Engineering-geological studies in artificial cavities, aimed at evaluating the possibility of failures in underground settings

Artificial cavities are an important cultural heritage, testifying the social life and the habits of past civilizations, and the harmony they reached with the natural environment. At the same time, when abandoned since a long time, and/or used to discharge solid and liquid wastes, or overload with new constructions above, they can be in precarious state of stability, giving origin to failures underground that might potentially evolve until the ground surface. This eventuality, of course, would create a direct threat to the society. From the above considerations, it comes out the importance in having a good knowledge of the artificial cavities (where they are, what is their development, what is the typology of cavity, what are the overall stability conditions), and the need to develop (once the basic data are available) specific engineering-geological analyses addressed to evaluate their stability, or to design the most proper engineering restoration works. The present contribution illustrates the procedures followed to reach a preliminary evaluation of the stability conditions of artificial cavities, through a multi-disciplinary approach that involves cavers, geologists and engineers. The main aim of this study is to get the necessary information to eventually allow owners and land administrators to properly exploit the artificial cavities, once the safety of the structures has been assessed.