Documentation Procedures for Rescue Archaeology Through Information Systems and 3D Databases

The presented research deals with the issue of data management in the field of rescue archaeology by using information systems. The project aims to develop an information system for documenting rescue archaeological campaigns. Experimental methods are used for the creation of reliable 3D models linked to cataloging sheets. The case study is the rescue archaeological excavation conducted at the Santa Margherita complex in Pavia. A protocol of actions for the documentations and systematization of data has been tested. It concerns fast survey methodologies, elaboration of three-dimensional models and creation of informative 3D systems. 3D Point clouds and digital models become containers of many informative layers in which the multiplicity of data that characterizes an archaeological investigation is usable. The experimental methodology avoids the loss of information and ensures the survival of the historical memory of what, due to excavation, is physically lost. Informative systems become a digital window to retrace information about the story of the site, analyzing the different layers of the city, and the excavation procedure itself.