Innovations in cost-efficient and meaningful documentation for cultural heritage recording and excavation
Chairs: David BIBBY | Benjamin DUCKE, Germany
Among the many innovations that the Computer Age has brought to archaeological field practice, 3D recording and documentation is one of the most significant. Hardware-based solutions, such as terrestrial laser scanners and structured light scanners, have been used for this purpose to great effect.
Light-weight and software-based approaches, such as simple 3D surveying, image-based 3D reconstruction, and 3D interpolation of layers from core samples have provided many alternative and complementary tools. The availability of such an extensive toolkit immediately begs the question why full 3D recording and modelling are still not common place in archaeological field work. Apparently, the impact of new technologies is limited by a range of factors such as cost, speed of operation, compatibility with established workflows and the manageability of data. The questions of “best 3D practice” – and in fact best practice for digital survey data in General – still need to be answered. Suitable answer must also include solutions for the archivability and barrier free dissemination of the results.
This session invites contributions that explore innovative and low-cost solutions to the documentation, visualization and analysis of sites and objects of interest. Of particular interest are innovative solutions that integrate well into existing workflows, providing added documentary value with minimal operational overheads whilst producing sustainable digital records and knowledge.