Cultural heritage and rockfalls: analysis of multi-scale processes nearby the Lucus Angitiae archaeological site (Central Italy)

Archaeological areas in the mountain region of central Italy can be seriously threatenedby geological hazards, and efforts are required to preserve cultural heritage. The Lucus Angitiae is apre-Roman site located along the western edge of the Fucino Basin, the largest continental depressionof central Apennines. The carbonate slope overhanging the area is affected by active rockfallprocesses from two main rock escarpments. In this paper, rockfall assessment was pursued througha 3D kinematic modelling, performed by adopting a probabilistic approach. Specific attention wasdedicated to the choice and calibration of the input data, based on field evidence and a literaturereview. Two different sizes of wedge-shaped rock blocks were identified on rock escarpments, andspecific stability analyses were performed. Sensitivity analyses accounting for possible triggeringfactors, such as water pressure increase and seismic action, were also carried out, together with aninvestigation of the seismological characteristics of the area. The results of the numerical simulationswere used to design effective countermeasures in the framework of a mitigation plan for protectionof the archaeological site. Finally, clues of gravity-driven slope deformations at the slopescale were documented, framing the rockfall process in a wider geological scenario.