Books by Marianna Figuera
Antico, Edizioni Quasar, 2022
Archaeopress, Praehistorica Mediterranea, 2020
Papers by Marianna Figuera
This contribution offers the initial results of an ongoing multidisciplinary project aimed at exp... more This contribution offers the initial results of an ongoing multidisciplinary project aimed at exploring digital approaches to overcoming the complexities associated with certain archaeological monuments, such as the Hypogeum of Calaforno, one of the most interesting prehistoric monuments in Sicily. It is a unique sample of rock-cut architecture in terms of size and architectural features, in comparison with the Sicilian territory and the entire Mediterranean context. In addition to the usually rock-cut architecture characteristics, as the narrow spaces and the lack of light, the hypogeum also presents some practical problems due to the serpentine route of the rooms and the presence of water in some spaces. This case study highlights the need to pursue the development of digital products which have a clearly scientific value and can also improve the dissemination aspects. The paper also shows the development and experimentation of workflows to obtain viable 3D digital twin models through the use of low-cost techniques for the photogrammetric surveying of archaeological sites characterized by the presence of narrow and complex spaces. Thanks to the comparison with the laser scanner point cloud of a previous survey, it was possible to verify the accuracy of the photogrammetric model. This has been obtained through the use of the action cam GoPro Black Hero 6. This cam proved to be a highly useful instrument, with lenses offering fields of view somewhere between those of fisheye lenses and of traditional lenses. The aim of this work is the communication of cultural content to the public through immersive virtual experiences that can enhance real visits to stimulate public interest and improve understanding of the monument with the help of unique reception and observation structures based on innovative enabling technologies. The construction system is designed to integrate analogue and digital apparatus and allow the creation of privileged observation points to experience 3D reconstructions of the site.
G. Gallo, F. Buscemi, M. Ferro, M. Figuera, P.M. Riela, Abstracting Stone Walls for Visualization and Analysis, in A. Del Bimbo et al. (eds.), Pattern Recognition. ICPR International Workshops and Challenges, ICPR 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 12667. Springer, Cham, pp. 215-222. An innovative abstraction technique to represent both mathematically and visually some geometric ... more An innovative abstraction technique to represent both mathematically and visually some geometric properties of the facing stones in a wall is presented. The technique has been developed within theW.A.L.(L) Project, an interdisciplinary effort to apply Machine Learning techniques to support and integrate archaeological research. More precisely the paper introduces an original way to “abstract” the complex and irregular 3D shapes of stones in a wall with suitable ellipsoids. A wall is first digitized into a unique 3D point cloud and it is successively segmented into the sub-meshes of its stones. Each stone mesh is then “summarized” by the inertial ellipsoid relative to the point cloud of its vertices. A wall is in this way turned into a “population” of ellipsoid shapes statistical properties of which may be processed with Machine Learning algorithms to identify typologies of the walls under study. The paper also reports two simple case studies to assess the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Archeologia e Calcolatori, 2020
The article presents the results of a wider research carried out by a multidisciplinary group (ar... more The article presents the results of a wider research carried out by a multidisciplinary group (archaeologists and engineers) of the University and the CNR-ISPC of Catania in the South-Western Quarter of the Minoan Palace of Phaistos (Crete). The article focuses on two digital survey campaigns carried out respectively in 2014, laser scanning, and 2019, Structure from Motion. Starting from the point cloud by laser scanner, the most recent, low cost and user-friendly photogrammetric tools (GoPro camera and software Agisoft Metashape) have been used during the 2019 campaign in order to update and to improve the previous dataset, which was used as a grid for georeferencing and scaling the new virtual model. Special attention was addressed to the comparison of the two datasets and to the reuse of the first one for
georeferencing and scaling the second one. Furthermore, the research has been focused on the opportunity to exploit the obtained virtual model both for scientific purposes and for the outreach. The lack of accessibility of the South-Western Quarter of Phaistos Palace to the visitors attributes a special interest to this output. The virtual environment thus realized constituted an ideal starting point for the development of an educational fruition project based on a Serious
Game approach. The cooperation of archaeologists and engineers in the development of the Phaistos game ensures a gaming experience not only pleasant but also provided with a strong educational profile.
ARCHEOLOGIA E CALCOLATORI 31.1, 2020
University Heritage, 2021
The Museum of Archaeology of the University of Catania (MAUC) is the place where the Guido Libert... more The Museum of Archaeology of the University of Catania (MAUC) is the place where the Guido Libertini’s collection (1888-1953), former rector of the Catania University, is exhibited: the exposition is a journey through the archaeology of the Catania region from the Prehistory to the Medieval age.
