To Know Without Destroying?

This paper proposes some considerations that arise from an experiment conducted in the Archaeological Park of Porto Torres, where a predictive and non- invasive diagnostic tool based on a numerical code (TEAM) was tested. It is an innovative research topic that, in recent years, has seen mathematics contribute to artistic protection as well as in the hard field of the protection of historical buildings and archaeological structures. Starting from a point of view that arise from a long archaeological experience, it was proposed an application in a context in which the use of predictive models of damage might answer to a real need. Adapting the recent structural analysis tools to the complex needs and to the lack of archaeological research data could open a path towards new and different solutions, no longer intrinsically destructive, for the investigation of the historical structures. It could be a new point of view that starts from the construction of a common language between so different disciplines, towards a real communication and mutual contamination.