**STEP 7: Excavation for further archaeological documentation. Geophysical prospection (find data for "dark" historical periods)**

STEP 8: Plans for the functional rearrangement of the site (access, protection of natural and architectural expression, lightening, readability of the history, outbuildings).

STEP 9: Plans for connection with other monuments of architecture (pedestrian, archaeological walk, place of sightseeing and relaxation)

STEP 10: Establishment and operation of monitoring system (Long-time behaviour of repaired parts, record of visitors. Regulations)

**STEP 11: Digital reconstruction, digital scenarios, Virtual museum.**

STEP 12: Use for educational purposes (Plans for regular and occasional activities in cooperation with local and state authorities)

STEP 13: Enhancement of cultural activities (festival, infrastructure for theatre performance, meetings, events).

STEP 14: Plans for development of local economy (ecotourism, local bus, guides for visitors, activation of the municipality and periphery in participation of joint development projects)

The development and gives a statistical result that helps unemployment and economy in general. Conservation and restoration projects in which the wide archaeometrical techniques and methods were applied has provided economic benefits to some countries.

In 2004 Italy's income of 14 billion Euros came from cultural tourism from conservation and restoration works (towns with history, monuments/works of art, restoration/conservation/preservation).

In 2002 15% of France's annual income, equal to about 15 billion Euros, came from cultural tourism of castles and monasteries, yet about 855 million Euros per year was used for archaeometry-conservation-restoration of cultural heritage.

Another characteristic and recent example is the "Integrated Diagnostic Research Project and Strategic Planning for Materials, Interventions Conservation and Rehabilitation of the Holy Aedicule of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem". New technologies, including LIDAR, sonar, laser scanning, thermal imaging, georadar (GPR), and luminescence dating and characterization, were used to preserve this important site, as well as, the geometric documentation with materials analysis, the identification of building phases and the diagnosis of decay and pathology through the use of analytical and non-destructive techniques were included. The resulted outcome led experts in the completion of a challenging and seemingly impossible restoration of a universal monument, with the result of securing increased number of visitors with the new findings and the safety measures taken [103,108].

In other parts of the World integrated projects of castles, monasteries of interdisciplinary and multi-scientific nature also were made aiming to increased number of tourists and thus income [109–114].

#### **4. Discussion**

According to the above, it becomes, by now, easy to perceive that the new technological evolution has dramatically reshaped the value chain, in the way that it impacts the sustainability of the systems of governance for culture. Cultural heritage has a historical, social, and anthropological value and it is considered as an enabler of sustainable development (United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 11 and 8).

Cultural heritage, on the other hand, contributes significantly to a more balanced and sustainable urban or regional development and economy, providing many opportunities for social interaction and economic growth of host communities. It is, indeed, widely acknowledged that the various aspects and methods of new technology represent a remarkable and valuable tool in terms of economy. Even though the traditional methods of research, assessment, and collection of archaeological data are still being used, sciences and archaeometry come to the aid of professionals in order to assist conservation, archaeology, restoration, and so many others, but also to save time and money. Non-invasive geophysical surveys and remote sensing activities, for example, are nowadays often implemented before the dig in order to provide substantial indications as to the existence of antiquities, a piece of information which would otherwise take long periods of trial trenches to obtain and by sequence large amounts of money and human resources. The documentation of the finds is also easily assured with the use of 3D representations, laser scanning, and several other imaging techniques of high technology. Collections data can be far more detailed and stored in far less space than ever before. Databases can hold complete descriptions along with photographs and links to the raw elements of analysis and interpretation. In addition, the artefact can be compared to previous data to track any changes, such as deterioration or fading. The three-dimensional building models are also increasingly necessary for urban planning within areas including buildings and structures of cultural heritage. In a sense it is perhaps the only though method preserving for the condition of a monument in view of natural and man provoked hazards.

Archaeometry's impact in development applies also to at-risk cultural heritage protection. On the other hand, laboratory tests of high accuracy are also employed against all sorts of fake provenance documentation.

