20 YEARS OF RESEARCH IN THE VAL D’ORCIA WORLD HERITAGE SITE: PUBLIC COMMUNICATION AND THE ARCHEOSPOT® PROJECT

The Orcia Valley, in central Italy, has been a World Heritage site since 2004. It has also been the subject of a long-term programme of landscape and archaeological research by the University of Siena since the mid-1990s. The aim has been to establish a diachronic understanding of cultural, social, economic and physical transformations in the Valley while at the same time collecting data that will help to improve landscape conservation and planning. The research work has involved the survey of documentary evidence, ancient literature, place-names and local knowledge, along with the use of remote sensing and open area excavation, underpinned by both extensive and detailed field walking survey. This paper is mainly concerned with the research strategy developed over time, with transformation of the landscape from prehistory through the historical periods to the present day, and with publicising the results of nearly twenty years of research. Effective communication with the general public is one of the central goals of the project, which in recent years has involved the study of new languages of communication as well the development of mobile technologies based on GPS localization and QR code systems.