Digitally Modeling, Visualizing and Preserving
Archaeological Sites
P. Allen†, S. Feiner†, L. Meskell*, K. Ross†,
A. Troccoli†, B. Smith†, H. Benko†, E. Ishak†, J. Conlon*
Departments of Computer Science† and Anthropology*
Columbia University
New York, NY 10027

ally involving much manual eﬀort. We have developed asuite of new methods that can reduce the time to build amodel through automation. Our methods utilize range image segmentation and feature extraction algorithms. Oncethe 3D model is constructed, it is necessary to texture map
it with imagery to create a geometrically and photometrically correct model, as shown in Fig. 1(a). Texture mapping
can pose diﬃcult problems in providing complete and accurate coverage of a complicated model. Our methods uses
knowledge of shadows and sun position during the image
acquisition process to correctly register the imagery withthe constructed 3D model.
Archaeological Visualization: We are developing a 3D
visualization environment to aid archaeologists in their postexcavation interpretation and analysis. In our prototype, auser wearing a head-tracked, see-through, head-worn display can explore a virtual dig site, as shown in in Fig. 1(b)(seen through a live videomixed display, representing a second user’s view). She is able to view the surrounding terrain
as either a textured point cloud or a textured mesh. Smallarchaeological ﬁnds are placed around the dig site at thelocations of their discovery, each labeled with its name anddescription. A 360-degree panorama, recorded at the actualsite, can optionally surround the model to provide an immersive virtual experience. As the user walks around, she
can inquire about situated objects through a combinationof speech and gesture, or navigate using a wireless mouse.
Additional information about speciﬁc objects is available in
the form of still images, videos, and textual descriptions thatcan be presented on the head-worn display.

Figure 1: (a) Integrated site model of the Acropolis
at Monte Polizzo. (b) augmented reality reconstruction.
Preserving cultural heritage and historic sites is an important problem. These sites are subject to erosion and vandalism, and, as long-lived artifacts, they have gone throughmany phases of construction, damage and repair. We believethat it is important to use 3D model building technology tocreate an accurate record of these sites, so preservationists
can track changes and foresee structural problems. From a
digital libraries perspective, 3D models also allow a muchwider audience to “virtually” see and tour these sites. Thisis a signiﬁcant improvement over static imagery or video,
in that immersive viewing is possible, and we can create
new and novel views that could outline the historical andchronological transformation of a large site.
To test our methods, in July 2003 a team from Columbia
University joined the Stanford University Monte Polizzo Excavation in Sicily, with the goal of digitally recording an archaeological excavation. We had three goals for this project:
to capture the site’s current state on a daily basis using
several sensors; to create an integrated 3D site model thatwould include geometry from laser range scans, and photometry images and video; and to record changes as diﬀerent
layers were exposed.
3D Modeling: Due to the complexity of these sites,
building 3D models is time-consuming and diﬃcult, usu-Acknowledgments: This work was funded in part by
NSF Grants IIS-01-21239 and IIS-00-82961, and ONR Contract N00014-99-1-0249.

Categories and Subject Descriptors
I.3.3 [Computer Graphics]: Picture/Image Generation—
digitizing and scanning; I.3.7 [Computer Graphics]: ThreeDimensional Graphics and Realism—virtual reality

General Terms
Documentation, Algorithms

Keywords
Copyright is held by the author/owner.
JCDL’04, June 7–11, 2004, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
ACM 1-58113-832-6/04/0006.

digital libraries, 3D scanning, cultural heritage, archaeology,
augmented reality, multimodal interaction

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Proceedings of the 2004 Joint ACM/IEEE Conference on Digital Libraries (JCDL’04)
1-58113-832-6/04 $ 20.00 © 2004 ACM