The collection’s remarkable core consists of classical antiquities collected by Libertini, to which other finds brought to light over the years of the activities of the Institute of Archaeology have been added. In its entirety, the Museum nucleus consists of 325 finds (fine and common wares, terracotta figurines, inscriptions), and hundreds of coins dating to the Greco-Roman era.
The choice to digitize the museum’s catalogue is based on the relevance of the Libertini collection, on the quality and consistency of the supporting documentation, on the significant presence of legacy data and on the cultural significance that the Museum has for the collectivity and for the University of Catania community.
International Journal on Digital Libraries 22(3), 2020
Open Archaeology
P. Militello (University of Catania) and A. M. Sammito (Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Rag... more P. Militello (University of Catania) and A. M. Sammito (Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, Ragusa) directed excavations around a necropolis of at least 90 rock-cut tombs at Calicantone (RG) in southeastern Sicily, which until then had only partially been investigated. As well as providing new archaeological data about the corresponding village in terms of its area, the research team also discovered the remains of an isolated bi-apsidal hut dated to the late Sicilian EBA (XVIIth–XVIth century B.C.). The hut is presumed as a funerary building primarily intended for the preparation of corpses for burial. Its position, directly between the village and the necropolis, demonstrates its crucial role in the sacral landscape, while spatial distribution analyses indicate that other commemorative rituals were conducted in specific spaces in, and around, the actual tombs. The paper presents a reconstruction of the ancient cultural landscape highlighting the possible passageway that connected...
Creta Antica, 2018
The review of the metal finds from Ayia Triada and their contextual and functional
analysis have ... more The review of the metal finds from Ayia Triada and their contextual and functional
analysis have brought to light some aspects related to the manufacturing activity of
bronze, that allow us to begin defining the role that this would have played in the site.
This paper aims to focus on some processing phases, such as repair, reuse and recycling, starting from the analysis of a single tool – a stake – stored in the Heraklion
Museum, which summarizes in itself a double factor of interest, being an uncommon
object, made in bronze and used as a tool in the metal vessels manufacturing. Through the analysis of bibliographic sources, especially the notebooks, has been possible to reconstruct its context. Therefore, some observations are proposed about the relationship between its context of discovery and the functional aspects of some rooms of the Villa, in relation with the conduct of metallurgical activities. The presence of many bronze tools, including the stake, in the NW Quarter indicate unequivocally that some of these rooms were connected to production and transformation activities, in close association with the official and representative rooms. The multifunctionality of the spaces and the co-presence of domestic, storage and artisan functions in the Villa, once again, has been confirmed, as well as the presence of some kinds of metallurgical activities in Ayia Triada.
Vengono forniti i primi dati sulla scoperta della capanna di Calicantone a Cava Ispica (Modica, R... more Vengono forniti i primi dati sulla scoperta della capanna di Calicantone a Cava Ispica (Modica, RG) dell'età del Bronzo Antico.
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche, 2018
Abstract – Calicantone is an archaeological area belonging to the Parco Archeologico di Cava d’Is... more Abstract – Calicantone is an archaeological area belonging to the Parco Archeologico di Cava d’Ispica, a 13 km long canyon extening from the territory of Modica (RG) to that of Ispica (SR) in Soth-Eastern Sicily. The Archaeological Service of Ragusa/Parco Archeologico di Cava d’Ispica and the University of Catania undertook in 2012-2015 a research project which brought to a better knowledge of the local necropolis of rock-cut chamber tombs, to the identification of the village area (unfortunately in a now bilt area), an to the iscovery of a Bronze Age hut, located between the village an the necropolis. In this article the preliminary report of the excavation of the ht is presente. Three sbseqent phases have been iscovere: an occpation ientifie thanks to pole-posts (phase 0), the constrction of a smaller biapsial biling (phase I) an the final ht (phase II). In this final phase the ht was 12,5x4,5 meter, ha an elongate biapsial plan, oriente N-S, with the entrance locate in the eastern wall. The inner space was ivie into two sections, ifferentiate by the floor level, higher in the northern part e to a step in the rock, an an artificially mae, protring plat-form. Only few finings were fon in the sothern sector (two high peestal bowls, one clay “aniron” an a grop of spinle-whorls). Here a shallow basin, line with plaster, was g in the floor. Parallel to the short sie of the basin, the skeleton of a 10-14 years ol inivial has been fon. This sothern sector was probably se for rital or working activities. A hge qantity of vases was instea fon in the northern sector, which was probably a storage area: pithoi, olia, rinking an poring vases, high peestal bowls, together with clay horns, miniatre axes, small iols (?) an a necklace. Among the vases, the skeletons of at 3-4 inivials in ifferent postres have been fon, mainly concentrate (with the exception of two) in the northern apsis. Two more inivials lai along the western wall, an a frther one half insie an half otsie a pithos along the eastern wall. The isposal of the corpses an their position sggest that a sen an violent event broght to the estrction of the ht. Some final consieration will be mae abot the commnal (an fnerary?) fnction of the ht an the historical significance of this war event.
