The sanctuary of Apollo in Pompeii: new geophysical and archaeological investigations

The work presents for the first time the new investigations conducted in the Sanctuary of Apollo in Pompeii in collaboration between the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and the University of Bologna. The synergic cooperation between the two institutions and the Archaeological Park of Pompeii is celebrated here with a careful analysis of the data obtained from a Ground Penetrating Radar prospecting campaign performed by the University of Bologna, interpreted in the light of the study of archive documents and the latest excavations directed by the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. The combined research, which is original, organic and methodologically accurate, proposes and promotes an overall understanding of the diachronic evolution of the important sacred site, from the archaic period to the eruption of 79 AD. After an in-depth overview of the site, its construction history and the main topographical and monumental aspects, and a digression into previous research, particular emphasis is placed on the high-resolution geophysical investigations and the method used, which find their first edition here. The results of the survey are also interpreted with respect to a new reading of Maiuri's excavations and the more recent archaeological digs, with very encouraging results that invite a direct investigation of the hypotheses formulated. This research is therefore of undoubted significance, offering relevant additional information, not only on the construction episodes of the architectural complex and the urban landscape in which it is set, but also on aspects related to the cult of Apollo and the rituality associated with it. A final spin-off in terms of method concerns the potential of the integrated approach presented and discussed for the archaeology of Pompeii and its wider knowledge.