Colin WALLACE1 | Ladislav DEDÍK2 | Jana MINAROVIECH2 | Dorina MOULLOU2
(1 University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada | 2 Studio 727, Bratislava, Slovakia)

Keywords: photogrammetry, Athens, 3d modeling, virtual reality

Abstract:
This paper presents a project conducted in the Athenian Agora, Greece which was realized through the cooperation of participants from Canada, Greece, Slovakia and the United States. It documents and presents results from surveying, photographing and photogrammetric modeling of Omega House as well as comparative retrospective 3D modeling using archival photographs.
Omega house is a 30 room structure in the Athenian Agora dating from the fourth to sixth centuries A.D. and it is considered to be one of the last philosophical schools of the ancient world. It was excavated between 1969 and 1971 by John Camp and is currently inaccessible to the public and in need of preservation and restoration.
The project’s purpose is to provide accurate three dimensional modeling of Omega house as it was when first excavated and as it is now in order to achieve two goals. firstly, to provide the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports with data which can be used for the preservation and restoration of the site. Secondly, to create a virtual environment which will allow the public to experience the site in its current form, its post-excavation form and in a recreation of its original form. The virtual environment will accommodate visitors on site while the monument is undergoing conservation and restoration.
In order to achieve accurate photogrammetric results using archival photographs, an accurate site survey of features that remain intact since the time of excavation was done with those coordinates being applied to the retrospective model. Additionally, elements of the contemporary modeling were employed in the construction of the archival model with only archival photographs used as texture.
It is our view that the successful use of these methods will be applicable to other inaccessible sites allowing the public to a have a broader  experience of monuments and sites while visiting.

Relevance conference / Relevance session:
Our work involves using the latest technologies to record material culture for the purpose of preservation, restoration and presentation.

Innovation:
Our innovation will be to model the site based on the original excavation photos and, with accurate surveying  reach an accuracy that allows comparison with our new site modeling.

References:

  1. Bruno et al., From 3D reconstruction to virtual reality: A complete methodology for digital archaeological exhibition. Journal of Cultural Heritage
  2. Rua, P Alvito Living the past: 3D models, virtual reality and game engines as tools for supporting archaeology and the reconstruction of cultural heritage, Journal of Archaeological Science