Fostering Etruscan heritage with effective integration of UAV, TLS and SLAM-based methods

The paper has the main role of highlighting the advantages resulting from the combination of different 3D survey methods and how the approaches that involve data and methods fusion can be advantageous in cases where the environment in which one operates is particularly impervious and not very inclined to be faced with traditional solutions. UAV Photogrammetry, TLS and the innovative 3D scanning based on SLAM technology are combined for the investigation and the documentation of a suggestive landscape and archaeological park. The hand held SLAM based scanner, capable of generating the point cloud travelling among complex indoor and outdoor environments, detecting even small defined spaces, has proved its fundamental importance for the knowledge and reconstruction of the landscape of a particular category of ancient heritage: the necropolis of the caves of the Baratti e Populonia park, which lies in a suggestive scenario of rich and dense forest.