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Il contributo illustra i primi risultati del progetto di ricerca scientifica di documentazione e valorizzazione del patrimonio culturale materiale e immateriale voluto e supportato dal Comune di Suelli. Il lavoro è stato portato avanti in collaborazione con l'Istituto di Scienze del Patrimonio Culturale (ISPC) del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), in sinergia con la Soprintendenza Archeologia, belle arti e paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Cagliari e le province di Oristano e Sud Sardegna (SABAP-CA), il team del progetto LavoRAS e il Dipartimento di Antropologia biologica dell'Eötvös Loránd University di Budapest (ELTE) e il Museo di storia naturale di Budapest (HNHM).

The Stylite Tower is part of the UNESCO archaeological site of Umm ar-Rasas (Jordan). It represents a unicum in its category and has a fundamental value for the Jordanian Cultural Heritage as a symbol and an emblem of Jordan's history and culture. The monument has evident signs of deterioration that appear in the form of substantial detachments of the plaster, water infiltration, erosion and fractures. Given the need to preserve this important ancient monument and for public safety reasons, a high-detail analysis of the Tower has been achieved through the realization of 3D geometrical surveys (Photogrammetry and Laser Scanner) and non-invasive geophysical surveys (using Ground Penetrating Radar Technique). The use of non-destructive testing techniques has provided encouraging results for the struc- tural planning of diagnostic, consolidation and restoration activities.

Research on Petra has shown that the main causes of degradation of monuments are synthetically due to heavy rainfall and the running waters phenomena. The goal was to realize a project for the conservation and safeguard of the monuments based on petrographic analysis and 3D data acquisition

The research expedition of the CNR-ITABC in the archaeological site of Umm Al-Rasas, near Madaba (Jordan) was partially supported by the Italian Foreign Ministry. It started in 2013 and was mainly focused on the 3D documentation of two Byzantine churches with magnificent floor mosaics, dedicated to Saint Stephen and Bishop Sergius respectively. To improve the analysis of the archaeological structures, different investigation techniques were used and reciprocally integrated, in an effort to create geometric models enabling the interpretation of data related to the masonry and floor mosaics, as well as to the documentation of the archaeological area. In order to facilitate handling and mobility, lightweight tools were chosen and Micro Photogrammetry and Close Range Photogrammetry methods were applied. A correct description of the floor warp was achieved thanks to laser scanner techniques and the resulting geometric data were integrated with the chromatic data coming from photogrammetry, obtaining a 3D restitution of the two adjacent structures and a metric and spatial analysis of their morphological features. New devices, specifically designed for the project, helped to solve some practical problems that the survey operations had to cope with during the fieldwork. This paper illustrates the results of the survey, which will be useful to develop restoration projects in order to make the whole archaeological site attractive to tourists.

Il lavoro illustra, attraverso la descrizione di tre progetti specifici, le procedure di intervento multidisciplinare sul territorio portate avanti in questi ultimi anni dal gruppo di ricerca dell'Istituto per le Tecnologie Applicate ai Beni Culturali. L'attività del gruppo si concentra sullo studio del bene culturale immerso nell'ambiente che lo contiene, tenendo conto dei molteplici aspetti che caratterizzano il territorio e che determinano i processi evolutivi delle popolazioni che su di esso vivono. L'approccio multidisciplinare prevede la costruzione di sistemi informativi geografici che raccolgono e gestiscono in maniera integrata informazioni a diversa scala di carattere ambientale, storico e archeologico e la sperimentazione di tecnologie innovative per l'acquisizione di dati spaziali, come la fotogrammetria 3D ed il laser scanner, che portano all'elaborazione di modelli tridimensionali del terreno ed alla ricostruzione virtuale 3D dei beni monumentali. I tre casi di studio sinteticamente illustrati nell'articolo riguardano due missioni internazionali, la prima in Perù, sul sito di Chan Chan, e la seconda in Giordania, nella Valle di Petra, e un progetto, in corso di definizione, per la riqualificazione turistica dell'area di Policoro.

