“…Reverse engineering is largely an exploratory enterprise with the purpose of understanding design and-where possible-the method of manufacture in cases where written records are not available. Historical and archaeological applications that employ reverse engineering practices include ceramics (Neamtu et al, 2011;Pierce, 2005) headstones (Selden Jr., 2015), inscriptions (Liu & Ma, 2016), a Greek Lyre (Koumartzis et al, 2015), historic structures and monuments (Baik, 2017;Zvietcovich et al, 2015), general digital restoration (Boier-Martin & Rushmeier, 2006), a foot rest bracket for a historic bicycle (Krivo et al, 2014), and an assessment of the reverse engineering process for cultural heritage conservation (Segreto et al, 2013). Reverse engineering of the cannon follows in-step with the studies mentioned above, but differs in that it enlists a 3-D scan-to-CAD workflow where the surface model is iteratively refined to meet the specific tolerances specified by project parameters through pairing CAD with computer aided inspection, thus accurately integrating the many blemishes and imperfections incurred during historic trans-Atlantic transport and use.…”