3-DIGGING AT CATAL HUYOUK

The title of the project 3D-[D]igging (three-dimensional digging) recalls the main goal of the project: to interpret an archaeological excavation in 3D using advanced technologies for visualizing and interpreting structures, objects and stratigraphic layers; in short to think archaeology in 3D. The project is directed by Prof. Maurizio Forte, Duke University

Çatalhoyuk lies on the Konya plain on the southern edge of the Anatolian Plateau
The site Çatalhöyük is made up of two mounds: Çatalhöyük East and Çatalhöyük West. The east mound is clearly visible from some distance: the west mound is much lower with gently sloping topography. Çatalhöyük east consists of 21m of Neolithic deposits dating from 7400-6000 B.C. with some later deposits consisting mainly of Byzantine burials and rubbish pits. Çatalhöyük West is 6m high and is almost exclusively Chalcolithic (6000-5500 B.C.), again with the presence of some Byzantine burials. Excavations which restarted in 1993 and continue today have reached the bottom of the East Mound and have discovered a total of 18 levels of occupation.
The title of the project 3D-[D]igging (three-dimensional digging) recalls the main goal of the project: to interpret an archaeological excavation in 3D using advanced technologies for visualizing and interpreting structures, objects and stratigraphic layers; in short to think archaeology in 3D.
goals of the project are:

- Preservation of the site. The fragile archaeological structures and remains of the site have to be documented in detail and with very sophisticated instruments before time and environmental factors can damage them.

- Analysis of the environmental context. The 3D reconstruction of the mound by scanner could highlight unexplored relations between site and landscape.

- Experimental use of different integrated technologies