The archaeological site (Selinunte) was selected for the following reasons: 1) its important linear theatre, located very far from other constructions and modern life sound pollution; 2) it is among the oldest buildings in the ancient world located in natural places where unusual sonic relationships have been observed; 3) it facilitated a good balance between the effort required for fieldwork and studying the materials unearthed from the site for the duration of the project. On the basis of the conceptual foundation of the project, the research programme consisted of intertwined work packages: a fieldwork survey and field investigations of the selected theatre to document the stratigraphic profile in addition to the use of 3D methods for reconstructing size, shape and material structures; archaeoacoustics analysis, which provided the acoustic characteristics of the theatre in their current state. Furthermore, the creation of 3D models enabled the use of visual and sound virtual reality to experience and assess the sound response of a non-existent space; as this was the first study of its kind and a test case for most similar theatres, the data related to the selected theatre have been compared to the corpus of existing data related to ancient theatre acoustics. Finally, immersive audio-visual modes involved the development of interactive tools aimed at assessing risk of sonic heritage as well as at engaging visitors in exploring sounds in archaeological contexts.
The researcher carried out her research at the National Research Council in Italy, devoting her attentions towards archaeoacoustics and sound studies. The results of this research were presented at the Annual Meeting of the EEA 2018 in Barcelona (Spain) and at the Digital Humanities Conferences 2019 in Utrecht (Netherlands), and were accepted to be included in the International Journal of Archaeology of Sound (2021).
As the Chair of the Archaeomusicology Interest Group of the AIA, the researcher organised the Colloquium for the 120th Annual Meetings in San Diego (CA), The results of this Colloquium have been published in the article A. Bellia, Monumental Steps and Theatral Steps as Sacred Spaces for Performances, TELESTES, V, 2020, 75-95 and in the volume A. Bellia (ed.), Musical and Choral Performance Spaces in the Ancient World, Pisa-Roma, 2020 (the following text has been included: "This research has been funded by the Stesichoros projrect. This project has received funding from the European Commission's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 792058. Moreover, the results will be presented on 28 and 29 August at the EAA 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting (Papers title: 1. Digital Sensoriality and 3D Virtual Reconstructions of Ancient Musical Instruments; 2. Sounds and Social Synergies in the Performative Spaces of the Past). As the main organiser, she organised the session From Landscape Archaeology to Soundscape Archaeology for the EAA 2019 Annual Meeting (Bern). The results will be published at the end of 2021.
The researcher also improved her professional training in European projects management, marketing, communication and coaching. As a mentor of the Marie Curie Alumni Association Academy and the Joint European Mentoring Initiative Programme, she was also engaged in PhD and postdoctoral career development. She took part in the Annual Meetings of the EAA 2018 and 2019 Barcelona and in Bern respectively in order to promote MCAA’s activities and the community of MCAA archaeologists.
