Digital Archaeology Research and Exploration Lab
Interested in pursuing a graduate degree with the DARE Lab or exploring other opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students? Reach out to Dr. Fontana to learn more about how you can get involved in our research.
ABOUT US
The newly founded Digital Archaeology Research and Exploration Lab (DARE Lab) is dedicated to advancing archaeological research through digital and computational technologies. Our mission is to enhance the understanding of ancient landscapes and societies using cutting-edge digital tools while promoting the socially conscious and collaborative dissemination of anthropological and archaeological data.
Additionally, the DARE Lab serves as a space where undergraduate and graduate students can develop highly sought-after digital and computational skills applicable in both research and Cultural Resource Management (CRM). These tools of digital and computational archaeology are applied through active projects in diverse environments—from mountains to deserts—providing students with valuable hands-on experience in fieldwork and analysis.
Research in digital and computational archaeology often involves specialized software and workflows that can be challenging for others to replicate. To address this, the DARE Lab is committed to the principles of the open science movement, promoting broad sharing of data, methods, and results to ensure reproducibility. We utilize open-source software, scripts, and data repositories to ensure that our research data and workflows are accessible to the broader community.
EXPERTISE
LiDAR Applications
Satellite and Aerial Remote Sensing
UAV and Drone Applications
Machine Learning for Site Detection and Predictive Modeling
Landscape Modeling
GIS Analysis
Geostatistical Modeling and Simulation
Architectural Energetics and Labor Analysis
Geophysical Applications
Photogrammetry and 3D modelling
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
AHS - Ancient Hillforts Survey
The Ancient Hillforts Survey project was launched to address fragmented datasets of hillfort sites in the mountainous and forested landscapes of central Italy. Now one of the largest LiDAR-based studies in the Mediterranean, it has analyzed 15,300 square kilometers of data and is preparing to expand even further. The project has led to the identification of thousands of archaeological features, including over 300 potential hillforts, with fieldwork on 145 sites. Currently, the project spans multiple regions of Italy, with a primary research base in Campania, where fieldwork continues.
Over the years, the AHS project has employed a diverse range of digital and computational methods beyond LiDAR, including drone-based multispectral analysis, geophysical surveys, 3D modeling, architectural energetics, and extensive geostatistical analysis and landscape modelling. Research originating from this project has earned multiple prestigious awards, such as the 2023 Nick Ryan Prize from the Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA), the 2024 Early Career Award from the Accordia Research Institute, and the 2024 Reproducibility Prize from the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Read more about the project
- Fontana, G. and W. de Neef, 2024. Italy's empty hillforts: Reassessing urban-centric biases through combined non-invasive prospection methods on a Samnite site (fourth–third centuries BC), Antiquity.
- Fontana, G. 2024. Issues of sampling and representativeness in large-scale LiDAR-derived archaeological surveys in Mediterranean contexts, Archaeological Prospections.
- Fontana, G. and S. Bernard, 2023. A new method for the energetics analysis of polygonal masonry in Samnite hillforts, Journal of Archaeological Science, 153(January), 105730
- Fontana, G., 2022. Italy's hidden hillforts: A large-scale LiDAR-based mapping of Samnium, Journal of Field Archaeology, 47:4, 245-261.
MIRAGE - Machine Learning Implementations for Rock Art Geographical Exploration
The newly launched MIRAGE project (2024) explores the locations and meanings of epigraphic and rock art remains across various regions of Saudi Arabia. It is the result of a collaboration with Dr. Alessia Prioletta, director of the Saudi-French Archaeological and Epigraphic Mission to Najrān (MAFSN) under the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS, UMR 8167 - Orient & Méditerranée).
We are developing a machine-learning-driven predictive model that leverages environmental and cultural factors to identify landscape areas with a high probability of undiscovered rock carvings. These predictions guide field exploration and preservation efforts.
In addition, we are analyzing existing data using geostatistical methods to uncover diachronic patterns in the placement of rock art, providing new insights into its past social significance. This research aims to understand how rock art has historically shaped—and continues to shape—the communities that created it and still use it as a form of communication and cultural identity.
CONTACTS
Dr. Giacomo Fontana – giacomo.fontana@ttu.edu
Anthropology
-
Address
Holden Hall 158, Box 41012, 1011 Boston Ave., Lubbock, TX 79409 -
Phone
806.742.2400 -
Email
athena.baumann@ttu.edu