Geometry of Wall Degradation: Measuring and Visualising Impact Craters in the Northern Walls of Pompeii

The paper presents the methodology used to digitally document the cavities preserved in the northern city wall of ancient Pompeii, to obtain a detailed documentation of the visible ballistic traces attributed to the impact of Roman artillery during the siege of Sulla in 89 BC, in the area from the Vesuvio to the Ercolano Gate. Building on previous studies by the team, authors intend to illustrate the workflow carried out to analyse the morphological characteristics of the existing traces by means of reality-based 3D digitsl models. These virtual replicas are intended to improve the knowledge of selected case studies due to their high relevance. In addition, some stone projectiles still preserved in the Antiquarium will be analysed. The final objective is to define a suitable approach for quantifying the terminal ballistics of Roman artillery based on conclusive evidence, thus allowing not only the virtual, but also the physical reconstruction of the launching weapons used in the war event.