A previously un-excavated area of the ancient Roman city of Pompeii is set to be revealed for the first time using drones, laser scanners and virtual reality visualizations.
The new hi-tech digs will take focus on an area north of the already excavated part of the city, says the director-general of the site, Massimo Osanna.
Measuring a half-hectare in Regio V, the new area includes a buried alley with buildings along it including homes, shops and taverns.
No one has seen this area since the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD that buried Pompeii in ash.
Using drones and lasers, the team hope to completely reconstruct the newly uncovered area and allow the public to explore it via virtual reality.
"We expect great discoveries," Osanna says. "The project has already allowed us to remove the post-ancient layers, reaching the remains of the eruption of 79 AD that incorporate the collapsed structures.
"The excavation will for the first time use techniques such as drones and laser scanners.
"It will allow us to reconstruct the buildings in three-dimensions.
"We will probably find the remains of the second floors of the buildings, so it will be important to document continuously all the excavation with cameras in order to complete the restoration."
The UNESCO heritage site is one of Italy’s most popular tourist destinations.
Pompeii was was preserved under ash from a volcanic eruption in 79 AD and rediscovered in the 18th Century.
Ash formed a hard coating around corpses of those caught in the disaster, which preserved the form of their bodies as well as sometimes their clothes.
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