The Jerusalem cityscape is characterized by stone, the dominant building material that comprises the entire urban fabric, from buildings to street furniture, pavement to walls. Consequently, this material - stone - is identified as one of Jerusalem’s attributes, and materiality as one of the city’s values. As the city undergoes urban renewal processes including the demolition of historic structures, conservation challenges threaten Jerusalem’s urban materiality. Responding to a recently published policy paper on the reuse of dressed stones, an issue not previously addressed, this paper proposes the implementation of a multi-analytical approach, specifically the application of methods used in archaeometry and conservation science on a macro scale of the urban environment. This proposed tool expands the information and data existing in the municipality's GIS in regard to Jerusalem stone, thus ensuring material compatibility in the historic city of Jerusalem and its urban heritage.

This study presents an open-source methodological workflow for processing Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) LiDAR data using a probabilistic machine learning algorithm to enhance the visibility and detection of archaeological features under vegetation. The proposed framework combines the 3DMASC plugin for CloudCompare with the Relief Visualization Toolbox (RVT) and QGIS to deliver an accessible, non-programmer-friendly solution for point cloud classification and derivative model enhancement. The methodology is validated through two case studies: the Kastrì-Pandosia site in Epirus, Greece, and Torre Castiglione in Apulia, Italy. Both sites, obscured by dense vegetation, revealed critical archaeological structures—including defensive walls, terraces, and ancient routes—following segmentation and visualization. Results confirm the robustness and replicability of the approach, reinforcing the value of open-source strategies in archaeological remote sensing.

This contribution focuses on a multidisciplinary study approach in a cultural context of excellence, protected by UNESCO, in which there are many hypogea of anthropic origin, unexplored and sometimes unknown, which should be studied and valorized. Among these, the case of a historical hypogeum is reported, located under a trullo (a typical historical rural structure of the Itria Valley) that could be repurposed and valorized. The problem was addressed with a preliminary geophysical (seismic refraction, MASW and georadar), geotechnical, geological and geomorphological investigation on site, which allowed to define and size the hypogeum, the thickness of the vault that separates it from the overlying flooring of the trullo and the state of fracturing of the calcareous rock mass, in which it was excavated. This investigation was followed by the archaeological verification of the soil deposits, the levels of frequentation and the artefacts present inside the hypogeum, which allowed us to frame the historical period of its first use in the Late Middle Ages. The stability analysis was performed using a model, also defined thanks to geophysical investigations, along two transversal sections of the hypogeum, applying a calculation code that provides a synthetic representation of the set of deformation vectors found in the various sectors of the hypogeum section, analyzing the elastic stresses that affect the underground excavation, with the definition of the two-dimensional plane deformation. The result of the stability verification showed that the areas affected by the vaults and areas close to the central septum are in conditions of potential collapse due to a greater structural weakness of the hypogeum both for the state of fracturing and for the alterations of the rock mass. This structural weakness could also be responsible for some crack patterns present in correspondence with the walls and vaults of the trullo above. All this has made it possible to obtain the information that is absolutely essential for the correct planning of the consolidation interventions and subsequent enhancement of the site, without distorting it and preserving its historical-archaeological peculiarities, which constitute an added and indispensable value. Therefore, in order to use the hypogeum for tourist and cultural enhancement purposes, a structural consolidation intervention with low visual impact is advisable, which can favor the increase of the safety factor and at the same time preserve the nature and historical identity of the hypogeum.

This study promotes 3D Fluorescence Mapping as an effective, non-invasive technique for analyzing pigments. By exciting pigments with different wavelengths, the method highlights characteristic fluorescence emissions that reveal chemical composition and detect degradation processes such as oxidation, fading, and molecular rearrangement. Despite conventional techniques like XRD and FTIR, which often require physical sampling, 3D Fluorescence Mapping allows real-time, surface-level analysis with no damage to the object.

This study presents a comprehensive analysis of a blue pigment lump discovered near Volsinii (modern Bolsena, Italy), employing ED-XRF, micro-Raman spectroscopy, and XRPD techniques. The pigment was conclusively identified as natural lazurite, the primary component of lapis lazuli. ED-XRF analyses, supported by principal component analysis, revealed elemental compositions aligning closely with synthetic ultramarine pigments, yet distinct from Egyptian and Herculaneum blues. Micro-Raman spectroscopy detected characteristic S3⁻ radical peaks at 548 cm⁻¹, with additional shoulders at 585 cm⁻¹ indicative of natural origin. XRPD confirmed a predominantly lazurite crystalline structure, lacking kaolinite impurities typical of synthetic variants. The presence of such a rare and valuable pigment in a provincial Roman context suggests sophisticated material procurement and artistic practices, challenging prevailing assumptions about pigment distribution in antiquity.