This study aimed to evaluate the impact of using an AI model, specifically ChatGPT-3.5, in remote sensing (RS) applied to archaeological research. It assessed the model’s abilities in several aspects, in accordance with a multi-level analysis of its usefulness: providing answers to both general and specific questions related to archaeological research; identifying and referencing the sources of information it uses; recommending appropriate tools based on the user’s desired outcome; assisting users in performing basic functions and processes in RS for archaeology (RSA); assisting users in carrying out complex processes for advanced RSA; and integrating with the tools and libraries commonly used in RSA. ChatGPT-3.5 was selected due to its availability as a free resource. The research also aimed to analyse the user’s prior skills, competencies, and language proficiency required to effectively utilise the model for achieving their research goals. Additionally, the study involved generating JavaScript code for interacting with the free Google Earth Engine tool as part of its research objectives. Use of these free tools, it was possible to demonstrate the impact that ChatGPT-3.5 can have when embedded in an archaeological RS flowchart on different levels. In particular, it was shown to be useful both for the theoretical part and for the generation of simple and complex processes and elaborations.

The constructive reading of the historical architecture through the study of the published and unpublished sources preserved in the archives, can represent a unique and precious cognitive tool to acquire all fundamental information that constitutes the basis of an aware restoration intervention.Frequently, in case of ancient buildings, reconstruct the complete history of the building is not possible, as the sources are difficult to find, not published or kept in different territorial institutes that are not always easily accessible. The aim of this work is to set up an HBIM (Heritage Building Information Model) system to facilitate the planning of diagnostic and restoration activities by bringing all archive information into a unique digital reference platform, accompanied by three-dimensional models that can be consulted, examined and updated.The creation of the HBIM digital tool for consulting the architectural artefact and related information was only the last phase of this work, which began with: (i) Acquisition of archive sources in order to reconstruct the history of the restoration and renovation work on the monument; (ii) Acquisition of information about the diagnostic analyses and monitoring previously carried out on the monument; (iii) acquisition of data useful for the creation of a digital twin.

The deterioration of stone materials due to atmospheric factors is a growing global concern, affecting the integrity and preservation of numerous UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world. This study provides an estimate of the long-term impact of the climate on the degradation of carbonate stone materials in the UNESCO site of Matera, in southern Italy. Focusing on Gravina calcarenite, a lithotype susceptible to weathering, the research integrates satellite-derived precipitation data from the Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS) with a dose-response model. The method involves the calibration of CHIRPS precipitation records against ground-based meteorological data, and the use of year-specific recession coefficients K_y dynamically computed as a function of atmospheric CO₂ concentration and temperature. These coefficients were applied within a Lipfert-based equation to estimate annual surface recession from 1981 to 2040 (near future). The results reveal a continuous increase in surface degradation over time, with the cumulative material loss reaching approximately 0.75 mm by 2040. These findings underscore the relevance of climate-responsive models in estimating stone decay and provide a critical basis for adaptive conservation planning. Incorporating future climate projections into risk assessments is essential for the sustainable preservation of carbonate-based cultural heritage exposed to atmospheric and hydrological stressors.

International Measurement Confederation (IMEKO)

Placed as a hinge between analysis and decisions, the diagnosis involves interpretations on whose correctness may depend the restorations’ outcome and the building’s future life. In the diagnosis’ context, an important role is played by the knowledge of the restoration interventions’ history and investigations in order to orient new diagnostic investigations and to compare data acquired at different times with the aim to integrating them and discovering constructive and structural variations occurred. This integrated methodology aspires to multiple objectives including the design of a new investigation plan made reliable and effective through ‘archival diagnostics’. In this sense, archival research stands as a means of adding information on the conservation history and degradation, representing a useful diagnostic tool. Hence the intention to begin a reasoning on the added value that the anamnesis and diagnosis based on archive data can provide from a cognitive and design point of view.