Predicting Archaeology by means of spatial analysis and remote sensing

Archaeological finds during the construction of large infrastructures have always been, even in Italy, a very delicate and controversial topic. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, important areas of archaeological interest have been sacrificed to the needs of urban development and the modernization of infrastructures, in a total absence of planning and without surveys and images that could document the 'sacrificed' vestiges. The lack of balance between the preservation of the archaeological heritage (then not yet understood from the landscape point of view) and the constructive needs and the economic problems linked to the large public worksites has long been exacerbated by the legislative vacuum. This situation has meant that the topic of preventive archeology (or rescue archaeology) gains the introduction of specific norms in the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape in 2004 and subsequent legal provisions that, despite the delay with respect to the international scenario, have the merit of shedding light on the numerous controversial aspects, from the terminology to the operative methodology. In particular, these rules highlight the need to assess the archaeological potential of a territory before the beginning of large public works, establishing techniques and methods including those based on remote sensing and spatial analysis for the creation of predictive models to be fruitfully used for rescue archaeology. With this purpose remote sensing including geophysical prospecting offers the possibility of carrying out non-invasive investigations aimed at detecting archaeological proxy indicators, whereas GIS and spatial analyses support the drafting of the required documentation as well as enable to combine heterogeneous factors, for an innovative and functional analysis of the territory, supporting decisions.