Non destructive archaeological diagnostics in the suburbium of a Roman town

Ammaia is a deserted Roman town located in the region of Alto Alentejo, in Portugal, included in the ancient province of Lusitania. In recent years, a series of non-destructive archaeological diagnostics have been carried out in the framework of the European Union (EU) funded project Radio-Past, in the supposed intra-mural area of the ancient town and its immediate surroundings. As part of a validation procedure of innovative integrated archaeological survey methods, ‘total coverage’ geophysical prospections have been performed inside the Roman town, testing integration between several non-destructive archeological methods. Each methodology is constrained by specific limits, mainly related to geomorphological and geological assets, soil matrix, environmental conditions and pollutions, producing inaccuracies in the results of the archaeological interpretation. For these reasons, the scientific community is increasingly seeking technological solutions that make use of the integration of data acquired with multiple non-destructive techniques. In this paper, we will present the results achieved thanks to the integration of some of these approaches for the investigation of a selected suburban area of Ammaia. The novelty of the followed approach lies in the diversification and integration of the applied methodologies, and in the complexity of the scientific questionnaire, not focused only on mapping, but rather on the understanding of the spatial phenomena. The interpretation of the magnetic surveys and surface artefact collection are discussed with respect to the main results and to data-integration strategies. The historical interpretation of these data will reveal a highly detailed plan of the layout, most important monuments and infrastructures of the town, and will disclose crucial aspects of a humanized landscape of Roman times.