http://cidoc.mini.icom.museum/archive/past-conferences/2018-heraklion/
Rivista di Scienze Preistoriche LXVIII, 2018
Authors: P. Militello, A.M. Sammito, F. Buscemi, M. Figuera, T. Messina, E. Platania, P. Sferrazz... more Authors: P. Militello, A.M. Sammito, F. Buscemi, M. Figuera, T. Messina, E. Platania, P. Sferrazza, S. Sirugo
Archeologia e Calcolatori 29, 2018
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Books by Marianna Figuera
Papers by Marianna Figuera
georeferencing and scaling the second one. Furthermore, the research has been focused on the opportunity to exploit the obtained virtual model both for scientific purposes and for the outreach. The lack of accessibility of the South-Western Quarter of Phaistos Palace to the visitors attributes a special interest to this output. The virtual environment thus realized constituted an ideal starting point for the development of an educational fruition project based on a Serious
Game approach. The cooperation of archaeologists and engineers in the development of the Phaistos game ensures a gaming experience not only pleasant but also provided with a strong educational profile.
The collection’s remarkable core consists of classical antiquities collected by Libertini, to which other finds brought to light over the years of the activities of the Institute of Archaeology have been added. In its entirety, the Museum nucleus consists of 325 finds (fine and common wares, terracotta figurines, inscriptions), and hundreds of coins dating to the Greco-Roman era.
The choice to digitize the museum’s catalogue is based on the relevance of the Libertini collection, on the quality and consistency of the supporting documentation, on the significant presence of legacy data and on the cultural significance that the Museum has for the collectivity and for the University of Catania community.
Link: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/opar.2019.5.issue-1/opar-2019-0029/opar-2019-0029.xml
analysis have brought to light some aspects related to the manufacturing activity of
bronze, that allow us to begin defining the role that this would have played in the site.
This paper aims to focus on some processing phases, such as repair, reuse and recycling, starting from the analysis of a single tool – a stake – stored in the Heraklion
Museum, which summarizes in itself a double factor of interest, being an uncommon
object, made in bronze and used as a tool in the metal vessels manufacturing. Through the analysis of bibliographic sources, especially the notebooks, has been possible to reconstruct its context. Therefore, some observations are proposed about the relationship between its context of discovery and the functional aspects of some rooms of the Villa, in relation with the conduct of metallurgical activities. The presence of many bronze tools, including the stake, in the NW Quarter indicate unequivocally that some of these rooms were connected to production and transformation activities, in close association with the official and representative rooms. The multifunctionality of the spaces and the co-presence of domestic, storage and artisan functions in the Villa, once again, has been confirmed, as well as the presence of some kinds of metallurgical activities in Ayia Triada.
georeferencing and scaling the second one. Furthermore, the research has been focused on the opportunity to exploit the obtained virtual model both for scientific purposes and for the outreach. The lack of accessibility of the South-Western Quarter of Phaistos Palace to the visitors attributes a special interest to this output. The virtual environment thus realized constituted an ideal starting point for the development of an educational fruition project based on a Serious
Game approach. The cooperation of archaeologists and engineers in the development of the Phaistos game ensures a gaming experience not only pleasant but also provided with a strong educational profile.
The collection’s remarkable core consists of classical antiquities collected by Libertini, to which other finds brought to light over the years of the activities of the Institute of Archaeology have been added. In its entirety, the Museum nucleus consists of 325 finds (fine and common wares, terracotta figurines, inscriptions), and hundreds of coins dating to the Greco-Roman era.
