ABOUT THE PROJECT

Actualizada 4 diciembre, 2025

Publicada 4 diciembre, 2025

PHOENIX-UASL

Project Overview

PHOENIX-UASL – Research on PHOENIcian-punic sites in Andalusia with eXperimental Unmanned Aerial System with LiDAR is a research project funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship (MSCA-PF) programme of the European Union (PHOENIX-UASL, Grant agreement ID: 101155484).

The project explores the potential of UAS-LiDAR technology (LiDAR mounted on drones) for archaeological landscape analysis and for reconstructing the long-term history of ancient settlements in western Andalusia (Spain).

PHOENIX-UASL aims to evaluate the capabilities, limits, and methodological value of these emerging systems, contributing to the development of operational protocols and best practices, which are currently missing in the field.

Scientific Background

Remote sensing techniques, especially UAS equipped with advanced sensors (RGB, thermal, multispectral, LiDAR), have become essential tools in modern archaeology.
LiDAR from aircraft was historically limited by high costs and low resolution, but recent advances allow centimetric-resolution data acquired at low cost, enabling the detection of microtopography otherwise invisible beneath vegetation or modern alterations.

Workflow (image created using AI, prompt by A. Pecci, using Gemini)

However:

application guidelines
comparative studies
methodological standards
are still lacking.

PHOENIX-UASL fills this gap.

Case Studies

Case study area (edited by A. Pecci)

The research focuses on specific case studies previously examined in preliminary analyses, including Phoenician-Punic fortified settlements such as the Castillo de Doña Blanca (El Puerto de Santa María), as well as indigenous sites in the Bay of Cádiz, combining technological advances and traditional methods to develop a standardized application protocol for drone-based archaeology.

Castillo de Doña Blanca (El Puerto de Santa María) (photos by A. Pecci)

Main Objectives

MO1 – Methodological innovation

To test, compare and evaluate UAS-LiDAR technologies for archaeological survey, defining:

acquisition methods
flight plans and scanning parameters
processing workflows
interpretative strategies

MO2 – Historical-topographical reconstruction

To analyse the diachronic development of the studied sites from Prehistory to the early Middle Ages, integrating:

field surveys
GIS analysis
archaeological, environmental and historical data

Workflow (image created using AI, prompt by A. Pecci, using Gemini)

THE RESEARCHER – PhD. Antonio Pecci

PhD. Antonio Pecci is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow and the Principal Researcher of the PHOENIX-UASL project.

Antonio Pecci is a PhD in archaeology and an archaeologist specializing in classical archaeology. He has a decade of field experience carried out in various archaeological projects, at universities and private committees. He is currently excavation director of the archaeological missions of the University of Basilicata (scientific dir. M. C. Monaco) in Ferrandina (Matera, Italy) (“FArch – Ferrandina Archeologica”) and deputy excavation director in Metaponto (“Abitare a Metaponto”). For several years he has worked and collaborated with the National Research Council (CNR) on numerous archaeological study projects and has taken part in international missions in Peru (Pachacamac, Nasca, Cusco), Colombia (Cartagena de las Indias) and Argentina (Iguazu) and in Italy (Pompeii, Rome, Puglia and Basilicata), mainly focused on remote sensing analyses (mainly from drone). He is the author of numerous scientific articles in national and international journals and has participated as a speaker at several scholarly conferences. In addition to having given several university seminars, he has been a lecturer in masters and schools on the use of drones and new technologies applied to cultural heritage in Italy and abroad. Furthermore, he is the author of the first and unique manual on the use of drones in archaeology “Introduzione all’utilizzo dei droni in archeologia”. He is also the author of the monographic volume on the ancient fortifications of Basilicata “Fortificazioni e sistemi di difesa tra IV e III sec. a.C. in Basilicata”, Lagonegro 2025. His main research interests, in addition to remote sensing, aerial archaeology and drones in archaeology, include landscape archaeology, archaeological research methodology, ancient topography, archaeology of ancient Basilicata, cultural heritage enhancement and communication, and public archaeology.
Currently, he is a MSCA PF researcher at Universidad de Cádiz (Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Filosofía).