Research

The aim of this interdisciplinary project is to apply a cross-archaeological, geomorphological, geochemical, archaeo-palynological and paleoceanological approach in order to characterize the environmental contexts that have affected ́ the evolution of the Roman ports in the Venetian lagoon (Torcello, Lio Piccolo, Altinum sector) for ca. 3000 years to reveal the main stages in the history of the lagoon's ports and channels. The focus will be on understanding the drivers of change, in particular (i) the evolution of floodplain and lagoon wetlands through geochemical, palynological and bio-sedimentological (microfauna) analysis; (ii) fluvial and littoral constraints (cf. accessibility to the sea, catastrophic floods, sedimentary budget and crises, vulnerabilities etc.), which have led to silting of port basins and progressive clogging of lagoon margins, and provoked abrupt changes; (iii) the impacts of human actions (direct such as engineering works, channelization at Lio Piccolo, and dredging, metal pollution revealed by stable isotopes of lead and trace metals, or indirect impacts such as forest clearance). Understanding the environmental and anthropogenic factors in the evolution of the ports of Lio Piccolo and Torcello will constitute an essential scientific advance for a better understanding of the co-construction processes of Venice's lagoon landscapes, as well as the ecological and hydrological trajectory of the ports in terms of accessibility and navigabilitý in the North Adriatic. The highlight is the possibility of core sampling in 2023 in the Piazza San Marco under the auspices of the Archaeological Superintendence of Venice.

Partners:

• Mediterranean Institute of Oceanology (MIO - Marseille)
• Travaux et recherches archéologiques sur les cultures, les espaces et les sociétés (TRACES - Toulouse)
• Università Ca' Foscari Venezia (Italy)
• Università di Bologna (Italy)
• Università di Pisa (Italy)

Our project will involve close collaboration, exchanges and discussions between experts in ecological modeling methods and experts in "archaeological material", in order to achieve real collaboration and interdisciplinarity in the field of the disappearance of Neanderthal man and the assertion of modern man in Europe. We anticipate the active participation of an M2 student from the University of Parma, who will come to the LAMPEA premises and be the pivotal figure in setting up the first stage of this Research by applying methods specific to current ecology to archaeological data. A second part of the project concerns the creation of an exchange network between experts.

Partner(s):

• Università degli studi di Parma

The project follows on from the study of the church and site of Abu Gosh carried out by the same team between 2016 and 2021. A revision of the restoration archives, a new digital survey (tacheometry & photogrammetry), an archaeological study of the elevations and a metrological analysis will form the starting point for a comparative study of the church with that of Abu Gosh, to which it is often compared despite the notable differences in its design and construction. The aim is to provide new keys for reading and analyzing Frankish religious architecture in the Near East, particularly in the 12th century.

Partner(s):

• French Research Center in Jerusalem (CRFJ)

For the past ten years, a team from CCJ, LAMPEA, CEREGE and IRAA has been studying the Galermi aqueduct, which has supplied the city of Syracuse and its surrounding area since ancient times. The peculiarity of the system is that it runs entirely underground, some 28km in length, and has been modified over time to ensure its continued existence.

After studying the layout diachronically and multi-disciplinarily, the team concentrated on the topographical survey of the gallery, in particular thanks to the 3D survey. But the exercise is limited by the irregularity and dangerousness of the pipe, which is often clogged and submerged at various levels. It has to be run dry, and some parts are inaccessible to humans, even though they could be covered by a drone.

The aim of the CCJ's collaboration with ISM is to initiate a first collaboration with robotics researchers to identify suitable tools for prospecting and surveying in underground and submerged environments.

The VIGUEIRAT project aims to exploit a batch of environmental and archaeological data acquired between 2022 and 2023 on an unpublished Roman site recently discovered in the Marais du Vigueirat nature reserve, between Arles and Fos-sur-Mer. Geoarchaeological and archaeometric analyses will be carried out to characterize the relationship between Roman-period man-made structures (5 ha of pebble pavement, delimiting a 40 ha site) and a paleochannel of the Rhône, active in ancient times, whose layout and geometry evoke the famous Marius canal, designed according to sources to link the Gulf of Fos to the river, avoiding the sandy mouths of the delta.

The analyses will be decisive for the interpretation of the site, which is not obvious on the basis of archaeological data alone. They will complete the corpus of results acquired since 2020, with a view to the first scientific publications in national and international journals. The aim is to produce 1) an initial assessment of the site's state of knowledge, as expected by the archaeological community; 2) a synthesis integrating the cumulative results of geomorphological (core drilling) and geophysical analyses of the paleochannel and its environment, on the eastern edge of the Rhône delta. Finally, the Vigueirat sector will be one of the case studies selected for a more ambitious project.

Partner(s):

• Image, City, Environment Laboratory (LIVE - Strasbourg)

The study of archaeological organic matter (AOM) remains an analytical challenge, not only because of its wide variety in terms of chemical nature and biological origin, but also because of its often complex original formulation and capacity to degrade. In the age of Big Data and AI, the automated processing of samples of this type, which generate complex data sets during their analysis, is a necessity. In this context, metabolomics, the most recent of the "omics" sciences, is the analytical approach of choice, as it offers a holistic vision both at the scale of each sample, aiming to study the entire metabolome, and also at the level of the panel of samples analyzed, through a global and automated study.

This project aims to develop metabolomic approaches applicable to various analytical techniques (GC-MS, LC-MS, SFC-MS) and specifically dedicated to archaeological samples (resins, sediments, bones...) from ongoing projects by the various partners (IMBE, CEREGE, LAMPEA). It will also help federate skills in molecular archaeometry at regional level.