dimensional (3-D) Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method. Even though the data processing and interpretation with 3-D resistivity imaging/inversion algorithms reconstructed with significant detail the near surface features, it was unable to give further insight regarding the southern end of the water tunnel due to the limited resolution of the surface ERT and its inability to resolve the tunnel within the specific environmental regime. The particular controlled experiments set the foundation of a guide that will promote the optimal application of the particular techniques based on the current progress of the geo-information technologies and that will ultimately function as a road-guide for the archaeologists' own usage.

‘Magoula’ is the local term given to manmade mounds on the fertile Thessalian plain, Central Greece, which are generally associated with Neolithic settlements. These mounds or tell sites are originated by long-term and sometime multi-phase accumulation of debris produced by human occupation. Thessaly is well known for the concentration of these prehistoric sites and contains some remarkable examples. In spite of the great deal of archaeological research focused on these sites since the beginning of the 20th century, there is still a gap in the understanding of the factors behind the establishment, distribution and development of these early farmer communities. Even if there has been recently a GIS – satellite remote sensing approach dealing with the landscape distribution of these settlements, much less is known regarding the local extent of them.
This paper shows how the implementation of non-destructive and ground based geophysical techniques can provide key information related to the structural layout of tell sites. Emphasis is given to methodological aspects, the advantages and limitations of the different techniques and survey-related problems. In so doing, we present the preliminary results of the ongoing project IGEAN (Innovative Geophysical Approaches for the Study of Early Agricultural Villages of Neolithic Thessaly, implemented under the "ARISTEIA" Action of the  "OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING" and is co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and National Resources), which is focused on the investigation of several tell sites in eastern Thessaly in order to reconstruct the major habitation patterns of the Neolithic farming groups in the area using geophysical surveys techniques. The methods include the extensive and high resolution geophysical surveys to map and characterise in detail the extent of the sites and reveal other buried features of interest. Multi-technique geophysical instrumentation able to survey extensive areas are being used and comprise of a multi-sensor magnetometer system, electromagnetic induction instruments, multi-channel and single channel GPR systems as well as soil analyses.
The new evidence provided so far by this non-invasive approach is uncovering a previously unknown layout of prehistoric occupation which may shed light on archaeological questions related to the origin and long-lasting character of these Neolithic settlements in Thessaly.

The scientific and scholarly study concerned with the search for material traces of the past comprise a significant level towards the cultural heritage management and preservation. Ground based and satellite/aerial technologies can be utilized for capturing both the dynamics and the evolution of the cultural landscapes creating a digital archive for the management of cultural resources. The research directive that has been initiated by FORTH and is under the auspices of various cultural and research foundations aims towards the establishment of a best  practice guide for the application of geo-information technologies for the study, management and preservation cultural landscapes. In the archaeological site of Malia”, conventional  photogrammetric and laser scanning techniques have been carried out in collaboration with the French School of Athens, in order to provide a 3D model of the “Magasins Dessenne” area which have subsequently been backfilled for conservation reasons . The different approaches have provided a realistic orthorectified model that can be used for the further studies of the monuments of the particular section of the site. In “Eleftherna”, on the hill of “Pyrgi”, the focus has been to map the aqueduct of the ancient town through the application of electrical resistivity tomography. The continuation of the water tunnel which lies 8m below the surface towards the south where two large water reservoirs have been cut into the rock was examined through a high resolution three-dimensional (3-D) Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) method. Even though the data processing and interpretation with 3-D resistivity imaging/inversion algorithms reconstructed with significant detail the near surface features, it was unable to give further insight regarding the southern end of the water tunnel due to the limited resolution of the surface ERT and its inability to resolve the tunnel within the specific environmental regime. The particular controlled experiments set the foundation of a guide that will promote the optimal application of the particular techniques based on the current progress of the geo-information technologies and that will ultimately function as a road-guide for the archaeologists’ own usage.

