Search Results (2)

The Roman villa of Pisões (Beja, Portugal) was part of the Lusitanian colony of Pax Iulia. This place stands out for the predominance of the water element in several structures of the villa, highlighting the balneum and the large natatio, one of the largest known in Roman Hispania. The records of the initial excavations that took place beginning in 1967 do not allow the establishment of clear functionalities of the villa. The University of Évora, the owner of the site, conceived an action plan for the requalification and enhancement of the archaeological site. One of the tasks aims to investigate the site using applied geophysics. This work analyses the landscape directly related to the villa, given that it is in the flooded area of a river with a Roman containment dam. It is uncertain whether the water supply comes from this structure or other nearby springs. The use of ground-penetrating radar, combined with unmanned aerial vehicles, all integrated in a geographic information system, allows us to determine the location of underground water connections and create a topographic model with high resolution. Considering all the information, we propose a model for water transport inside the villa and estimate the location of the water supply. Full article

Over the past decade, high-resolution noninvasive sensors have been widely used in explorations of the first few meters underground at archaeological sites. However, remote sensing actions aimed at the study of structural elements that require a very high resolution are rare. In this study, layer characterization of the floor mosaic substrate of the Pisões Roman archaeological site was carried out. This work was performed with two noninvasive techniques: 3D ground penetrating radar (3D GPR) operating with a 1.6 GHz central frequency antenna, which is a very high-resolution geophysical method, and photogrammetry with imagery obtained by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which is a very high-resolution optical method. The first method allows penetration up to 30–40 cm depth and 3D models can be obtained, and with the second method, very high detail surface images and digital surface models can be obtained. In this study, we analyze a combination of data from both sensors to study a portion of the floor mosaic of the Pisões Roman Villa (Beja, Portugal) to obtain evidence of the inner structure. In this context, we have detected the main structural levels of the Roman mosaic and some internal characteristics, such as etched guides, internal cracking, and detection of higher humidity areas. The methodology that we introduce in this work can be referenced for the documentation of ancient pavements and may be used prior to carrying out preservation activities. Additionally, we intend to show that a Roman mosaic, understood as an archaeological structure, does not consist of only beautiful superficial drawings defined by the tesserae, but these mosaics are much more complex elements that must be considered in their entirety for preservation. Full article