Integrated GPR and laser scanning of Piazza Sant’Anastasia, Rome

The application of non-invasive techniques for archaeological research, in particular geophysical prospection and 3D-modelling, have been at the forefront of the research conducted by the British School at Rome (BSR), in particular at the sites of Portus and San Giovanni in Laterano. The techniques have been used for the investigation of both large-scale sites as well as documenting complex buildings, in many cases as a precursor to archaeological excavations. However, when sites are embedded in a complex urban landscape, non-intrusive methods offer the only possibility for a detailed investigation of the subsurface. The survey at Piazza Sant’ Anastasia falls within this context.

The church of Sant’Anastasia and the adjoining piazza occupy an area of great importance in the topography of ancient Rome. Seated between the Palatine and the Aventine hills, the area is adjacent to the Circus Maximus and very close to the Forum Boarium (for the ancient topographical context of the study area, see among others Coarelli 2008).

The aim of the survey was to locate archaeological features underneath the piazza with Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) and to record the current layout of the area, dominated by the church façade, with high-resolution 3D laser scanning. The ultimate objective was to combine the data in a shared 3D environment capable of representing the diachronic evolution of the site.