Quantity and quality: a multi-perspective GIS environment for archaeo-anthropological research in Cencelle

Three decades of archaeological research at the medieval site of Cencelle (Tarquinia, VT, Italy) have uncovered an extensive cemetery located within a walled, roughly rectangular area adjacent to the Romanesque Church of Saint Peter. Inside this burial site the remains of more than one thousand individuals have been found, underscoring its intensive use by the inhabitants of Cencelle. The archaeological record of the cemetery is therefore remarkably complex, owing to the extraordinary number of burials, their wide chronological range (ca. 12th–15th century), and the overlapping interments resulting from the prolonged use of the limited space within the settlement. Despite its challenges, this archaeological context offers an invaluable opportunity to reconstruct a significant segment of Cencelle’s urban landscape and to closely examine a rich repository of human remains. These remains provide direct insights into the lives, health conditions, and life style of a late medieval community. However, studying such a context is inherently demanding due to the difficulties in organizing a massive and heterogeneous dataset, where topographical, archaeological, and anthropological data are intricately interrelated. To address these challenges, there is a pressing need for a robust scientific tool capable of managing and ensuring the quality of information derived from this diverse dataset. This necessity has driven the development of a GIS platform, designed to provide researchers with a comprehensive visualization of the archaeological context and to facilitate the planning of their scientific activities using the most effective strategies.