"Imprisoned in this Living Grave": 3D Representations of Penal Sites in the Central Mediterranean

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Pre-Recorded Video Presentation Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)", at the 2024 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

This paper introduces the preliminary results of the Central Mediterranean Penal Heritage Project, its mission to archaeologically investigate the inhumanities of confinement through material evidence and digitally preserve the heritage of penal sites in the region, often overlooked in historical archaeology, from the post-Medieval period through the 20th century. The project employs digital photogrammetry and terrestrial LiDAR to create 3D representations of three sites for research and public outreach: the Guva at Fort Saint Angelo, Malta, the tower cell at Noto Antica, Sicily, and the Carcere Borbonico di Siracusa, Sicily. The first two, famous for their graffiti, demonstrate the ways in which confined actors dealt with the long hours of their incarceration at the 16th - 17th century sites. Meanwhile, the Carcere Borbonico represents one of the earliest implementations of 18th-19th century reform measures in this region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2024   •
• Pre-Recorded Video Presentation Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions)

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow