The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey
The theater of the ancient city of Akragas has been researched for centuries and, in 2016, a multidisciplinary and multi-scale research work that involved topographic studies, analysis of satellite images, geomorphological characterization of the land, archaeological surveys, and non-invasive geophy...
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MDPI AG
2020-04-01
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| Series: | Geosciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/5/161 |
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| author | Marilena Cozzolino Luigi Maria Caliò Vincenzo Gentile Paolo Mauriello Andrea Di Meo |
| author_facet | Marilena Cozzolino Luigi Maria Caliò Vincenzo Gentile Paolo Mauriello Andrea Di Meo |
| author_sort | Marilena Cozzolino |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The theater of the ancient city of Akragas has been researched for centuries and, in 2016, a multidisciplinary and multi-scale research work that involved topographic studies, analysis of satellite images, geomorphological characterization of the land, archaeological surveys, and non-invasive geophysical surveys led to its discovery. In this work, a comparison between the archaeological structures hypothesized by geophysical results and the archaeological structure excavated is presented. The area of about 5.500 m<sup>2</sup> was investigated using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The survey highlighted a series of resistivity highs arranged on concentric semicircles defining perfectly the presence of an articulate building attributable to a theatrical complex of imposing dimensions (diameter of about 95 m). Archaeological excavation led to the identification of the <i>summa cavea</i> with the discovery of foundation-level structures arranged on a semicircle, on which the tiers were located, and cuts in the rock with seat imprints. The overlap of the technical layouts obtained from the documentation of archaeological excavation on the modelled resistivity maps shows the perfect correspondence between the features of the resistivity highs and the ancient structures actually found. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:09:54Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3263 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T20:09:54Z |
| publishDate | 2020-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geosciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d8fbd7e1593e44349dedcb9ef935d34c2023-11-19T23:01:24ZengMDPI AGGeosciences2076-32632020-04-0110516110.3390/geosciences10050161The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical SurveyMarilena Cozzolino0Luigi Maria Caliò1Vincenzo Gentile2Paolo Mauriello3Andrea Di Meo4Department of Human, Social and Educational Science, University of Molise, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, ItalyDepartment of Human Science, University of Catania, Piazza Dante 32, 95100 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Human, Social and Educational Science, University of Molise, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, ItalyDepartment of Human, Social and Educational Science, University of Molise, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, ItalyDepartment of Human, Social and Educational Science, University of Molise, Via De Sanctis, 86100 Campobasso, ItalyThe theater of the ancient city of Akragas has been researched for centuries and, in 2016, a multidisciplinary and multi-scale research work that involved topographic studies, analysis of satellite images, geomorphological characterization of the land, archaeological surveys, and non-invasive geophysical surveys led to its discovery. In this work, a comparison between the archaeological structures hypothesized by geophysical results and the archaeological structure excavated is presented. The area of about 5.500 m<sup>2</sup> was investigated using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). The survey highlighted a series of resistivity highs arranged on concentric semicircles defining perfectly the presence of an articulate building attributable to a theatrical complex of imposing dimensions (diameter of about 95 m). Archaeological excavation led to the identification of the <i>summa cavea</i> with the discovery of foundation-level structures arranged on a semicircle, on which the tiers were located, and cuts in the rock with seat imprints. The overlap of the technical layouts obtained from the documentation of archaeological excavation on the modelled resistivity maps shows the perfect correspondence between the features of the resistivity highs and the ancient structures actually found.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/5/161Akragaselectrical resistivity tomographyarcheological excavationstheater |
| spellingShingle | Marilena Cozzolino Luigi Maria Caliò Vincenzo Gentile Paolo Mauriello Andrea Di Meo The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey Geosciences Akragas electrical resistivity tomography archeological excavations theater |
| title | The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey |
| title_full | The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey |
| title_fullStr | The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey |
| title_short | The Discovery of the Theater of Akragas (Valley of Temples, Agrigento, Italy): An Archaeological Confirmation of the Supposed Buried Structures from a Geophysical Survey |
| title_sort | discovery of the theater of akragas valley of temples agrigento italy an archaeological confirmation of the supposed buried structures from a geophysical survey |
| topic | Akragas electrical resistivity tomography archeological excavations theater |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/10/5/161 |
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