The Disruptive Technologies for Power and Propulsion (DiPoP) Study reviewed advanced space technologies for large interplanetary missions of interest to Europe taking account of European industry capabilities. These included surface power generation, high power instruments, large robotic missions to outer planets, asteroid de ection missions and longer term interplanetary manned missions. The propulsion applications involve high speed increments, generally beyond the capability of chemical propulsion (except if gravitational swing-by can be used). For missions beyond Mars orbit �ssion nuclear energy sources become competitive with solar panels. Both �ssion nuclear thermal (NTP) and nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) were considered. NTP high thrust levels may o�er the only means of asteroid de ection by direct impact following late detection. However with su�cient advanced warning the greater control from NEP relatively low thrust de ection over a period of time is a lower risk option. For NEP two electrical power levels have been considered: 30 kW and 200 kW. The lowest power level (30 kW) is more suited to surface energy source (Moon or Mars manned base) or to relatively small automatic platforms. The 200 kW power level is more suited to heavy robotic missions, including asteroid detection. The public acceptance of these new technologies has been analysed, showing the necessity to provide safe ground testing facilities as well as a mission scenario excluding re-entry of an activated space nuclear reactor.

Chan Chan represents the material and immaterial synthesis of ten thousand years of autonomous evolution of the pre- Colombian cultures in northern Peru. The Italian Mission of CNR - ITABC (Institute for Technologies Applied to Cultural Heritage) is operating in Chan Chan since 2002 on behalf of an agreement of collaboration with the Peruvian Ministry of Culture. The project is directed to the planning of the Archaeological Park of Chan Chan , the realization of its Documentation and Managing Centre and to the valorisation of the principal architectural elements of the complex. The main object of the program is supporting the socio-economic growth of Chan Chan's territory through the development of handicraft and tourism. The study is carried out using satellite images with different sensors, registering the territorial data in a specific GIS, providing the survey of the architectural structures with GPS and photogrammetric instruments for the realization of virtual and multimedia visits of the complex. Palacio Rivero, the most recent and smallest of the ciudadelas, was chosen for the experimentation of new photogrammetric techniques that could provide rapid acquisition of data and a faithful reproduction of reality. On the base of a topographic net, terrestrial photogrammetry was used for the survey of the perimetral walls (11 m. of height) and aerial photogrammetry (gas balloon) for the survey of the first sector of the palace. The virtual reconstruction of Palacio Rivero together with the one of the principal architectural elements of the complex (huacas, huachaques, ciudadelas etc) will provide multimedia videos to be shown in a specific hall in the managing centre of the park.

Non-destructive geophysical prospecting methods are increasingly used for the investigation of archaeological sites, especially where a detailed physical and geometrical reconstruction of structures is required prior to any excavationwork.Often, due to the limited size and depth of an archaeological structure, it may be rather difficult to single out its position and extent because of the generally low signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio. This can be overcome by improving data acquisition and processing techniques and integrating different geophysical methods. In this work the results of a multimethodological surveys, used with the aim of detecting sharp discontinuities (boundary of cavities and fractures in the host medium) at the Archaeological Test Site of Sabine Necropolis at Research Area of National Research Council of Rome (Montelibretti, Italy) are shown. For the survey a combination of passive and active methods (magnetic, ground-penetrating radar (GPR), and dipole-dipole geoelectric (DDG)), topographical and three-dimensional laser scanner surveys and archaeological excavations were used to study the state of conservation of underground tombs. With all geophysical methods a high-resolution data acquisition was adopted with the aim of reconstructing a global vision of the study area. Signal processing and amplitude time-slice representation techniques were used for the analysis of GPR data. The bi-dimensional cross-correlation technique was applied to enhance the S/N ratio of the magnetic data. An example of the integration (both qualitative and quantitative) of these results is presented for a portion of the investigated area in the Sabine Necropolis at Colle del Forno (Rome, Italy). Archaeological excavations were then conducted systematically after completing the geophysical surveys and interpretations (from 2000 to 2006), which confirmed the location and shape of the individual chamber tombs with associated corridors.

