The Fusion of External and Internal 3d Photogrammetric Models as a Tool to Investigate the Ancient Human/Cave Interaction: The La Sassa Case Study

Abstract

Abstract. Caves have been used by humans and animals for several thousand years until present but, at these time scales, their structures can rapidly change due to erosion and concretion processes. For this reason, the availability of precise 3D models improves the data quality and quantity allowing the reconstruction of their ancient appearance, structure and origin. However, caves are usually characterised by lack of light, high percentage of relative humidity, narrow spaces and complex morphology. Thus, quite often the traditional topographic instruments cannot be employed. In the La Sassa cave (Sonnino, Italy) a huge deposit ranging from Pleistocene to the Second World War has been found and stratigraphic evidence suggested that the shape of the cave and its entrance might have been different. In this paper, the fusion of the internal and external 3D photogrammetric models of the La Sassa, made to support the archaeological excavations, is presented, A Nikon camera with a fisheye lens and a smartphone camera have been used to survey the internal part of the cave, while an aerial drone has been employed for the external area. The two models have been georeferenced and scaled using GCPs acquired by a double frequency GNSS (GPS and GLONASS) receiver. A low-resolution DTM derived from a previous aerial laser scanning survey and the 3D models have been elaborated in CloudCompare environment to highlight the complete morphology of the cave and its surroundings.

A Simple Way to Reduce 3D Model Deformation in Smartphone Photogrammetry

“…Solutions that allow recreating the shape and size of individual parts of the body [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 57 , 58 ] and models for the needs of, e.g., prostheses or plastic surgeries [ 48 , 49 , 51 , 63 ] are predominant here. In the case of geological issues, the analysis of rock porosity and roughness is a common topic [ 65 , 66 ], while in geomorphology it is popular to create digital models of various types of geomorphological forms (e.g., cliffs, caves) [ 70 , 71 ]. In terms of industrial applications, it is worth noting displacement determination [ 78 , 79 ] and utility networks modeling [ 75 , 76 ].…”

Isotopic reconstruction of the subsistence strategy for a Central Italian Bronze Age community (Pastena cave, 2nd millennium BCE)

“…First, the slightly different chronologies of all these contexts should be considered. Indeed, the Misa cave is dated-chronotypologically-to the MBA 1-2 (Cocchi Genick 1995), while La Sassa dates back from the Copper Age up to the MBA 3 (Alessandri et al 2020(Alessandri et al , 2021. Remarkably, the individual from La Sassa supporting the consumption of C 4 plants (Romboni et al 2022) dates back to the MBA 2, which outdates the upper chronological boundary for Pastena.…”

Isotopic reconstruction of the subsistence strategy for a Central Italian Bronze Age community (Pastena cave, 2nd millennium BCE)

“…First, the slightly different chronologies of all these contexts should be considered. Indeed, the Misa cave is datedchrono-typologicallyto the MBA 1-2 (Cocchi Genick 1995), while La Sassa dates back from the Copper Age up to the MBA 3 (Alessandri et al 2020(Alessandri et al , 2021. Remarkably, the individual from La Sassa supporting the consumption of C4 plants (Romboni et al 2022) Similarly to Pastena, people buried in Sepolcreto di Felcetone (northern Latium), Collepardo Cave (southern Latium), and Scoglietto cave (southern Tuscany), dated to MBA3 (Cocchi Genick 1995;Skeates et al 2021) and EBA (Cocchi, Ceccanti 1978) respectively, did not show C4 consumption (Varalli et al 2015;Skeates et al 2021), suggesting a not continuous southward cline for the spread of the newly introduced plants as edible resources.…”

“…First, the slightly different chronologies of all these contexts should be considered. Indeed, the Misa cave is dated – chrono-typologically – to the MBA 1-2 (Cocchi Genick 1995), while La Sassa dates back from the Copper Age up to the MBA 3 (Alessandri et al 2020, 2021). Remarkably, the individual from La Sassa supporting the consumption of C 4 plants (Romboni et al 2022) dates back to the MBA 3, which outdates the upper chronological boundary for Pastena.…”