AIA Cosa Poster 2015

Accessible Archaeology: New Approaches at Cosa in 2014 Matthew Brennan, Indiana University Sophie Crawford-Brown, University of Pennsylvania Ann Glennie, Florida State University Allison Smith, Florida State University

Current Excavations Excavations at the Latin colony of Cosa (Ansedonia, Italy) resumed in the summer of 2013 under the auspices of Florida State University, Bryn Mawr College, and the University of Tübingen. The current locus of investigation is the structure and chronology of the site’s previously unexcavated bath complex, primarily in the southern and eastern sectors. The 2014 excavations further targeted these areas, as well as the large reservoir south of the baths and the hydraulic rooms in the western sector.

Aerial View of Cosa using UAV looking southwest

Digital model of Cosa superimposed on site-plan

Hydraulic rooms in the bath complex’s western sector

Outreach and Accessibility

Façade Sounding 4, 2014 (closing)

Archaeology Blog Cosa Excavations launched its first archaeology blog in the summer of 2014. A different team-member contributed to the blog each day, providing descriptions of the areas under investigation, images of objects uncovered, and discussions of the excavation’s progress. The blog was intended to make information readily accessible to the public, and to form a narrative of the season told from a variety of perspectives. Anyone interested in Cosa could digitally follow our work day to day (cosaexcavations.blogspot.com). Time-lapse Videos Time-lapse videos of the team at work were also taken, and have been made freely available on YouTube. Along with the blog, these sequences of “archaeology in action” will serve to improve public outreach, providing interested non-specialists the opportunity to observe the process of excavation. Cosa Museum Despite the treasures it houses, Cosa’s museum remains difficult for most people to access. To address this problem, Cosa Excavations has begun to digitize objects. The goal of the project is to create a 3D model of the museum itself, so that anyone can view the objects uncovered at Cosa remotely and free of charge. We are also compiling videos of the Cosa Museum, including footage of scholars discussing materials within. 3D Printing the Cosa Faun Using photo-modeling software and about 80 photographs, an accurate 3D model was created of the small statue. This 3D model was then 3D-printed in ABS plastic as a small scale replica.

Digital Applications In conjunction with traditional excavation, an aerial survey of the entire site of Cosa was undertaken.  This investigation was carried out using a Quadcopter UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) with a threedimensional stabilized gimbal supporting a digital camera. Through the implementation of aerial photography, cloud-based and workstation-based photomodeling, and digital modeling, the Cosa Excavations project replicates the trenches excavated during the season, as well as the visible remains of the site as a whole--the city walls, the Arx, and the Forum.

3D model of Cosa Faun

3D Models Using a combination of photographs taken from a UAV and by hand on the ground, 3D models were created of the colony’s standing remains, of the excavated trenches, and of artifacts from the Cosa Museum. These models were made accessible to the general public through the Sketchfab.com web viewer and on the Cosa website and blog. In the future, we hope to integrate the trench, site, and object models into a graphical interface so that the site can be studied and explored virtually.

Cosa Reservoir, 2014

Amphora, Cosa Museum

Cosa Façade Sounding (FS) 4, 2014

FS 3, 4, and West Castellum, 2014

Check Out Our Models Using the QR codes found here and throughout the poster, you can see our models and videos. If you do not have a device that can scan these codes, feel free to ask us and you can use one of our devices.

Future Endeavors Future goals of the project include a compilation of digital reconstructions into a publicly accessible website to foster outside research of the ancient city of Cosa. As a complement to the city models, a digital catalogue of all materials in the Cosa Museum storerooms will aid in preserving information and in stimulating wider scholarly analyses of data that has accumulated at the site over the course of almost seventy years. We will continue adding to the blog each season in order to keep the public informed of current excavations and new developments at Cosa. By making information readily accessible, we hope to encourage scholarly discussion of the bath complex and of the site more broadly, prompting new insights into this important colony, and preserving valuable archaeological data for future generations.