From excavation to drawing and from drawing to the model. The digital reconstruction of twenty-year-long excavations in the archaeological site of Bedriacum.

Within technological progress and the use of interactive systems for the enhancement of Cultural Heritage, the archaeological research is witnessing a growing digitization of acquired data during the excavation phase. Considered as a fundamental medium for the reconstruction of the events that characterize an archaeological area, three-dimensional interactive models used for the documentation, conservation and musealization of excavation sites, allow to orient both the visitor and the researcher in virtual spaces, where the steps of excavation stratigraphy can be ordered and reconstructed. The creation of virtual 3D environments, aimed not only at dissemination and education but also at historical and architectural analysis, is one of the objectives of the research conducted by DAda-LAB laboratory of the University of Pavia on the archaeological site of Bedriacum, Roman vicus near Calvatone, in the Cremona district (Italy). The twenty-year-long excavations carried out on-site by the archaeologists from the University of Milan, have discovered a complex system of built areas, villas, and structures referable to a period between the II century B.C. and the V century A.D. The central site of Bedriacum, relevant for the two wars fought in 69 A.D. for supremacy after the death of Nerone, today is not appreciable because it is completely buried. The research, co-financed by Lombardia Region, has provided the organization of drawings produced during the excavation activities within a three-dimensional system where individual actions, conducted by the archaeologists and the corresponding artifacts, were included. The three-dimensional system, in which it is possible to appreciate the ruins of the different areas at different depths, was then oriented to a 3D database obtained by laser scanner and photogrammetric survey of the entire archaeological site. Starting from the surveys conducted during the excavation campaigns, it was possible to create a new database consisting of three-dimensional representations, determining a cognitive picture of the excavation process conducted in recent years. The model highlighted the structures present in the subsoil, at different depths, which are currently not accessible. The production of three-dimensional models will support analyses and interpretations for the development of reconstructive hypotheses, enabling the creation of information tools and Virtual Reality models for the promotion of the local archaeological heritage.