This book provides information and tools necessary to bridge and integrate the knowledge gaps related to the acquisition and processing of archaeological data, specifically in the field of preventive diagnostics, urban centers, archaeological parks and historical monuments, through activities that involve the application of non-invasive diagnostic detection systems, in the field of applied geophysics. The principal aim of this book is to define a tool for experts that work in the frame of Cultural Heritage and to identify a procedure of intervention transferable and usable in different geographical contexts and areas of investigations: it could help to decide the better technique of investigation to apply in relation to the predictive characteristics of the archaeological site and the objectives of the survey. The book is divided in two parts. The first one explains the theory of ground high resolution penetrating radar (GPR), electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), controlled source electromagnetism system, differential magnetic method and the scenario of integrated methods of different geophysical techniques. Each section covers the basic theory (complete description of the physical parameters involved in the method), field instruments (description of all systems actually offered by commercial companies), field techniques (presentation of the main procedures and setting parameters used to explore the ground surface during data acquisition), techniques of data processing and representation (main processing routines and comparison between different techniques; presentation of different typologies of graphical representation), and the possibility and limitations of methods (explanation of best and worst conditions of implementation of the geophysical technique in relation to the contrasts between archaeological features and the natural background and the features of the instruments and arrays). The second part describes some applications of geophysical prospection to Cultural Heritage in detailed case histories, divided in sections relative to monuments, historical buildings, urban centres, archaeological parks and ancient viability. Moreover, examples of integration of three-dimensional reliefs and geophysical diagnostic of a monuments and studies of large scale reconnaissance implemented into a Geographical Information System are treated. In each case study the authors cover the description of the archaeological or historical contest; an explanation of the problem to solve; a choice of the geophysical methods; the setting of the procedure of data acquisition; techniques of data processing; a representation, interpretation, and discussion of the results.

This book demonstrates how the Romans constructed garden boundaries specifically in order to open up or undermine the division between a number of oppositions, such as inside/outside, sacred/profane, art/nature, and real/imagined. Using case studies from across literature and material and visual culture, Victoria Austen explores the perception of individual garden sites in response to their limits, and showcases how the Romans delighted in playing with concepts of boundedness and separation. Transculturally, the garden is understood as a marked-off and cultivated space. Distinct from their surroundings, gardens are material and symbolic spaces that constitute both universal and culturally specific ways of accommodating the natural world and expressing human attitudes and values. Although we define these spaces explicitly through the notions of separation and division, in many cases we are unable to make sense of the most basic distinction between 'garden' and 'not-garden'. In response to this ambiguity, Austen interrogates the notion of the 'boundary' as an essential characteristic of the Roman garden.

This book focuses on innovative strategies to manage and build software systems for generating new knowledge from large archaeological data sets The book also reports on two case studies carried out in real-world scenarios within the Cultural Heritage setting. The book presents an original conceptual framework for developing software solutions to assist the knowledge generation process in connection with large archaeological data sets and related cultural heritage information- a context in which the inputs are mainly textual sources written in freestyle, i.e. without a predetermined, standard structure. Following an in-depth exploration of recent works on the knowledge generation process in the above-mentioned context and IT-based options for facilitating it, the book proposes specific new techniques capable of capturing the structure and semantics implicit in such textual sources, and argues for using this information in the knowledge generation process. The main result is the development of a conceptual framework that can accommodate textual sources and integrate the information included in them into a software engineering framework. The said framework is meant to assist cultural heritage professionals in general, and archaeologists in particular, in both knowledge extraction and the subsequent decision-making process.

This book expands on Archaeological Human Remains: Global Perspectives that was published in the Springer Briefs series in 2014 and which had a strong focus on post-colonial countries. In the current volume, the editors include papers that deal with non-Anglophone European traditions such as Portugal, Germany and France. In addition, authors continue the exploration of osteological trajectories that are not well-documented in the West, such as Senegal, China and Russia. The lasting legacies of imperialism, communism and colonialism are apparent as the authors of the individual country profiles examine the historical roots of the study of archaeological human remains and the challenges encountered while also considering the likely future directions likely of this multi-faceted discipline in different world areas.