II rilievo:come interpretazione del mondo reale, deve essere finalizzato a un obiettivo predefinito e specifici L'insieme di strumenti presentati permette, tramite l'uso della fotogrammetria e del Gps, una produzione grafica completa, dalla nuvola di punti alla rappresentazione bidimensionale in un software Gis (Geographic(a1) Information System), di oggetti archeologici a diversa scala (sito, com¬plesso architettonico, corpo di fabbrica, unita stratigrafiche). II lavoro svolto su Shawbak utilizza un insieme di strumenti di rilievo fotogrammetrico applicati alla documentazione archeologica, caratterizzati da un alto livello di integrazione tra i dati di tipo grafico e quelli non grafici (informazioni stratigrafiche e qualitative, elementi multimediali, annotazioni di di- verso genere). L'archeologia offre, infatti, per il suo tradizionale status di area disciplinare di frontiera tra le scienze naturali e le scienze umane, un campo di ricerca estremamente interessante per lo sviluppo di mo¬delli e di strumenti di gestione di dati eterogenei.

INTRODUZIONE L'intervento compiuto dallTTABC presso il sito di Rocca Ricciarda è stato realizzato nel corso dell'anno 2001. II contrafforte roccioso che contraddistingue l'area, si offriva come un'ottima occasione per l'applicazione di tecnologie e metodologie per l'analisi, lo studio e l'interpretazione di aree antropiche. La ricostruzione del paesaggio antico è, infatti, un obiettivo fondamentale della moderna ricerca topografica. Le indagini e le ricostruzioni realizzate sono state correlate a studi storici significativi; grazie alle numerose fonti scritte pervenute, attraverso cui è possibile ricostruire parzialmente le dinamiche insediative, la contestualizzazione e la tipologia di un insediamento medievale, la cui storia può essere facilmente letta anche attraverso le indagini archeologiche dell'Università di Firenze. Da un punto di vista archeologico, il sito presenta una tipologia insediamentale apparentemente con forti caratteri di peculiarità e che, per le sue modeste dimensioni e l'evidente funzione strategica, finalizzata al controllo dei percorsi di valico tra Valdarno e Casentine, appare differenziarsi dai più frequenti villaggi fortificati d'altura resenti in quest'area geografica (TAV LXXVI, i). Gli obiettivi principali del nostro intervento sul sito archeologico sono stati: 1. fornire gli elementi necessari al fine di collocare l'abitato oggetto di studio nel proprio contesto fisico-geografico; 2. effettuare una "registrazione" puntuale delle evidenze archeologiche e della morfologia del terreno all'interno dell'area di scavo. In questo contesto ha assunto molto importanza l'esatta georeferenziazione degli elementi, cioè la precisa collocazione degli oggetti nello spazio mediante l'attribuzione di coordinate reali. Il trattamento della cartografia esistente, base topografica sulla quale organizzare le informazioni relative al territorio, infatti, è stato seguito dal rilievo diretto sul terreno dei processi relativi all'attività dell'uomo ed ai fenomeni ambientali

BACKGROUND: The effect of carotid endarterectomy in lowering the risk of stroke ipsilateral to severe atherosclerotic carotid-artery stenosis is offset by complications during or soon after surgery. We compared surgery under general anaesthesia with that under local anaesthesia because prediction and avoidance of perioperative strokes might be easier under local anaesthesia than under general anaesthesia. METHODS: We undertook a parallel group, multicentre, randomised controlled trial of 3526 patients with symptomatic or asymptomatic carotid stenosis from 95 centres in 24 countries. Participants were randomly assigned to surgery under general (n=1753) or local (n=1773) anaesthesia between June, 1999 and October, 2007. The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with stroke (including retinal infarction), myocardial infarction, or death between randomisation and 30 days after surgery. Analysis was by intention to treat. The trial is registered with Current Control Trials number ISRCTN00525237. FINDINGS: A primary outcome occurred in 84 (4.8%) patients assigned to surgery under general anaesthesia and 80 (4.5%) of those assigned to surgery under local anaesthesia; three events per 1000 treated were prevented with local anaesthesia (95% CI -11 to 17; risk ratio [RR] 0.94 [95% CI 0.70 to 1.27]). The two groups did not significantly differ for quality of life, length of hospital stay, or the primary outcome in the prespecified subgroups of age, contralateral carotid occlusion, and baseline surgical risk. INTERPRETATION: We have not shown a definite difference in outcomes between general and local anaesthesia for carotid surgery. The anaesthetist and surgeon, in consultation with the patient, should decide which anaesthetic technique to use on an individual basis. FUNDING: The Health Foundation (UK) and European Society of Vascular Surgery.

