## 3 Results  
The construction process of the Les Cottes MR architecture has generated two principal outcomes:  
1. It produced a spatial 3D database containing tridimensional models (DAE) that chronologically and stratigraphically describe the entire excavation by representing every single archaeologically unearthed element and associating such virtual evidence into groups utilising specific shapes and textures. It is worth mentioning that this standard 3D model repository can be employed by 3D graphic tools on a desktop environment. 2. It built a mixed reality computational application that works with the previous 3D models to interactively position and visualise them in situ through a mobile device. In brief, the current approach reconstructed the entire excavation using fully computerised 3D modelling and mixed reality techniques. From the desktop perspective, a 3D computer graphics software toolset like Blender can upload the whole spatial 3D repository and visualise the 3D models (DAE) on the screen. Hence, the researcher can also recreate the entire excavation on a personal computer (PC). The desktop environment enables archaeologists to use the graphics tools embedded in the 3D software toolset (Blender) for measurement and analytical purposes (rulers, view display facilities, rotations, translations and reflections and graphical filters) (see Figure 7). Moreover, the desktop approach also allows examining the digital site context by applying zooming and scaling commands to generate projections. Figure 6: Scaled-down version of the Les Cottés MR application. Furthermore, the creation of a spatial 3D database permits the mixed reality application and the desktop environment to formulate all types of queries and apply filters for showing particular aspects (e.g., stratigraphic units (US)) or targeted researches (e.g., explicit artefacts) on the virtual excavation area. Such a goal can be achieved by employing both the complete Les Cottes database (SQLite) and primary key (ID), which univocally identify every 3D model. For this purpose, and as a first step, the user can apply on a query form any possible inquiry to the SQLite DB for grouping finds by specific properties (e.g., stratigraphic unit, material) for filtering data by other information included in such a database (e.g., date of excavation, excavator), carrying out joint queries by connecting different attributes (e.g., searching two diverse materials into three distinct stratigraphic units for instance) or identifying an individual artefact. Once the inquiry has fetched the appropriate IDs involved in the database, the application can display those elements by rendering visible the related 3D models. Thus, the database software component can eventually convert any archaeological query into a perceivable 3D result (see Figure 8). Figure 8: Targeted search for archaeological evidence. Figure 7: A ruler measures the length of a 3D model in a desktop environment. Conversely, by clicking a 3D model, the user can obtain its associated ID, which can be employed to automatically fetch additional information from the SQLite DB (pictures, notes and any analyses previously made on the artefact) in conjunction with the standard data relevant to the find. In this light, archaeologists can graphically detect possible anomalies enclosed in the 3D model itself, and therefore in the original database, by selecting a 3D mesh that explicitly does not match the corresponding physical find (see Figure 9). From a mobile perspective, by using a tablet (i.e., iPad), the ARKit v. 2.0 allows the MR application to accomplish automatic actions while moving around: zooming, unzooming, scaling and visualising different angles and outlooks. Additionally, it enables archaeologists not only to place the MR application on-site and aligned but also situate the implementation anywhere as a simulated environment.