Rilievo integrato per la conoscenza e documentazione del complesso termale dell’area archeologica di Tindari (ME)

The aim of this study is to survey the Roman baths integrated in the so-called Insula IV of the archaeological area of Tindari (ME) for a better understanding of the site and for its enhancement. It is a structure that represents one of the oldest and best preserved thermal buildings with retrograde path in Sicily. Taking into account the typological, structural and decorative peculiarities that characterize the site, it was necessary to operate through integrated digital survey methods (laser scanning and SFM), obtaining a 3D model which describes the building in its entirety. The thermal building was inserted in the first century AD in a residential block dating back to the Hellenistic period. It is located in the South-Eastern part of the orthogonal area that marks the urban area and is bounded by two major east-west arterial roads (decumani), intersected perpendicularly by narrow streets (cardines) in the South-North direction. The thermal baths are located on the south terrace of insula IV and are composed of a central body with a peristyle overlooked by two exedras, while the aligned rooms, where you can see different phases of construction and decoration, consist of: an apodyterium, a frigidarium with a basin, a tepidarium, a destrictariume and, finally, a calidarium. The geometric and formal characteristics of the surveyed spaces have led to the choice of topographic surveying techniques such as 3D Laser Scanning and the reconstruction of high quality textured meshes through SFM techniques to document floor mosaics and walls features. The digital model obtained has allowed for a better understanding of the archaeological complex and has provided a digital document useful for the graphic representation of the site (plan, elevations, sections and orthophotos) and for further multidisciplinary investigations aimed at the conservation of the asset and its enhancement.