Speed in acquisition, complexity in processing: from GPS to point clouds The present paper, through a series of methodological and scientific experiences, means to contribute to the use of IT in the archaeological field. A number of works in progress are exposed, in which different methodologies are related to different cases of study . Our analysis wants to be a moment of constructive criticism about the treatment of the spatial information. For any type of IT elaboration and spatial correlation, the attention must be focused on the objectives to reach and on the intrinsic characteristics of the experimental datum. In order to analyze and interpret the data set, it's necessary to know different methodologies and their instrumental errors. Through this type of analysis, it will be possible to perform dimensional and spatial comparisons that will allow us to use the datum, not only in qualitative but also in quantitative way. In this article some case of studies will be shown very interesting for the type of methodology used. In the archeological complex of Villamagna, near Anagni, the differential GPS has been used. The purpose of this work, was to get the DTM of the area near the archaeological excavations. In this survey differential GPS has been mounted on a off-road vehicle. Subsequently the orto - photo and its connected problems will be analyzed, i.e. the drawing of stratigraphic unity in relationship to the dimension of the photo and other related problems. Actually point clouds taken with Laser Scanner or photogrammetry, thanks to their precision, are innovative elements for the execution of an archaeological survey. Some examples related to the use of Laser Scanner and photogrammetry and belonging to current international projects will be shown: in the first example the Laser Scanner is applied to buildings of which a virtual navigation is figured. In the second case the photogrammetry (manual and automatic), through the use of braked aerostatic ballon, is applied to one of the most important monuments of Petra (Palace Tomb) and on the crusade castle of Shawbak. The purpose of the presented article is to show that a single methodology cannot be used everywhere and that very often we need to use a methodology that be related to the specific features of the site

Lo strumento nato da una collaborazione tra l'ITABC del CNR di Roma e la Menci Software di Arezzo, la tematica dell'intervento riguarda la messa a punto di uno strumento che permetta di svolgere un rilievo archeologico - topografico mediante l'aerofotogrammetria digitale automatica in maniera veloce ed affidabile, utilizzando un pallone aerostatico a bassa quota. Per questo strumento è stato scelto come caso di studio il castello crociato di Shawbak in Giordania nell'ambito del progetto archeologico "Petra Medievale: Archeologia degli insediamenti di epoca crociato-ayyttbide in Transgiordania" finanziato dal MIUR e dal MAE e condotto al prof Guido Vannini dell'Università degli Studi di Firenze in collaborazione con l'ITABC del CNR di Roma. Gli obiettivi del lavoro sono stati quelli di ottenere un modello tridimensionale completo del castello che possa essere utilizzato per studiare eventuali interventi di restauro, che permetta di ottenere a vari livelli le planimetrie complete degli edifici e che permetta una navigazione tridimensionale all'interno della fortezza. E'stato inoltre possibile ottenere un modello digitale del terreno (DTM) per un'analisi dettagliata del territorio finalizzata al recupero di strutture ancora interrate per una maggiore conoscenza della distribuzione degli spazi interni al castello.

