UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAMMETRY AND 3D RECONSTRUCTION OF MARBLE CARGOS SHIPWRECK

TLDR

Archaeological surveys now use point clouds and digital photogrammetry for high‑precision documentation, and recent work by Ca' Foscari and IUAV University of Venice explores integrated survey techniques for underwater metric documentation. The paper explains the design, image acquisition, topographic measurement, and data processing phases for two Roman shipwrecks in south Sicily. The authors conducted photogrammetric and topographic surveys using two distinct methods, applying GPS RTK measurements for the deeper wreck. The resulting 3D documentation facilitates education and public dissemination by making the wrecks easier to understand. Abstract.

Abstract

Abstract. Nowadays archaeological and architectural surveys are based on the acquisition and processing of point clouds, allowing a high metric precision, essential prerequisite for a good documentation. Digital image processing and laser scanner have changed the archaeological survey campaign, from manual and direct survey to a digital one and, actually, multi-image photogrammetry is a good solution for the underwater archaeology. This technical documentation cannot operate alone, but it has to be supported by a topographical survey to georeference all the finds in the same reference system. In the last years the Ca' Foscari and IUAV University of Venice are conducting a research on integrated survey techniques to support underwater metric documentation. The paper will explain all the phases regarding the survey’s design, images acquisition, topographic measure and the data processing of two Roman shipwrecks in south Sicily. The cargos of the shipwrecks are composed by huge marble blocks, but they are different for morphological characteristic of the sites, for the depth and for their distribution on the seabed. Photogrammetrical and topographical surveys were organized in two distinct methods, especially for the second one, due to the depth that have allowed an experimentation of GPS RTK’s measurements on one shipwreck. Moreover, this kind of three-dimensional documentation is useful for educational and dissemination aspect, for the ease of understanding by wide public.