Our team embarked on a journey to Tunisia to finalise the necessary bureaucratic steps in obtaining permits for our recently obtained 'Italian Official Archaeological Mission in Tunisia'. Endorsed by the Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale - MAECI (the Italian Ministry of foreign affairs). The Mission received its first approval in 2023, allowing us to conduct a survey in the Tunisian territory.
The focus of archaeological ground-truthing revolves around the study of the Tunisian ancient landscape, particularly the Roman agricultural divisions (centuriation). While our team has been remotely exploring these fascinating regions during 2023 using satellite imagery, last week provided us with a unique opportunity to witness these marvellous landscapes up close.
We've identified hundreds of potential still unknown archaeological sites. The upcoming years of our mission will be dedicated to validating and exploring these sites in batches. This on-site experience promises to add a tangible dimension to our research, complementing the data gathered remotely.
On December 14th, PERSEO researchers presented preliminary results at the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana headquarters auditorium in Rome within the workshop Il Downstream nazionale: Tra presente e futuro. They showcased the implications of pansharpening techniques in the detection of archaeological features on hyperspectral PRISMA satellite images. As the workshop aimed to delve into the current state and future trajectory of national downstream initiatives, our project served as a tangible example of innovation and advancement in achieving the goal of monitoring and preserving the territory as cultural Landscape.
On November 2nd we attended the conference "L’Imagerie Spatiale au Service du Patrimoine Culturel", hosted at the Centre National d’Études Spatiales in Paris. The presentation focused on the use of satellite imagery and artificial intelligence in the analysis and management of Cultural Heritage. It was the opportunity to present the outline of the PERSEO project and to underline future developments. Particular emphasis was placed on the use of pan-sharpened hyperspectral images in the identification of sub-soil archaeological features with semantic segmentation methods.
PERSEO project will take part in the CCHT mission to Tunisia, conducted within the concession of Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale. The mission aims to contribute to the identification and documentation of unknown archaeological sites in the territory of Tunisia, including new sections of the ancient Roman centuriation, while also detecting sites subject to illegal excavation. The investigation will initially focus on the extensive area of the Beja governorate and will be carried out using non-invasive archaeological survey methods, starting with the analysis of satellite images assisted by artificial intelligence applications. Subsequently, archaeological field-walking campaigns will be conducted, including geophysical investigations and drone surveys supported by dedicated robotics, to confirm the identified sites and potentially determine areas for excavation.
In June 2023 we programmed a new acquisition campaign with PRISMA over the selected case studies. The new acquisitions aim to obtain a time-series of PRISMA images that cover one-year timespan. Multitemporal analysis will be beneficial to maximise the visibility of sub-soil archaeological features.
Giulio Poggi, a post-doc researcher in landscape archaeology, joined the PERSEO's team!
Giulio will conduct the interpretation of archaeological features over a diverse range of multispectral and hyperspectral imagery. Collected features will be used in supervised and unsupervised learning models to enable semi-automatic object detection and segmentation.
17/10/2022
The PERSEO project has officially started!
An important meeting with our partner ASI was held to unveil the aims of our ambitious project. The event provided an opportunity to showcase the vision, objectives, and desired outcomes of the project, setting the stage for a collaborative journey towards success.
During the meeting, the methodology to be adopted was introduced, outlining the systematic approach that will drive the project forward. Key strategies, frameworks, and implementation plans were discussed, emphasizing the commitment to efficiency, innovation, and measurable results.
Furthermore, the meeting showcased a series of compelling case studies that demonstrated the project's potential impact and relevance.