DATA ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING IN THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE OF AL BASS (TYRE - LEBANON)

Thanks to Information Technology developments in the field of cultural heritage, archaeological-architectural surveying offers, as the result of the knowledge process, digital models, which may be used to construct dedicated Systems, where the fundamental requisite is spatial 3-D data reference. A complete archaeological GIS was produced in this study for the site of Al Bass, Tyre in Lebanon. Starting with detailed data and numerous photographic and cartographic documents, a GIS project was developed for the integrated management of maps and charts, whose geometric, topological and identification data are managed by relational databases (RDBMS), correctly georeferenced in an internationally recognised system. The concept of 3-D modelling is circumvented in favor of a “management” concept, focusing on the real rendering of compositional elements, which may be catalogued and queried in a single project with dynamic maps, by means of 3D views in ArcScene. The use of advanced software, such as those of the ESRI 10.2 packet, make it possible to develop a number of operationally advanced tools and extensions that in turn permit processing the 3D map by positioning it in 3D environment. All data are managed through the Geodatabase focusing on the concept, which is today fundamental in terms of international operability between systems, of Metadata, as set forth by the INSPIRE directive, which are managed automatically by the system. The potential of the GIS as a conservation and restoration data management tool is thus used in a field such as that of cultural heritage, where this software is offering an increasing number of new and interesting application scenarios.