3D VIRTUAL RECONSTRUCTION OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL MONUMENTS

Abstract

3D Virtual Models are the future of the representation of the existing and destroyed architectural heritage. The term reconstruction defines the re-building of a monument to its state at the time of its history chosen for that particular representation. In recent years the evolution of the technology, has contributed significantly in many aspects of the field of cultural heritage preservation and recording. Techniques like digital image processing, digital orthophoto production, terrestrial laser scanning and 3D model processing have enabled the production of such alternative products. In this paper two characteristic cases of 3D virtual reconstruction of non-existing monuments are presented: The Middle Stoa in the Athens Agora and the Church of San Prudencio’s Monastery in Spain. All data collected were evaluated and used appropriately for the final products. It is evident that the data collected do not all belong to the target periods and not all the data necessary to built up the models are available today. Therefore, one needs to carefully select the data corresponding to the period of study and complete them with suitable hypotheses. It is imperative that both tasks must be done in collaboration with archaeologists and architects. In this context a data hierarchy was developed, based on their reliability and correctness. The data were categorized for their reliability after careful evaluation their accuracy depending on the source. In this paper a 'Reliability' matrix for creation of digital models for cultural heritage research is presented. Sometimes the data appear in more than one source; in this case they must be checked for correspondence. All different sources should be evaluated and used accordingly for the final product. The procedures followed are briefly described and the results are presented and assessed for their reliability and usefulness.