Η περιοχή γύρω από την πόλη της Ιεράπετρας στην νότια ακτή της Κρήτης αναπτύχθηκε ραγδαία τις προηγούμενες δεκαετίες ως αποτέλεσμα της εντατικής χρήσης θερμοκηπιακών καλλιεργειών στην παράκτια ζώνη μεταξύ της Ιεράπετρας και του οικισμού Μύρτου στα δυτικά. Παρ' όλη την ανάπτυξη του βιοτικού επιπέδου στην περιοχή, η εντατική ισοπέδωση λόφων και πλαγιών για την εγκατάσταση νέων θερμοκηπιακών μονάδων έχει αλλοιώσει ανεπανόρθωτα το τοπίο με δραματικά αποτελέσματα για τα ιστορικά και αρχαιολογικά μνημεία της περιοχής. Η συγκεκριμένη μελέτη αποσκοπεί σε πρώτο στάδιο στην καταγραφή των θερμοκηπιακών μονάδων στην πεδιάδα της Ιεράπετρας από τα τέλη της δεκαετίας του 1960 μέχρι σήμερα με την χρήση αεροφωτογραφιών και σύγχρονων GIS εφαρμογών. Ο σκοπός της μελέτης είναι η δημιουργία ενός πλαισίου για την καλύτερη εκτίμηση επιβλαβών παραγόντων (χωματουργικά εργασίες, περιοχές υπό κάλυψη, κ.α.) που μπορούν να επηρεάσουν το πολιτισμικό τοπίο στο άμεσο μέλλον και την διαφύλαξη συγκεκριμένων περιοχών που έχουν αποφύγει μέχρι τώρα τις καταστροφικές συνέπειες των θερμοκηπιακών καλλιεργειών.

Για περισσότερο από έναν αιώνα η μελέτη της Θεσσαλίας έχει καθορίσει τις μεθοδολογικές και θεωρητικές προσεγγίσεις της Νεολιθικής έρευνας στην Ελλάδα. Η πυκνότητα και η εγγύτητα των θέσεων δημιουργεί ένα ξεχωριστό οικιστικό τοπίο για τη μελέτη και κατανόηση της οργάνωσης και αλληλεπίδρασης σύγχρονων αγροτοκτηνοτροφικών κοινωνιών. Παράλληλα, τα νέα ευρήματα έχουν εισάγει νέες διαστάσεις στη χρήση του Νεολιθικού χώρου στην υπό εξέταση περιοχή, εμπλουτίζουν το αναλυτικό μας πρίσμα προς τη διαμόρφωση ανομοιόμορφων κοινωνικών σχηματισμών και εγείρουν ποικίλες και ενδιαφέρουσες ερμηνευτικές επιλογές.
Τα τελευταία χρόνια βρίσκεται σε εξέλιξη μια ερευνητική προσπάθεια που αποσκοπεί στη μελέτη του τοπίου και τις πρακτικές εγκατάστασης που αναπτύχθηκαν στην περιοχή (με έμφαση την παράκτια ενδοχώρα της ανατολικής Θεσσαλίας) κατά τη διάρκεια της Νεολιθικής περιόδου. Με την εφαρμογή καινοτόμων τεχνολογιών, όπως η γεωφυσική διασκόπηση με διαφορετικούς αισθητήρες, η αεροφωτογράφηση με UAV και η δορυφορική τηλεπισκόπηση με τα πιο προηγμένα δορυφορικά συστήματα, η παρούσα έρευνα αναδεικνύει τις δυνατότητες ενός εκτεταμένου και συστηματικού προγράμματος που προβάλλει την πολυμορφία και τη συνθετότητα της κατοίκησης στη λεκάνη της Νεολιθικής Θεσσαλίας.
Η στόχευση του προγράμματος στις μαγούλες και τους χαμηλούς γηλόφους καταδεικνύει την διαφορετικότητα και τη πολυπλοκότητα των οικιστικών τάσεων, οι οποίες ενδεχομένως να διαδραμάτισαν καθοριστικό ρόλο στη διαμόρφωση των ενδοκοινοτικών και διακοινοτικών κοινωνικών δυναμικών σε τοπική κλίμακα.

The Laboratory of Geophysical, Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeoenvironment (GeoSat ReSeArch) of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies (FORTH) conducted a geophysical survey at the Greek settlement of Mantinea in the Peloponnese during 3-7 November 2014. This was the second phase of fieldwork following geophysical prospection from 4-10 May 2014. The purpose of the second survey was to broaden the scope of site exploration inside the city walls of Mantinea and to further map the near-surface street system and buried architectural features. The general layout of the city was largely unknown prior to the two geophysical surveys in 2014, but now a large region of the ancient urban environment (more than 25%) has been mapped and documented. Most notably, geophysics was successful in identifying an extensive network of orthogonal streets and city-blocks, as well as near-surface buildings. This new and valuable information reveals much about the wider urban dynamics of Mantinea and places the city within the framework of Greek planned settlements in the Peloponnese and beyond.