Non-destructive tests to identify sites of archaeological significance in Castel Sant’Angelo – Rome

Novatests comes back to Castel Sant’Angelo for additional non-destructive tests aimed at verifying the presence of possible targets of historical and cultural interest.

The second survey carried out by Novatest in collaboration with Geol. It is inside the Sala Paolina of Castel Sant’Angelo that Lorenzo Lambiase widened the field of research for signals that may further characterize the brickwork and find confirmation of targets that were identified and analyzed during the first inspection (if you want to know more about the first surveys, click here).

What kind of non-destructive techniques were applied to identify targets of archaeological interest?

The Sala Paolina, stateroom of Paolo III Farnese’s residence in Castel Sant’Angelo, decorated between 1545 and 1547 by Perin del vaga and his collaborators, constitutes one of the main artistic beauties of the 16th century Rome. 

The target of the non-destructive investigations was to identify elements of archaeological interest inside the stateroom and collect data which could support and enrich findings of the previous inspection without jeopardizing the artistic and historical heritage of the same.

The investigations that were carried out for the occasion comprise:

• Georadar surveys for complete mapping with data interpolation aimed at reconstituted 3D rendering.
• Ultrasonic investigations with tomographic measurement to perform the mapping of the area of interest.
• SLAM surveys (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) as to say the generation of 3D point cloud processing. The sensors used provided information on the geometry of environment, on the surrounding objects’ distance and on changes in the position and orientation of the system. 

All the necessary precautions were taken to protect the artistic, historical and cultural value of the site.