A novel multimedia system for archaeology

Proceedings of the …, 2001

2015

The application of 3D digital technologies in the archaeological research expands more and more during the last decades. 3D recording, visualisation, representation and reconstruction of archaeological sites, monuments and artefacts become almost a common trend in the archaeological work. Moreover, CAD reconstructions, 3D simulation, computer animation and other uses of computer systems change the traditional workflow. The archaeological experience, though, recognizes these tools more for the general public in order to offer a visualisation of the target object than as a mechanism that can offer new possibilities for the research itself. The focus of this article is to explore the opportunities given to the research field of archaeology by 3D technologies. Specifically the article will look into technologies regarding the 3D recording, processing, visualisation and representation of archaeological data. Through the use of specific case studies we will investigate how applications ca...

The application of 3D digital technologies in the archaeological research expands more and more during the last decades. 3D recording, visualisation, representation and reconstruction of archaeological sites, monuments and artefacts become almost a common trend in the archaeological work. Moreover, CAD reconstructions , 3D simulation, computer animation and other uses of computer systems change the traditional work-flow. The archaeological experience, though, recognizes these tools more for the general public in order to offer a visualisation of the target object than as a mechanism that can offer new possibilities for the research itself. The focus of this article is to explore the opportunities given to the research field of archaeology by 3D technologies. Specifically the article will look into technologies regarding the 3D recording, processing, visualisa-tion and representation of archaeological data. Through the use of specific case studies we will investigate how applications can contribute to the understanding first and the interpretation later on of a certain archaeological object. Issues such as the types of questions and problems that can be faced and answered with these 3D technologies will be raised and discussed. The possibility to get an expansion of the archaeological research in new aspects, as it happens with other technological tools (e.g. databases), will be also examined. In addition to these, the disadvantages and limitations of the application of these 3D technologies in the archaeological field will be also looked at, in order to accomplish a more complete view of its usage.

To meet the requirements for rapid, accurate and effective recording and documentation of archaeological excavation sites a prototype system is under development. This paper presents the first results from an easy-to-use system that utilizes photogrammetric and computer science methods, as well as tools for on-site recording, modeling and visualization of an archaeological excavation. The software-component is the main focus of our research. Its aim is multifold, such as to provide a three-dimensional reconstruction of the excavation site in a very accurate way, rapid and almost real-time recording and documentation, multiple outputs for various uses and finally to achieve all these tasks requiring minimal knowledge of Digital Photogrammetry and CAD systems, through a sophisticated and userfriendly interface, easy to be used by people, such as archaeologists that are not experts in Photogrammetry or in Information Science. Finally, in the near future it is planned to evaluate and demonstrate under real circumstances the functionality and the effectiveness of the system, so as to be performed the necessary improvements.

2013 Digital Heritage International Congress (DigitalHeritage), 2013

The West Digital Conservatory of Archaeological Heritage p r o j e c t , a. k. a. W D C A H , i s a n e w F r e n c h r e s e a r c h organization whose aim is to both ensure the preservation of digital archaeological data, and deliver expertise in production, analysis, visualization and virtual reality exploration techniques. This project is an interdisciplinary project composed of engineers and researchers in archaeology, computer science, virtual reality and 3D interaction with virtual environments. The major objectives of this conservatory project are: (i) sustainable and centralized safeguarding and archiving of 2D/3D data produced by the archaeological community; (ii) free access to metadata; (iii) secure access to data for the different actors involved in scientific projects and (iv) the support and advice for these actors in the 3D data production and exploration through the latest digital technologies, modeling tools and virtual reality systems. This paper focuses on the first activities of the WDCAH which mainly concern digital models production using photogrammetry, 3D laser scans, and 3D computer graphics software. We are currently working on the reconstitution of six archaeological sites located in the west of France ranging from prehistory to the Middle Ages: the Cairn of Carn Island, the covered pathway of Roh Coh Coet, the Goh Min Ru megalithic site, the gallo-roman mansion of Vanesia, the keep of the Château de Sainte-Suzanne, the Porte des Champs of the Château d'Angers. Other proposals are currently under study.

IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 2003

I n archaeology, measurement and docu- mentation are both important, not only to record endangered archaeological sites, but also to record the excavation process itself. Annotation and precise documentation are important because evidence is actually destroyed during archaeological work. On most sites, archaeologists spend a large amount of time drawing plans, making notes, and taking photographs. Because of the publicity that accompanied some recent archaeological research projects, such as Stanford's Digital Michelangelo project 1 or IBM's Pieta project, 2 archaeologists are becoming aware of the advantages of using 3D visualization tools. Archaeologists can now use the data recorded during excavations to generate virtual 3D models suited for project report presentation, restoration planning, or even digital archiving, although many issues remain unresolved. Until recently, the cost in time and money to generate virtual reconstructions remained prohibitive for most archaeological projects. At a more modest level, some archaeologists use commercially available software, such as PhotoModeler (modeler.com), to build simple virtual models. These models can suffice for some types of presentations, but typically lack the detail and accuracy needed for most scientific applications. Clearly, archaeologists need more flexible measurement techniques, especially for fieldwork. Archaeologists should be able to acquire their own measurements simply and easily. Our image-based 3D recording approach offers several possibilities. To acquire a 3D reconstruction, our system lets archaeologists take several pictures from different viewpoints using a standard photo or video camera. In principle, using our system means that archaeologists need not take additional measurements of the scene to obtain a 3D model. However, a reference length can help in obtaining the reconstruction's global scale. Archaeologists can use the resulting 3D model for measurement and visualization purposes. Figure shows an example of the types of pictures possible with a standard camera. In developing our system, we regularly visited Sagalassos, a site that is one of the largest archaeological projects in the Mediterranean. The site consists of elements from a Greco-Roman period spanning more than a thousand years from the 4th century BC to the 7th century AD. Sagalassos, one of the three great cities of ancient Pisidia, lies a few miles north of the village Aglassun in the province of Burdur, Turkey. The ruins of the city lie on the southern flank of the Aglassun mountain ridge (a part of the Taurus mountains) at an elevation of several thousand feet. Figure shows Sagalassos against the mountains. A team from the University of Leuven, under the supervision of Marc Waelkens, has been excavating the area since 1990. Because of the different measurement problems, Sagalassos has been an ideal test field for our algorithms.

Етно-културолошки зборник XXI (2017), 2017

This paper discusses recent developments in application of digital technologies in archaeological practice. More specifically, it focuses on using 3D scanners in the preparation of archaeological documentation. A special emphasis is made in regards to the importance of educating archaeologies about the possibilities of application of digital technologies, 3D scanning in particular.

The 3 Dimensions of Digitalised Archaeology. State-of-the-Art, Data Management and Current Challenges in Archaeological 3D-Documentation, Springer, Cham, 2024

Although the basics of 3D technologies developed rather early on, only today are we seeing a steep increase in the application of 3D technologies in archaeological practice. This volume aims to give a broad overview of possible applications in the field, but also to open a discussion about the challenges and problematic aspects of this method so far. Only if there is an awareness of the implications and challenges of implementing this new technology in the everyday practice of field and research archaeology can archaeology take full advantage of its possibilities. Keywords 3D technologies in archaeology • Digital archaeology • Digital archiving • Data management • Photogrammetry • 3D scanning in archaeology The application of new methods has had a lasting impact on our research questions, research setups and applied methodology-in short, they have deeply affected our understanding and practice of archaeology. Some of them have been labelled

2017

The paper presents a methodology to create 3D digital and virtual artefacts in the field of archaeology using CAD software solution. The methodology includes the following steps: the digitalization process, the digital restoration and the dissemination process within a virtual environment. The resulted 3D digital artefacts have to be created in files formats that are compatible with a large variety of operating systems and hardware configurations such as: computers, graphic tablets and smartphones. The compatibility and portability of these 3D file formats has led to a series of quality related compromises to the 3D models in order to integrate them on in a wide variety of application that are running on different hardware configurations. The paper illustrates multiple virtual reality and augmented reality application that make use of the virtual 3D artefacts that have been generated using this methodology.

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2011

During the last two decades, since digital technologies have become more sophisticated in acquiring real data and building faithful copies of them, their improvements have suggested interesting applications in the field of valorisation of Historical, Cultural and Artistic Heritage, with significant consequences in the share and widespread of knowledge. But although several technologies and methodologies for 3d digitization have recently been developed and improved, the lack of a standard procedure and the costs connected to their use still doesn't encourage the systematic digital acquisition of wide collections and heritage. The aim of this paper is to show the state of the art of a project whose aim is to provide a methodology and a procedure to create digital reproductions of artefacts for Institutions called to preserve, manage and enhance the fruition of archaeological finds inside museums or through digital exhibitions. Our project's aim is to find the most suitable procedure to digitally acquire archaeological artefacts that usually have small dimensions and have very complex and detailed surfaces. Within our methodology, particular attention has been paid to the use of widely shared and open-source visualization systems that enhance the involvement of the user by emphasizing three-dimensional characteristics of artefacts through virtual reality. Figure 1. The developed methodology, from the analysis of the artefact and of survey conditions and aims (a), to the selection of the most suitable acquisition technology (b), to the survey of metric information (c), to the addition of radiometric information (d), to visualization (e).