The work presented here was carried out, during restoration works, in the Vatican Necropolis. This once open-air burial ground is now placed under the nave of St. Peter’s Basilica. Infact, the Necropolis was covered up when the Constantinian Basilica was erected, furthermore, successive burials have altered the stratigraphy of the site as have the structural works for the construction of  Bernini’s Baldacchino and the sequence of altars constructed, during many centuries, on top of the sacred spot considered to be St. Peter’s burial. In the present day the Necropolis presents itself with walls of considerable size and good state of conservation, though the view is at times obstructed by modern pillars needed to sustain the structures above. This resulted necessary after the emptying of the soil following the excavations carried out in the early 1940s. The explored area of the Necropolis covers an extention of about 69 x 18 meters and presents itself as a double row of burial edifices seperated by a narrow passageway. In particular, the M sepulcher is inserted between two other structures of which it uses the outer walls; this makes it one of the last, chronologically speaking, constructions of the Necropolis.

Such documentation was deemed necessary both to record the architectural "consistency" and the state of the decorations before restoration and also to be used in every successive phase of work.

• Instrumental topographic survey through the establisment of a closed traverse and positioning of fixed stations in order to create a unified x,y.z coordinate system 

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• Architectural survey and graphic documentation in plan and elevation of the Necroplis' structures referenced to the above mentioned system 

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• Detailed graphic documentation of the wall decorations, mosaics and sculptures; this documentation being also referenced to the general coordinate system 

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• Scanning, rectification and spatial referencing of all graphic documentation 

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• Creation of digital thematic maps