ALL-IN-ONE LASER SCANNING METHODS FOR SURVEYING, REPRESENTING AND SHARING INFORMATION ON ARCHAEOLOGY. VIA FLAMINIA AND THE FURLO TUNNEL COMPLEX

Abstract. The aim of this paper is to describe the results of the laser scanner survey of an archaeological complex, aimed at knowledge, documentation and diagnostic operations to make premises secure. Archaeology has always been the most complex subject where the discipline of surveying is continually being put to the test and experimented with. The development in laser scanner technologies has led to an extremely important turning point in this field. Complex geometrical shapes or irregular surfaces, such as those in archaeology, are defined through surfaces that can be directly extrapolated from the point cloud with extremely high precision, allowing even the finest details to be mapped. The precision of this surveying technique together with the wide range of data that can be acquired and represented provide several opportunities for communication and investigation. This experimental work has concentrated on the Furlo tunnel complex, located along one of the most important infrastructural arteries from Roman antiquity, the Via Flaminia. The need in this case was to be able to acquire the entire rocky complex, extending the scan area as far as possible so as to assess the whole system in its entirety. The results of our metric and morphological survey provide an excellent basis for record the situation as it is today, so as to establish the initial temporal step to be used in future monitoring programmes. The accuracy of the survey allows static assessments and effective planning for future safety-oriented projects.