Equally important is that ICT applications making also use of archaeometric results amplify the access of people to cultural information and services, since the public can enjoy them more easily, quickly and cheaply. In terms of economy, ICT provide a great opportunity for cultural industries, especially of tourism and computing, to adopt a sustainable and cultural-social centric approach and to develop into attractive and profitable stakeholders.

The use of archaeometry helps make the cultural heritage industry more widely and effectively extroverted, through the documentation and dissemination of cultural objects, movable and immovable monuments, tangible or intangible heritage, and provides democracy and globalization of the knowledge, participation, and accessibility of local communities and the wider universal community to the local cultural heritage, highlighting regional, territorial sustainable development and cultural tourism.

Archaeometric studies consist of the links between the scientific information derived from cultural sites and objects, museums as cultural transmission areas-either real or virtual—and the global community as the final recipient of cultural data. Digitalization provides new opportunities of data processing and analysis and boost cultural development, including the ability of individuals to have, at any time, no limit of access to cultural heritage.

3D digitization technologies create new promotion potentials of archaeometry and give the European and world public the opportunity to take a close look of the specialized work carried out by scientific groups throughout the world, to participate in the fascinating course of science, archaeometry innovative applications, and the experience of cultural documentation.

Virtual world platforms are used for artefacts' and museums' modelling and exposure, while the use of panoramic images is spreading to present captured aspects of a real museum. Many museums, real or fictional, have been created in order to replicate the experience of a physical visit to the museum and make the user feel immersed in the digital space [115].

Sustainable management of the cultural and natural environment aims to the development in an unceasing way. The ultimate goal is the society, science and technology development in such a way as to ensure a durable permanence of future generations (trans-generational) and to reserve in all sectors, mainly environment, but also society and economy, for them [116]. Sustainable development is directly linked to culture and aims at its sustainability. Sustainability as a term links past, present, and future, because people are studying the past and discover those elements that consist of heritage, as perceived at the present time, for the people of the future. As UNESCO states: "*Education for Sustainable Development allows every human being to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to shape a sustainable future*".

With digital archaeological and territorial information interconnected an increase in cultural heritage knowledge worldwide is achieved. Archaeometry data analysis transmission, combined with stakeholders and public involvement, allows a wide participation at the area of cultural management and treatment of monuments and enables individuals' awareness to central decisions about heritage sustainability. Meanwhile, organizations are more careful and responsible about their impact on monuments and cultural environment [18].

The natural and cultural heritage of a region and its management is of particular importance for tourism development, it brings economic benefits but also risks due to the exploitation of sensitive resources such as the natural, cultural, and historical environments. Sustainable management of cultural objects and the soft, controlled development of cultural destinations are required to reduce the negative impact of tourism activity and the consequent economic development. The inclusion of the protection and promotion of cultural goods in the national planning and the local-regional strategy for the sustainable development of the regions is inextricably linked with the development of the economy. The interaction is intense and flows in both directions.

Archaeometrical results coupled with sustainability, and vice versa, as a cause-and-effect relationship benefits several fields; from advancing science, enhancing the value of reminiscent relics, induce a pedagogical effect, provide social cohesion, help economy and employment and reinforce cultural diplomacy. The factors of communication of the archaeometric results to the public, i.e., the manner, media of results communication, the target group that the scientific data is addressing to, the accessibility, influence this relationship. Overall, interdisciplinarity in archaeometry is connected with sustainability because it produces a novel and valuable and unpreceded information on the cultural heritage material. This dual relationship is quantified from statistics of visitors in respective museums or open archaeological sites.

Unhappily the common consensus is not a respected connection between archaeometry and sustainability, as the measurable results are confined to a narrow academia. However, if proper use is made with the results in all fields of archaeometry (provenance, characterization, location, dating, technology, intangible heritage from material culture analysis and interpretation of their arrangement, archaeoastronomy, VR, conservation-restoration, digital documentation, dissemination, etc.) then a direct connection between archaeometry and sustainability will emerge.

