Research

LAD's research lines — Laboratory of Digital Archaeology at Sapienza — span a range of topics and application areas: from fieldwork to development, labs, and various web services. Below are our most important projects.

Featured

Sapienza Archaeological Mission to Çuka e Ajtoit (Albania)

The Sapienza Archaeological Mission to Çuka e Ajtoit (Albania) is a joint project carried out in collaboration with the Albanian Institute of Archaeology of Tirana and the Academy of Albanological Studies, operating in the field with the official recognition of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Italian Republic. It has been active in the field since 2021 and is directed by Julian Bogdani (Sapienza, Rome) and Albana Meta (IA, Tirana).

Published on 26 October 2025

CeraLoop: an invitation to take part in collective research on the “similarity” of ceramic profiles in archaeology

Take part in CeraLoop! 🏺 Collective research on the similarity of ceramic profiles in archaeology. Open to everyone: experts, students and enthusiasts. Contribute a few minutes of your time to AI-based archaeological classification

Published on 1 September 2025

FACES: Fragments of Ancient CEStrine. Landscapes of the Sacred and Minor Cults in Northern Epirus

Project AR125199C3541023, P.I. Francesca D'Ambola, funded by the “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2025

Published on 1 September 2025

The materials from the deposit-contexts of the “Palace” of Çuka e Ajtoit (southern Albania): from the study of the technical-formal characteristics of the materials to a case study in the archaeology of cult for Hellenistic-period Northern Epirus

Project AR2231888A457752, P.I. Nadia Aleotti, funded by the “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2023, prot. AR225199AE532AD8

Published on 19 November 2024

Corinthian amphorae from Çuka e Ajtoit and Butrint: models, typologies and production from the Archaic to the Hellenistic period

Research project, P.I. Nadia Aleotti, funded by the “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2024, prot. AR2241907808A0A6

Published on 19 November 2024

The ceramic fabrics from the excavations at Çuka e Ajtoit (Konispoli, Albania): sampling, analysis and a diachronic study

Project AR2231888A457752, P.I. Nadia Aleotti, funded by the “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2023, prot. AR2241907808A0A6

Published on 16 July 2024

Participation in the activities of the PNRR project “Archaeology of the Sacred” (PE5, Spoke 1, WP 5, LT 3)

LAD takes part in the activities of the PNRR project, Extended Partnership 5, Spoke 1 (“Historical landscapes, traditions and cultural identities”), WP 5 (“Archaeology of the Sacred”)

Published on 13 November 2023

Linking Pasts And Sharing Knowledge. Mapping Archaeological Heritage, Legacy Data Integration and Web Technologies for Modelling Historical Landscapes

A Hybrid Conference hosted by the University of Naples Federico II, and organised with the Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Sheffield on 13th - 14th November 2023

Published on 9 October 2023

Living in the Town, Living in the Countryside. Typologies, Models and Transformations of Residential Architecture in Hellenistic and Roman Epirus

An international conference organised by the Joint Italo-Albanian Project at Çuka e Ajtoit on the topic of residential archeture in Epirus, January 15 2024, Rome.

Published on 1 October 2023

FortNet. Fortification and population network in coastal Chaonia, Northern Epirus (Albania) between Iron Age and the Medieval period: a longue durée approach to the study of settlements, economic and defensive systems

Research project, P.I. Julian Bogdani, funded by the “Progetti di Ricerca - Progetti Piccoli” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2022, prot. RP12218161C7325E

Published on 6 September 2023

The IT system of IN-Rome. The INscribed city: urban structures and interaction in imperial ROME

Research project, P.I. Barbara Borg, ERC Advanced Grant no. 101054143 IN-ROME 2022-2027

Published on 27 December 2022

Reconstructing the historical and archaeological landscapes of southern Albania through the use of historical Second World War aerial photographs

Research project, P.I. Julian Bogdani, funded by the “Progetti di Ricerca - Progetti Piccoli” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2022, prot. RP12218161C7325E

Published on 27 December 2022

Kestríne: a frontier landscape across empires

Research project, P.I. Julian Bogdani, funded by the “Progetti di Ricerca - Progetti Medi” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2021, prot. RM12117A420572AC

Published on 27 December 2022

Survey and study of the Medieval church and monastery near Çiflik (Konispoli, Albania)

Research project, P.I. Paolo Rosati, funded by the “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2022, prot. AR22218166C6157C

Published on 27 December 2022

Development of a new ICT tool for sharing and publishing bibliographic data with a cartographic base for historical-archaeological research

Research project, P.I. Eleonora Iacopini, funded by the “Progetti per Avvio alla Ricerca” programme of Sapienza University of Rome, year 2022, prot. AR2221816BB57DE4

Published on 21 June 2022

Digitisation of the Napoleonic Cartography of Egypt

This post illustrates the project to digitise and georeference the Napoleonic cartography of Egypt, carried out by Sapienza's LAD. It describes the GIS methodologies adopted, the results achieved in creating historical geographic data, and the open-access resources available for research on the Egyptian landscape of the 18th-19th centuries.

Published on 4 February 2022

PAThs Atlas and web portal, An Archaeological Atlas of Coptic Literature (dir. Paola Buzi, Sapienza)

This post presents an overview of the PAThs project, an archaeological atlas of Coptic literature that integrates geographical data, online resources and digital tools for the study of Coptic manuscript production between the 3rd and 13th centuries AD. It illustrates the project's objectives, the resources available and LAD's contribution to the creation of the database and the digital platforms.

Published on 4 February 2022

Sacri Lapides Aegypti Atlas (dir. Paola Buzi, Sapienza)

This post presents an overview of the Sacri Lapides Aegypti Atlas, illustrating the historical context, research methodology and main results of the project. The aim is to provide an accessible and informative summary for scholars and enthusiasts of the archaeology and history of ancient Egypt.

Published on 4 February 2022

Bradypus cloud databases

This post presents Bradypus, an open-source software developed for creating and managing relational web databases, with a particular focus on archaeological research projects and Cultural Heritage. It illustrates the main features, the development philosophy and the databases supported by the platform.

Published on 4 February 2022

ⲘⲞvⲈⲒⲦ Road network graph of Late Antique and Medieval Egypt

This post describes the MOvEIT project, a digital road network graph connecting the sites of the PAThs Atlas for Late Antique and Medieval Egypt. It presents the GIS technologies used, the resources available for download and the applications for historical and archaeological research.