A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH TO THE COASTAL PROTECTION OF TWO ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN LYBIA

Abstract. The present study is part of the preliminary investigation to design a coastal protection for the archaeological sites of Sabratha and Leptis Magna and the hydraulic re-arrangement of the final stretch of the Wadi Lebda which runs across the archaeological area of Leptis Magna. This study is a part of the project "Safeguarding the Sabratha and Leptis Magna archaeological sites. Preventing flooding of Leptis Magna from the Wadi Lebda", started in 2009 and commissioned by MARCO POLO STORICA LTD – Scotland. The planning of interventions has required an accurate morphological reconstruction of the interested areas. In this regard, given the wide investigation area, the aerial and land survey operations logistic difficulties and tight timeframe, the use of multi-beam technology and satellite images was particularly useful.

The Digital Terrain Model has been coupled with detailed bathymetric surveys of the coastal area, undertaken mostly by multi-beam techniques, and by investigations of the ground characteristics, which were integrated in the information system prepared as design support.