Along the lines of archaeometry's role in cultural regional economic sustainability and development strategies, the development of geomythology to decipher ancient myths, emerging from archaeometry applied to intangible heritage is of unprecedented essence. The recent upcoming research discipline of the disaster archaeology and attempts to explain beyond a mythical/legendary account by natural sciences, lead unavoidably to the establishment of a new academic discipline of archaeological mythology, much like biblical archaeology with Israel's patrology conveyed orally and finally recorded in the holy Bible [117–119]. Therefore, archaeometry on a perpetually accredited scientifically holistic approach (PASHA) continually and consecutively developed, coupled with the mythologies in the world, the Greek mythology being of paramount importance, adds another dimension in revealing remote past, merging tangible and intangible heritage, and forming a new academic field with social, scientific, and pedagogical dimensions and new learning outcomes.

The systematic way to model the coupling of archaeometry and sustainability needs a combined grounded theory (GT) for quantitative data [120,121], but with traditional comparative ethnography, archaeology, and, if available, ancient literature approach. Archaeometric data are quantitative which are analyzed and treated in such a manner to produce and/or reproduce accurate and precise end product (a date, a content, a reconstruction).

The economic valuation of cultural heritage remains a scientific challenge. Archaeometry's impact targets at the economic effect, either as an external benefit or as a source of tourist attraction. Thus, the application of the contingent valuation method, which has the objective aim to examine the effect of opportunity cost in indirect economic valuation of some special public goods through the supply of voluntary labour may be worth linking to archaeometrical fieldwork [122].

The archaeometry updated by its new technologies may well apply a resilient strategy to cultural heritage, in the domain of fundamental and applied research, education and training, and economy. At any rate the implementation of all these should take into consideration the pertaining uncertainties from natural disasters, terrorist activities, and climatic changes [123].

#### **5. Conclusions**

Archaeometry is a scientifically-established international discipline that investigates scientific issues of cultural heritage; it is a multidisciplinary science that develops research and solves archaeological problems. With the help of this interdisciplinary subject new unexplored fields, political, cultural, and social landscapes are discovered, and scientific gaps are covered because science, although divided into subgroups, is unified and indivisible.

Archaeometry results consist of data (such as graphs, statistical information, etc.) which simplify and facilitate the possibility of comparing cultural samples and retrieving maximal information from their micro scale, thus conducting safe conclusions, which can be used globally by researchers, scientists, and government officials, resulting in the dissemination of information and the globalization of science, the scientific and administrative dialogue, the promotion of administrative functions, and the convenience of citizens to fair and proper administrative treatment.

Cultural heritage is, without doubt, a particularly complex field. The protection and preservation of archaeological sites, ancient monuments, vernacular architecture, industrial installations, cultural and historical landscapes, and many other forms of cultural property is and should be the object of many disciplines. The integration of cultural management services with archaeometry and information culture technologies has already shown the successful impact in many of the processes of documenting and monitoring, interpreting and communicating the data, enhancing many aspects of the research, building capacity and achieving public involvement in the integration of the past into our lives. The management of big data from archaeometrical applications and the cyber-archaeology in the field, the museum, and the office, upraises the interdisciplinary direction to the PASHA, which has the potential for addressing the new challenges the heritage sector faces and securing its long-term sustainability and preservation, giving a hopeful prosperous future to local, regional, and national economic development, from the cultural heritage re-treatment to economic benefit.

At any rate, combined multi-scientific archaeometric projects, use "new technologies" ("new" in the sense of updated progressive development in science and technology) and retrieve information in the micro- and macroscopic level. The obtained data of applications to current material culture or in the revealing and documentation of new buried antiquities, with proper interpretation and integration in the wider context of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, are inextricably linked to sustainability. **Author Contributions:** Writing: I.L. and E.K.; Providing case and idea: I.L.; Providing revised advice: I.L.

**Acknowledgments:** Ioannis Liritzis is thankful for the project fund support from Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development & Collaborative Innovation Center on Yellow River Civilization of Henan Province, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China. Colleagues G.Tsokas and A.Sarris for useful first-hand information on geophysical results, to Niki Platia MSc, for initial useful discussions and N.Laskaris and A.Vafiadou for help in plots.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.
