[AY 24-25] Using the Laser Aided Profiler (LAP) for the documentation of ceramic finds

As part of its teaching offer for the 2024-2025 academic year, LAD is organising a teaching lab on the use of the Laser Aided Profiler (LAP) for the documentation of ceramic profiles.

The aim is to provide the theoretical and practical foundations needed to use the instrument. It is a digital tool with free, open-source software, downloadable from the official website, that allows for fast and precise digital documentation of ceramic fragments. The LAP stores data, drawings and digital photographs in a queryable, customisable graph database, in JSON format or on a PostgreSQL database. The ability to export the drawings saved in the database as polygons to PDF, SVG and PNG makes it a tool capable of speeding up the documentation of archaeological materials even during excavation. The instrument is also accompanied by an unsupervised clustering program (CeraMatch) for the morphometric analysis of the collected shapes, capable of handling large amounts of data by computing advanced statistics.

The lab will be held in person at Sapienza Università di Roma, in the LAD lab, on the third floor of the Faculty of Letters and Philosophy building (CU003), on 12-14 March 2025.

Coordinator: Julian Bogdani (julian.bogdani@uniroma1.it)

Tutor:

• Nadia Aleotti (nadia.aleotti@uniroma1.it)
• Francesca Di Maria (francesca.dimaria@uniroma1.it)
• Nicola Lapacciana (nicola.lapacciana@uniroma1.it)

Calendar

• Wednesday 12 March 2025, 14:00 - 17:00: Introductory lecture.
• Thursday 13 March 2025, 9:00 - 18:00: Practical exercise. Participants will be split into two groups, at the following times:
  • Group 1: 9:00 - 13:00.
  • Group 2: 14:00 - 18:00.
• Friday 14 March 2025, 9:30 - 13:00: Workshop “Laser Aided Profiler for the documentation of ceramic finds: innovations and potential of the instrument. Comparing experiences”
  • Programme: The workshop programme will be available shortly on this page
  • Format: Hybrid (link available soon)
  • On-site participation: maximum 15 participants

Registration

To register, you need to fill in the Google Form, available at the following address, by 20 February 2025: https://forms.gle/bDT4gGZKJ7eX8Vd58.

Should any complications arise, it is essential to notify us at nadia.aleotti@uniroma1.it.

Participation in the lab activities will be limited to a maximum of 15 participants.

Eligibility

The lab is aimed preferentially at students enrolled in the PhD in Archaeology and the School of Specialization in Archaeological Heritage at Sapienza Università di Roma.

Additional information

The lab activities will be carried out using a single LAP device belonging to the LAD lab.

Bringing your own computer is not required.