Identifying past building practices through 3D modelling The case of the late Archaic temple of Satricum

This paper proposes an innovative integrated methodology that combines the chaîne opératoire approach with digital 3D modelling. The methodology is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the late Archaic temple of Mater Matuta at Satricum, specifically the phase that goes by the name ‘Temple II’, dating to 500-480 BC. Studying technology through the lens of a chaîne opératoire approach enables to break the complex sequence of building activities into several steps, and 3D modelling applied during research enables to virtually re-build the temple step by step, or stone by stone. Additionally, the integrated technology assesses and combines both traditional and digital datasets from a different perspective, which generates new information. Ultimately, the bottom-up perspective to architectural technology allows to enter the previously intangible building site of the past, revealing how multiple craft communities and foreign workshops were organized and how they communicated about construction matters.