Hugo A. SAMPAIO | João RIBEIRO | Ana M.S. BETTENCOURT | Manel SANTOS-ESTÉVEZ
(Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal)

Keywords: photogrammetry, carved outcrops, inventory

Abstract:
Rationalist thought and great scale capitalistic economies lead western societies to deepen the gap between man and environment. Urban centers stress, technologies and gadgets, and modern ways of life promote the disconnection with nature and, in some regard, with past.
Due to this irreversible transforming progress, many forms of heritage are falling into oblivion or, in the worst scenarios, at risk. Especially those most fragile, such as rock art engravings. Much of these kinds of sites are unimpressive (since there are no constructions “marking” them), and difficult to identify. Stone quarries, forest fires, erosion, or constructions, are some causes responsible for its destruction.
On the other hand, it is considered that for past and pre-modern societies surrounding world was not inert but fully significant. Magical or odd creatures inhabiting outcrops, or special features attributed to them are currently present by legends and beliefs attached to carved surfaces.
In order to inventory these kinds of past traces, photogrammetric works have been developed in some Northwest Iberian Peninsula rock art sites. More than engraved signs, this technology provides the outcrops morphology recording. In this sense, new insights about this human past agency can be advanced, aiming to counter archaeological conceptions and narratives constructed on current assumptions.
Explain the relevance for the conference in one sentence:
The use of new technologies is part of the future to heritage disclosing, appreciation, and protection, especially rock art.

Relevance for the session: It is possible to acquire an image of carved outcrops more “readable” to the majority of people, disclosing a kind of past evidence in many cases unknown.
Innovation: The use of new technologies applied to heritage, and specifically to rock art, allows to recover, in many cases, hidden traces and messages of the paste.
References:
• Vilas-Estevez, B.; Vázquez-Martínez, A.; Carrero-Pazos, M. 2017. Going Further: (Re)Discovering Rock Art Carvings with Photogrammetric Techniques in Galicia (North-West Iberian Peninsula). In A. Ippolito, M. Cigola (Eds.) Handbook of Research on Emerging Technologies for Digital Preservation and Information Modeling (Chapter 8). Hershey: IGI Global, pp. 175-200.
• Ruther, H.; Chazan, M.; Schroeder, R.; Never, R.; Held, C.; Walker, S.J.; Matmon, A.; Horwitz, L.K. 2009. Laser scanning for conservation and research of African cultural heritage sites: the case study of Wonderwerk Cave, South Africa. Journal of Archeological Science 36: 1847-1856.