This team’s scientific objective is to study the complexity of the town and architecture in the ancient world. By studying historical cases, such as Rome and Cusco, it aims to verify hypotheses regarding complex urban forms in preindustrial contexts. To do this the team works with the Urban Origins Network that includes universities and research centres on both sides of the Atlantic (Universidad de Cusco, NMAI-Smithsonian Institution in Washington, Universidad Nacional de Colombia; Universidade do Minho; Università di Roma “La Sapienza” and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona). As a result of the network, the North American project (URV and NMAI-Smithsonian Institution) has helped to expand the cultural context of work on the archaeology of architecture and urbanism.

The main research objectives of this group are to identify the basic components of the urban models in pre-Columbian America and the Mediterranean; to study the role of water management in the development of the urban form in the Mediterranean and different Andean contexts; to continue the process of technology transfer between Europe and America in planning projects for studying historical towns; and to improve the construction of 3D models as a useful instrument for interpreting and studying architecture and the town.

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