COMPUTERIZED MANAGEMENT OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA AND GIS SYSTEMS. APPLICATION IN THE SITE OF HIERAPOLIS OF PHRYGIA

The system used for organizing the data from the excavation at Hierapolis, a sample site for this research project, represents an example of the application of the methodology of GIS to a stratigraphically excavated site. The use of this methodology, based on the logical structuring of data in independent layers, makes it possible to reconstruct the micro-dynamics typical of a stratigraphic excavation. Once the archaeological layers are separated, divided and organized according to their geographic position, they are treated as a series of divisible and superimposable layers which can be used in order to create the floor plans of single monuments and, more in general, maps showing the different phases of the city. This type of data management makes it easier to understand the spatial organization and transformation of a city over time.