The aim of this project is to carry out geophysical surveys (electrical resistivity, magnetism and ground radar) in the archaeological complex of the Porta Marina Forum in order to detect the presence of earlier structures that could document the early phases of occupation of the coastal sector of the city of Ostia outside the Late-Republican enclosure.

It is part of a wider project of geophysical prospecting and study of the maritime quarter of the city of Ostia, carried out by CCJ and CEREGE, which began in 2018 and is currently underway.

Partner(s):

• Laboratoire Géosciences Paris Sud (GEOPS - Paris)

Part of the archaeological operations conducted by the Centre Camille Jullian since 2019 on the submerged littoral remains of the Olbia-de-Provence site located at the western root of the double tombolo of Giens (Hyères, France), this interdisciplinary project is being carried out jointly with geomorphologists and sedimentologists from CEREGE.

It consists of a campaign to sample and analyze sedimentary cores from one of the landscape features that adjoins one of the structures (ensemble 1) of the submerged littoral remains of the Olbia colony, midway along its length to the west. This is an "indurated barrier beach", uncovered in the late 2000s, lying between -3 m and -0.20 m depth.

The FCGM project, funded by the Institut d'archéologie méditerranéenne in 2020, has enabled us to establish fruitful collaborations and a large corpus on the scale of Gaul, Spain and Italy concerning the quarries of origin of granite shafts used in Antiquity and the Middle Ages. While the Narbonnaise region accounts for 100% of casks imported from the shores of the Mediterranean (Egypt, Turkey, western Mediterranean islands), this is no longer the case as we move further north or west: other (probably) local sources have been identified in Betica, Lyon, Javols, Trier, Aachen and probably Prague. The aim is to better characterize these sources and to reflect, in the light of historical documents, on the circumstances and motivations that led to the choice of local or imported sources, particularly in the Middle Ages, when most of the columns in the northern corpus were implemented.

We propose to characterize and differentiate in a semi-quantitative (statistical) way the ancient building materials of the Orange theater or part of it, according to their facies (lithology, granulometry, structure, fossils...), their quality (induration, anisotropy...) and their age, by studying them on site and in identified or presumed extraction sites in the vicinity. Sampling will be carried out in the field. It will complement the existing collection of rocks and thin sections used for the study. We will also seek to refine the stratigraphic provenance and outcrop availability of building stones, and thereby better understand the choice of regional materials and their use in the theater.

Partner(s):

• Interdisciplinary Center for Heritage Conservation and Restoration (CICRP - Marseille)

This project focuses on the mechanical and acoustic characterization of archaeo-paleontological bone samples. There is an extensive literature on the identification of the physical properties of different elements and portions of recent human or animal bones. The aim of the project is to adapt and test new ultrasonic methods to modern and fossil bone samples, and to propose a protocol for measuring physical properties such as moduli of elasticity, micro-hardness or density.

Partner(s):

• Laboratoire Cultures et environnements : Prehistory, Antiquity, Middle Ages (CEPAM - Nice)
• Dracénie Provence Verdon agglomération - Archaeology and Heritage Unit (Draguignan)

The RESTARCHI project aims to restore a seaside villa and a large amphora workshop in their coastal environment (Santa Marina and Loron sites in Croatia, Istria), based on the combined use of planimetry, surveys and photogrammetry of the buildings and the processing of a LiDAR survey. The project will contribute to finalizing the architectural study (model and 3D view). Restitution of the environment will be based on the results of Research in spatial analysis and archaeobotany. Finally, the CCJ-IRAA partnership will develop a collaboration with EDIKOM, a private company specializing in the creation of digital media, to produce a digital 3D visualization of the workshop and villa within an area that in ancient times corresponded to a large imperial seaside estate.

Partners:

• EDIKOM (Aix-en-Provence)
• IntelEspace platform (Clermont-Ferrand)
• Center for Research and Teaching in Environmental Geosciences (CEREGE - Aix-en-Provence)

This Amorce project is a continuation of an interdisciplinary project (2021) led by CCJ and CEREGE, which experimented with the use of 3D microtomography on various small Teleost bones (bony fish). The technique used offers precise virtual restitution of the bones, making it possible to obtain information (bone density, age and season of capture) difficult to detect otherwise, and necessary for the development of studies on the exploitation of fishery resources over the long term. The production of 3D models (CEREGE) of various skeletal elements has enabled us to move on to the phase of creating an interactive database, serving as an osteological atlas of various small Mediterranean and Black Sea species that receive little media coverage because they are modest and difficult to identify. Nevertheless, they are often on the list of species consumed by different communities over time, and can characterize the diet of certain social categories. The aim of the project is to create a didactic tool for students and researchers, and to increase the number of data sets of interest in several fields of archaeo-ichthyology and, more broadly, biology (anatomy, histology of skeletal tissues). It also enables us to validate a high-performance technique for replicating bones, whether they belong to a current repository or come from archaeological sites, if these have to be destroyed to carry out bio-chemical analyses.

At the crossroads of the humanities and computer sciences, the project is part of the resumption of scientific activities on a site which, after more than a century of archaeological research, now presents the remains of an exceptional architectural ensemble set in the heart of the Alpilles massif.

The Glanum site, which has long been studied by the IRAA, lends itself perfectly to the digitization policies of the French Ministry of Culture, and we recently obtained funding to produce a photogrammetric model of the entire site in its environment.

Driven by a dual interest - scientific and heritage - we propose to use this 3D model to lay the foundations for a set of digital tools designed not only for representation, but above all for analysis and the production of knowledge.

3D Web, virtual reality, augmented reality, model qualification, three-dimensional analysis, AI, ontology modeling, are the avenues we will explore in order to identify new perspectives for the dissemination and production of knowledge to be explored in the longer term as part of an ANR project.

Partner(s):

• Università degli Studi di Sassari (Italy)

The aim of the E-cclesia project is the intellectual development, documentary compilation and historical analysis of an original corpus of texts and images relating to the architecture and decoration of Christian monuments in the West. Exploiting this body of documentation will enable us to thoroughly revitalize our understanding of church building as a major cultural phenomenon, particularly in the Mediterranean region from the 5th century onwards.

The E-cclesia project is multi-disciplinary in nature, with a large-scale focus on the cultural phenomenon of church building. Its feasibility and success depend on the creation of an international network of researchers specializing in philology, art, epigraphy and archaeology, and working in a wide range of geographical areas.

The AMORCE application is dedicated to the creation and structuring of this vast network. Over the course of the year, the partners will be brought together for workshops, during which the planned methodology will be put to the test on a test corpus (concerning the basilica space), to formalize the general historical framework of the questions and take stock of the resources and skills needed to implement a large-scale project on this theme. It will also produce the first results demonstrating the effectiveness of the questioning and the legitimacy of the consortium to carry out an ambitious and innovative project.

Partner(s):

• Center de recherches historiques (CRH - EHESS - Paris)
• Center for Advanced Studies in Medieval Civilization (CESCM - Poitiers)
• Center Jean-Mabillon (École nationale des chartes - Paris)