Creating a map of the underground heritage in the Mediterranean area: A visual representation for a comprehensive research

Interest in man-made (or artificial) cavities in the countries of the Mediterranean Basin led the Commission of the Italian Speleological Society to study and catalogue some of the most common troglodyte types in the region. Since 2000, the Commission has drawn up a study of the geographical distribution of rock-cut structures through a project initially developed by Mario Mainetti and Erica Besana in 1994. This geographical catalogue has been realised through integrating the information available in the international bibliography with the scientific research carried out by the Commission and the research groups affiliated therewith. The result of this work is a list of 1948 rupestrian sites distributed throughout 31 countries and represented on a general map. In this chapter, a general overview of the project is presented, along with a description of some case studies from different countries, including Tunisia, Libya, Turkey and Italy.