The Analysis of Architectural Heritage Through Graphic Documents: The Archaeological Site of Italica (Seville, Spain) - From the 16th to the 21st Century

Abstract

In recent decades digitalisation has revolutionised the debate on graphic records applied to the knowledge, conservation and dissemination of architectural heritage, in many cases centred around the intense quest for accuracy and rigour in the capture of metrics and dimensions for their representation. However, sometimes insufficient attention has been paid to the repercussions on our perception of heritage: where once we built images of visions or versions of what we observed, now we create interactive models with structured information from which we can extract new knowledge. Our research focuses on this perception by analysing how the concept of “representation intention” has evolved since heritage knowledge became a discipline to the application of digital models today. We base our analysis on a paradigmatic case during this period: the archaeological site of Itálica. This paper describes the work carried out in the initial phases of the research project: the reconstruction of the graphic heritage inherited from this case study by compiling and analysing the drawings made by the architects, archaeologists and other professionals who have contributed to the knowledge and conservation of the site since the 16th century. In particular, we highlight the drawings made from the 19th century up to the present day.