Roman Archaeologist Sebastian Sommer will present Discovering the Romans; Methods to detect and understand remains of the past other than excavation.

Usually, the strategy of archaeological research focuses on excavations of ancient sites. However, excavations are costly and limited in scope, providing just a keyhole view into a site. Additionally, as every excavation leads to the (partial) destruction of the site, in past decades, methods such as aerial photography, geophysics and airborne laser scanning (LIDAR or ALS) have been developed and used to discover and explore sites without interfering with the complex structures underground. Sommer will discuss these methods and their application, focusing on sites of the Roman frontier (Limes) in Germany.

Sebastian Sommer is a Roman archaeologist, dealing primarily with Roman frontier studies focused mainly in Germany and Britain. He also deals primarily with heritage management as the State Conservator for Bavaria. Sebastian and his family are frequent visitors to Cape Cod.