Professional profile
Classical Archaeologist | Archaeology of Construction Specialist | Ancient Architecture and Architectural Decoration | Digital Archaeology | Archive Archaeology
Classical archaeologist specializing in the architecture of the Greek and Roman world, with particular focus on the regions of Asia Minor from the Hellenistic through the Imperial and Late Antique periods. Her research investigates building techniques, construction site organization, the mobility of craftsmen, and the transfer of technological knowledge across the ancient Mediterranean, with the aim of reconstructing the cultural, economic, and productive dynamics that shape the long-term biography of monuments.
Her methodological approach combines archaeology, of architecture, typological and art-historical analysis, archaeometric investigations, and advanced digital tools. Direct architectural survey is integrated with photogrammetry and Structured Light Scanning (SLS) for the high-resolution documentation of monuments and architectural elements. 3D modeling is conceived not merely as a visualization tool, but as an analytical workspace for stratigraphic interpretation, the reconstruction of building phases, and the critical assessment of interpretative hypotheses. In this field, she has developed operational workflows for the scanning, cataloguing, and creation of digital twins of stone architectural elements, with particular attention to data structuring and transparency.
Geographically, her research focuses primarily on ancient Anatolia. At Hierapolis of Phrygia, she has studied Ionic architecture and monumental building sites, contributing to restoration and anastylosis activities in the Sanctuary of Apollo and the Ploutonion. At Teos in Ionia, she participates in the international project on the Temple of Dionysus, where traceological analysis of architectural materials allows the reconstruction of tools, technical gestures, and labor organization within the Hellenistic and Imperial building site. At Tripolis ad Maeandrum, she is engaged in the study, conservation, and anastylosis of the Monumental Nymphaeum, an exemplary case for understanding Late Antique restoration practices and processes of reuse and transformation in Asia Minor’s public architecture. She is also among the coordinators of the project “From Rome to Anatolia,” devoted to the digitization, cataloguing, and dissemination of the photographic archive on Anatolian cities created by the archaeologists Gianfilippo Carettoni and Laura Fabbrini.
In parallel, within the Basilica Iulia project in the Roman Forum, her contribution focuses on the development of an integrated workflow combining digital survey, material analysis, legacy data research, and the diachronic reconstruction of the monument. The objective is the creation of a 3D model conceived as a repository of complex archaeological datasets, capable of making explicit the relationships between material evidence, documentary sources, and interpretative reconstructions, within a framework of collaborative, transparent, and replicable research.
Alongside her research activities, Sara Bozza contributes to teaching at Sapienza University of Rome and serves on international scientific and editorial boards (MAC – Mediterranean Archaeology in Context; Asia Minor. An International Journal of Archaeology in Turkey; KATMAN: Journal of Archaeological Science).
CNR Disciplinary Fields and Research Management Sectors
- SH6_1 Archaeological methods and theory, history of archaeology
- SH6_3 Archaeology of early literate societies and early civilizations
- SH6_6 Digital, computational, virtual and geospatial archaeologies
- SH8_5 History of art and of architecture
MUR Italian Scientific-Disciplinary Sector
- ARCH-01/D Classical Archaeology
- ARCH-01/G Archaeological Research Methods
Groups & Labs CNR ISPC
Archaeology and Environment Research Group →
Heritage Materials Science Lab →
Publications
Highlight
S. Bozza (2025). 3D-STONE: A comprehensive workflow for Structured Light Scanning and digital twin modeling of stone architectural elements in archaeology, Archeologia e Calcolatori 36, 1, 277-204. DOI: 10.19282/ac.36.1.2025.14
S. Bozza, T. Ismaelli, M. Galli (2025), The Basilica Iulia Project and the Archive of Laura Fabbrini (1960-1964). Questions of Workflow, Method, and Data Transparency in Legacy Data Use. ArchClass LXXVI, 605-626. DOI: 10.48255/2240-7839.ArchCl.LXXVI.2025.19
T. Ismaelli, S. Bozza (2022). Olivelle a Hierapolis di Frigia. Analisi tecnologica e morfo-dimensionale dei dispositivi di sollevamento tra Augusto e Alessandro Severo, in Thiasos 11, pp. 319-353.