The choice to digitize the museum’s catalogue is based on the relevance of the Libertini collection, on the quality and consistency of the supporting documentation, on the significant presence of legacy data and on the cultural significance that the Museum has for the collectivity and for the University of Catania community.
Link: https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/opar.2019.5.issue-1/opar-2019-0029/opar-2019-0029.xml
analysis have brought to light some aspects related to the manufacturing activity of
bronze, that allow us to begin defining the role that this would have played in the site.
This paper aims to focus on some processing phases, such as repair, reuse and recycling, starting from the analysis of a single tool – a stake – stored in the Heraklion
Museum, which summarizes in itself a double factor of interest, being an uncommon
object, made in bronze and used as a tool in the metal vessels manufacturing. Through the analysis of bibliographic sources, especially the notebooks, has been possible to reconstruct its context. Therefore, some observations are proposed about the relationship between its context of discovery and the functional aspects of some rooms of the Villa, in relation with the conduct of metallurgical activities. The presence of many bronze tools, including the stake, in the NW Quarter indicate unequivocally that some of these rooms were connected to production and transformation activities, in close association with the official and representative rooms. The multifunctionality of the spaces and the co-presence of domestic, storage and artisan functions in the Villa, once again, has been confirmed, as well as the presence of some kinds of metallurgical activities in Ayia Triada.
The research concerns the necropolis, which consists of 93 rock-cut chamber tombs, and a bi-apsidal hut, located outside the
settlement area, probably on the top of the hill, but in proximity to the funerary zone. The isolated location of the hut, near
the necropolis, its rich assemblage and the exceptional recovery of skeletons of at least six people, seem to suggest that one
of the functions of the hut, if not the main one, was its use in the performance of funerary rituals. Through the description of
the groupings of the tombs in the necropolis, the localisation and architectural features of the hut, the finds and analysis of
distribution patterns we want to underline the important role of the area in the funerary landscape.
The conference will be held on October 15-17, in the World Wide Web. More information is available at https://2020.archeofoss.org
26th annual CIDOC - ICOM Conference, 4 October 2018, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
http://www.cidoc2018.com/session/Heritage%20data-centric%20research%3A%20are%20FAIR%20data%20fair%20enough%3F
29 September - 5 October 2018, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
‘Provenance of Knowledge’
“Spreading Excellence in Computer Applications for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage”
The vast necropolis, located in Cava Ispica gorge, ca. 14 km from Sicily’s south-eastern coast, spreads over rocky terraces and inaccessible steep slopes surrounding a hilltop settlement towering on the western edge of the gorge. It consists of ninety-one chamber tombs clustered in several groups. Each group presents different level of accessibility and external elaboration of tombs’ façades, while the presence of small artificial cavities (tombe incoative, probably of votive purpose) recurs in several sectors of the necropolis. The presence of votive cavities implies that each bigger cluster stated an independent part of the necropolis, devoted to a chosen group/clan or used over a different period of time, whereas the location of particular tombs within the groups could hold the key to a social lecture of the funerary landscape. The largest group of tombs states the necropolis’ monumental façade. Broad repertoire of decorative motives, which include multiple rock-cut frames, pillared courtyards and false-pillared façades accentuates those tombs’ entrances.
A repeatable co-existence of chosen elements within the multileveled cemetery of Calicantone suggests a well organized funerary area with internal structure carefully planned and a system of tombs differentiation articulated by their location and set of external architectonic features.
The soundings in the nearby of the necropolis unveiled traces of a hut, in use in the final stage of the Sicilian EBA (ca. 1600-1450 BC) and perhaps also in the transitory period to the MBA Thapsos culture (ca. 1400-1250 BC) when it was destroyed in an abrupt event such as an earthquake or a human attack. Until now it is the only known Sicilian building placed on the border of a funerary area and it yielded a large amount of finds, including both cult and luxury objects and with more mundane ones, such as stone tools and weaving implements. A large amount of pottery has been found (round 80 vases) including small and middle sized vases, and many large clay containers (pithois, dolia). The presence of rock-cut channels and a large rectangular clay basin points to a special or specialized function of the space.
Surprisingly the debris also covered at least 8 individuals (both male and female, adults and young). While some of them were clearly killed by the event that destroyed the hut, one was apparently not a victim of the sudden destruction: the suggestion must be made that this body was placed in the hut before the violent end of the building and was probably being prepared for burial.
Taking into consideration its location and content, the proposed interpretation of the hut of Calicantone is that of a community house used also for funerary activities, including both rituals and the treatment of the body.