Advanced Technologies Used in Digitizing the Cultural Heritage of Northwestern Colchis: The Experience of the Markul Expedition

Abstract

The article presents the experience of the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Science’s Markul Expedition, which utilized digital technologies for the study, preservation, and popularization of cultural heritage. The objective of the Markul Expedition was to obtain a complete picture of the historical and cultural landscape of Northwestern Colchis in antiquity by applying two key digital technologies: geographic information systems (GIS) and photogrammetry. The results obtained from the latter were used both independently and were integrated into GIS as separate layers (orthophotomaps, digital terrain models) or as hyperlinks to objects (3D models, videos, plans, sections, etc.). The objects investigated by the expedition are very diverse both in size and in terms of shooting conditions. Accordingly, each category of archaeological site required an individual approach, and a separate methodology and equipment. The final visualization angles differ to a fair extent from the original samples even though photogrammetry provides more accurate results than manual measurements. There are several reasons for this, including the vegetation, which is a dominant factor in the Caucasus subtropical area and led to partial visual distortions of the photographed objects. For this reason, the final projections of architectural forms required corrections and some hand drawing. In this process, new aspects appeared in the final result, resulting from the archaeologist and artist’s differing views of the objects. Our experience of using modern remote sensing technologies is also presented in the article.

Evolving Cultural and Historical Landscapes of Northwestern Colchis during the Medieval Period: Physical Environment and Urban Decline Causes

“…Via hyperlinks, raster and media data are connected to point objects, including plans, photographs, and 3D models. As object data in point-layers format do not carry complete information about the location of the site and its outline in the landscape, the GIS is supplemented with polygonal data obtained from orthophotomaps and digital terrain models (DTM) of sites included in the GIS [18].…”

Characterization of Anisotropic Salt Weathering through Nondestructive Techniques Mapping Using a GIS Environment

“…These characteristics make photogrammetry particularly useful for contorted surfaces with many occlusions [12,13]. Photogrammetric models have been combined with GIS in different ways, mostly using GIS in the usual way as a tool to manage information within a territory [14][15][16]. However, other applications have used Digital Elevation Models (DEM) obtained from multi-image photogrammetry of architectural elements, considering walls as horizontal topographic surfaces.…”

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of the Early Christian Temples of the Roman Fortress of Pitiunt

“…The photogrammetric model of the site was used to analyze the primary geometry. This model was obtained using a wellestablished algorithm for sites of a similar class [21]. The algorithm involves capturing aerial photographs of the object using a quadrocopter Mavic Air 2S equipped with an 18 MP camera.…”