Digital Augustan Rome is a long term mapping project that is prepared to provide a worthy digital successor to the published book and maps of Mapping Augustan Rome that appeared as Supplement 50 in the Journal of Roman Archaeology Series, 2002. The volume was directed by Lothar Haselberger in collaboration with David Gilman Romano and edited by Elisha Dumser. The entries were written by over 12 authors.

Digital Augustan Rome has also been a group effort and I have been ably assisted in this endeavor by Dr. Nicholas L. Stapp and Mark Davison who were also my collaborators on the original map from the 2002 publication. Our intentions were first signaled at the Third Williams Symposium on Classical Architecture held in Rome in May of 2004 where we presented a brief summary of our thoughts and plans on a successor to the Mapping Augustan Rome volume.1 Since the earliest days of the Mapping Augustan Rome project, it has been our intent to produce a digital version of the results and we have been working towards this goal virtually from the outset. The work of this digital project is the direct result of work carried out in the Archaeological Mapping Lab of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. The work of the lab (formerly the Corinth Computer Project lab) since 1984 has been devoted to using the most modern methods of digital cartography, remote sensing and GIS in the field of ancient cities, landscapes and sanctuaries in order to study and better understand their composition, organization and planning.

The Digital Augustan Rome project relies totally on the work that has been accomplished for the paper volume and maps and is based on the entries of each of the authors that are listed separately here under Mapping Augustan Rome. Whereas Mapping Augustan Rome has appeared in its 2002 published form and a reprinted edition with corrections in 2009, Digital Augustan Rome is envisaged as a living resource for the study of Augustan Rome, one that will be able to be updated and modified as modern research brings new information about the Augustan city to light. In this way it will serve as a ongoing project with the goal to incorporate new information into the digital map.

The maps of the Mapping Augustan Rome project are two: 1:6,000 scale, a map of the entire city with an area of approximately 20 square kilometers and a 1:3,000 scale that is a map focused on the center of the Augustan city, specifically the forum area and neighboring regions. Digital Augustan Rome is based on the 1:6000 map of the publication that has been scanned and digitally linked with the names of all of the entries.

Digital Augustan Rome has been envisaged as a digital publication in three stages that include the phases of work that need to be accomplished. In addition a fourth stage is anticipated as the ongoing work of the project.