## 4 Results
### Sabratha and Metaponto Case Studies
#### 4.2.1 Description of Study Areas  
The first study area is the archaeological site of Sabratha, on the coast of Libya (Figure 10), 64 km west of Tripoli [39], characterized by an arid climate in a desert environment.  
It was founded in the seventh century BC by the Phoenicians of Tyre in one of the few natural harbors in Tripolitania and soon became a trading post at the mouth of a major caravan route. Because of its strategic location, Sabratha experienced rapid development and soon fell under the control of Carthage. Passing briefly to the Kingdom of Numidia under Masinissa, Sabratha was later taken by the Romans in 46 BC, and the city enjoyed new prosperity. At the time of the [PERSON], the city was completely rebuilt and embellished largely because Emperor [PERSON] was born in nearby Deptis Magna.  
At its heyday, Sabratha had about 20,000 inhabitants. Decline loomed from the fourth century, with the gradual fall of the Roman Empire and the first incursions of the Berber people. In 439 the [PERSON] captured the city, but was driven out by the Byzantines, who began a partial reconstruction. With the arrival of the Arabs in the seventh century, Sabratha totally lost its importance since the only center in Tripolitania was now the city of Oea (modern-day Tripoli). For the purpose of our investigations,  
Figure 10: Location of Sabratha and Metaponto.  
we selected a test site in Sabratha. It is an unexplored area of about 3 ha between the Roman town and the amphitheater. On site it is possible to observe micro-relief, stone materials from collapsed walls, and some traces of walls and foundations, which suggest the presence of buried structures.  
The second area of study is the archaeological site of Metapontum, located between the Basento and Bradano rivers, near the Ionian Sea (Figure 10). It has the typical Mediterranean climate. In the Corinne land-cover maps, the investigated area is classified as arable with prevailing wheat cultivations.  
It is one of the most important archaeological areas in the south of Italy. Several archaeological campaigns [39, 40] have established human presence there since the mid 8 th century BC when Metapontum was founded by Greeks coming from the Achaea region. Between Greek colonization (700 BC to 200 BC) and the Roman age (200 BC to 400 AD), the territory was characterized by an intensive use of soil as revealed by the several rural sites that can be observed from surface surveys and excavations, and also the presence of an extensive system of parallel land divisions [40, 41]. In particular, these lines are thought to have been a network of country lanes or drainage canals. Another important element in the history of Metapontum is the spatial and temporal relationship between the hydrography and the human settlements. The rivers Bradano and Basento between which Metapontum is located, changed their floodplains several times, influencing the settlement pattern. These spatial features linked to ancient human transformations of the landscape represent one of the most significant traces of ancient human activities, which need to be protected. Unfortunately, due to the destructive effects of mechanized agriculture, these traces of the human and geological past are increasingly difficult to identify using solely optical images. For this reason it has been decided to also use SAR data, such as COSMO-SkyMed acquired in Enhanced Spotlight Mode, in order to assess their ability to detect archaeological and palaeoenvironmental features, in particular roads, palaeoriverbeds and palaeochannels.