Archeologia urbana e informatica: il case study di Alghero

Archaeological research in cities is problematic due to irregular and discontinuous availability of data, caused by different conditions of excavation and recording. Furthermore, it is common to include also other sources, such as archival documents and historical maps. Knowledge management in urban archaeological contexts through computing is the main theme of this project. An information system was created for this specific purpose. A preliminary study followed by requirements analysis and a design stage, led to the conceptual model underlying the system main components. From an architectural point of view, the system core is an object-relational database conceived to handle and link together different types of information. A sophisticated web interface allows final users to easily create, update and analyze collected data. The system was tested on the case study of Alghero, a city located in the north-west coast of Sardinia. It was founded in the Middle Ages and after the Catalan-Aragonese conquest (1354) received municipal status, causing development of settlement in later periods. Since 1996 excavations were focused on old town, that was enclosed by fortified walls until the end of the 19th century.