1.The operative project The archaeological site of Chan Chan, located along the northern coast of Peru, represents the largest mud brick pre-Columbian settlement (14 Km2) and it is characterized by three architectural typologies: the palaces or Ciudadelas, the Huacas or stepped pyramids and the intermediate architecture. Though it is inscribed in the UNESCO "List of Word Heritage" and "List of in danger Word Heritage", Chan Chan is suffering a dramatic process of material and urban degrade. In order to stop the process of decay the "Plan Maestro de Conservación y Manejo del Complejo Arqueológico Chan Chan" was approved by the President of the Republic of Peru in January 2000. The main objective of the plan was to integrate all the actions related to archaeological research, conservation and exploitation of the site with all the actions addressed to the promotion and the social development of its population. The MIPE (Italian Mission in Perù) has been operating in Chan Chan since 2001 following the directions of the Plan Maestro and carrying on a work of documentation and study both at the architectural and the territorial scale. The main specific goals of the project are the followings: oPlanning of the Archaeological Park of Chan Chan; oPreparing the restoration project of Palacio Rivero (one of the nine Ciudadelas); oCreation of a Documentation Centre for the planning and managing of the Archaeological Park 2.Use of Quickbird satellite images for the study of the territory The extensive settlement of Chan Chan cannot be analysed and studied without using great scale images as the high resolution ones from the Quickbird satellite (operative since 2002) used for the quantitative measurement of the deterioration and the detailed analysis of the territory. The satellite image (kindly offered by Eurimage) shows us two different factors of territorial decay due to direct anthropic activity (new paths crossing architectural structures, spontaneous vegetation, uncontrolled agriculture) and to the aggressive approaching to the archaeological area by the near town of Trujillo and its airport (Fig. 1). The comparison between the aerial zenital picture of Palacio Rivero, which was taken in the seventies by the University of Harvard, and the Quickbird satellite image (May 2003) is particularly helpful for the evaluation of the degradation process: many structures of the second sector of the palace still visible in the Harvard picture, have almost completely disappeared in the satellite image (Fig. 1). With the aim to improve the quality of the information a fusion was performed between the real colour and the panchromatic images and between the infrared and the panchromatic ones (useful for the study of soil and vegetation). The new images keep all the information of the real colour and the infrared shots but achieve the high resolution of the panchromatic one. The new images show architectural alignments which are not visible on the ground, providing therefore an important tool for the identification of buried structures (fig. 2). 3. Restoration of Palacio Rivero: geometric and photogrammetric documentation The main objective of the present project is namely to use the case study of Palacio Rivero as an example of Chan Chan architecture to create an operating model allowing the execution and relative application of IT to all the phases of documentation, research, and restoration. The geometrical survey of the palace was performed using different techniques: the Total Station for the still visible structures, the GPS for the contour lines of the surface generated by the deterioration of the walls and the aerial photogrammetry for the Plataforma de Entierro (Tomb of the King). A part of Palacio Rivero regarding the wide area of warehouses and Audiencias was recorded using the Laser Scanner Callidus CP3200 (Trimble). Following the usual procedure we have been able to create a 3D model that allows the creation of solid models from which it is possible to extract profiles, sections, elevations and all the other drawings needed for the planning of the restoration project (Fig. 3). 4.Creation of a Geographic Information System During last year we have started the construction of the GIS called "The Archaeological Park of Chan Chan" planned as a mean of managing and valorisation of the archaeological complex and of its territory. During the year 2006 the following data have been added: oCartographic data (maps at scale 1:5.000 and 1: 50.000; aerial photogrammetric survey by Harvard University of the years 1970-1973); oPhotographic data (Quickbird satellite image; aerial photos by Harvard University; aerial photo by MIPE of 2003-2005); oGeometrical data (Topographic survey with Total Station, contour lines survey with GPS of Palacio Rivero, photogrammetric survey of Plataforma de Entierro; polygonal of the archaeological area). The final objective of such a system is the gradual creation of a multidisciplinary data archive that will allow the various research and conservation activities to be updated and to schedule and implement the improvement activities, as well as to regulate the complex economic activities related to the management of the archaeological complex (tourist flow, multimedia products, constraints and integration with the modern city).

The purpose of this paper s to present a summary of the potential and the limits of the use of Satellite Positioning Systems in the field of archaeological research and, more generally, in the construction of numeric models describing the territory. In the first section we will examine the various methods of acquisition, with emphasis on the measuring time and the level of accuracy in the different applications. In the second section we have presented some study cases, in particular the research conducted in collaboration with the Department of Medieval Archaeology of the University of Florence regarding some castles in Crusader era Ayyubid Transjordan (valley of Petra, Castle of Shawbak) and the results of the project entitled "The necropolis of Colle del Forno" conducted by the CNR and by the Archaeological Superintendence of Latium. In the first case a 3D reconstruction of the rock formation on which the villages being studied are built is illustrated. Moreover, for the Castle of Wu'ayra, we have given a description of the system utilized for the photographic coverage of the village, obtained with images taken from a low-flying kite and geo-referenced with GPS. In the case of Colle del Forno, in order to evaluate the accuracy of the results in relationship to the time required for the realization, the survey made by GPS in cinematic mode and that made with total station are compared. In this way we hope to contribute to the choice of strategies to be employed focusing on the costs and benefits of the different methods which can be use.