Papers by Loes Opgenhaffen
Digital Applications in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage
Digital-born research archives, data re-use, participation and the inclusion of academic and lay ... more Digital-born research archives, data re-use, participation and the inclusion of academic and lay stakeholders in archaeological knowledge production. These are important topics that are increasingly addressed but often overlooked in the creative stages of archiving, be it data collection or the reproduction of an archiving practice. This creative practice is affected and changing due to the implementation of digital technology. These practices are reproduced in the design of the research archive and, as such, the impact of technology can potentially be scrutinised and traced reversely by analysing the uses of the archive. In addition, digital technology is believed to prompt greater inclusivity of diverse audiences. But how to reach that audience, and who is this "audience"? In this paper, emphasis is placed to reflect upon the practice of archiving of ongoing, post-excavation archaeological research with an audience, as opposed to well-established reflexive research into excavation and museum practices. As such, the concept of archiving as research process, rather than the traditional approach towards archives as data repositories is introduced here. As a case study to identify and assess potential change in a particular archaeological practice, the paper describes and analyses the archiving practice of the team of the Tracing the Potter's Wheel-project, from its inception in offices and storerooms to the archive's targeted manifold use as a place of knowledge production, data sharing and learning.
Architecture in Ancient Central Italy
Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica Natural Sciences in Archaeology, 2021
This backstory article discusses the work of the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel Project (TPW), an int... more This backstory article discusses the work of the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel Project (TPW), an integrated archaeological research project using the potter’s wheel as a prism through which to investigate the transmission of craft knowledge in the Bronze Age Aegean. The TPW methodology integrates theoretical perspectives on social interactions, technological processes and innovation, with experimental, 3D digital and analytical methods for visualising and interpreting ceramics. Two central goals have emerged: to provide high-quality resources and standardised guidelines for researchers to learn how to technologically assess assemblages in their own research, and to broadly define the nature of the uptake and use of the pottery wheel in the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age.
Tracing Technology, 2021
This paper proposes an innovative integrated methodology that combines the chaîne opératoire appr... more This paper proposes an innovative integrated methodology that combines the chaîne opératoire approach with digital 3D modelling. The methodology is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the late Archaic temple of Mater Matuta at Satricum, specifically the phase that goes by the name ‘Temple II’, dating to 500-480 BC. Studying technology through the lens of a chaîne opératoire approach enables to break the complex sequence of building activities into several steps, and 3D modelling applied during research enables to virtually re-build the temple step by step, or stone by stone. Additionally, the integrated technology assesses and combines both traditional and digital datasets from a different perspective, which generates new information. Ultimately, the bottom-up perspective to architectural technology allows to enter the previously intangible building site of the past, revealing how multiple craft communities and foreign workshops were organized and how they communicated about construction matters.
Open Archaeology, 2021
Archaeologists are the mediators between fragmented, and often contested, pasts and the momentary... more Archaeologists are the mediators between fragmented, and often contested, pasts and the momentary present. To record, organise, interpret, and reconstruct complex narratives of the past and to communicate these to present-day peers and the public, they use a wide range of visualisation methods. As such, visualisation methods form an intrinsic part of the representation of practical and intellectual findings, being crucial to knowledge production in archaeology. The adoption and adaptation of digital visualisation technology changes the way archaeologists shape new knowledge. However, for a discipline that is particularly concerned with how technology had an effect on past societies, for example, the impact of the potter’s wheel on local ceramic production strategies, archaeologists have a remarkably limited awareness of how current (digital) technology has an impact on their own visualisation practice and the subsequent knowledge production. This study presents the conceptual framew...
Open Archaeology, 2021
In this study, we introduce the themes of the Special Issue on Art, Creativity and Automation. Sh... more In this study, we introduce the themes of the Special Issue on Art, Creativity and Automation. Sharing 3D Visualization Practices in Archaeology, and present the most important outcomes of a roundtable session involving prominent researchers in the field, organized by the authors during the Archon Winter School in February 2020. By assessing the diversity of research aims, artistic projects, creative practices and technology used in the contributions to the Special Issue, and drawing on the thoughts and perspectives generated during the roundtable discussion, we seek to identify shared challenges within the community of visualizers which could ultimately pave the way to shared practices. In this light, we assess whether established charters and guidelines are still relevant in a now matured digital archaeology, where visualization techniques have attained a central position in archaeological knowledge production. Although parts of the guidelines have become common practice, the rema...
Background: Tobacco and alcohol are well-established risk factors for numerous cancers, yet their... more Background: Tobacco and alcohol are well-established risk factors for numerous cancers, yet their relationship to biliary tract cancers remains unclear. Methods: We pooled data from 26 prospective studies to evaluate associations of cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption with biliary tract cancer risk. Study-specific hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations with smoking and alcohol consumption were calculated. Random-effects meta-analysis produced summary estimates. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Over a period of 38 369 156 person-years of follow-up, 1391 gallbladder, 758 intrahepatic bile duct, 1208 extrahepatic bile duct, and 623 ampulla of Vater cancer cases were identified. Ever, former, and current smoking were associated with increased extrahepatic bile duct and ampulla of Vater cancers risk (eg, current vs never smokers HR ¼ 1.69, 95% CI ¼ 1.34 to 2.13 and 2.22, 95% CI ¼ 1.69 to 2.92, respectively), with dose-response effects for smoking pack-years, duration, and intensity (all P trend < .01). Current smoking and smoking intensity were also associated with intrahepatic bile duct cancer (eg, >40 cigarettes per day vs never smokers HR ¼ 2.15, 95 % CI ¼ 1.15 to 4.00; P trend ¼ .001). No convincing association was observed between smoking and gallbladder cancer. Alcohol consumption was only associated with intrahepatic bile duct cancer, with increased risk for individuals consuming five or more vs zero drinks per day (HR ¼ 2.35, 95%CI ¼ 1.46 to 3.78; P trend ¼ .04). There was evidence of statistical heterogeneity among several cancer sites, particularly between gallbladder cancer and the other biliary tract cancers.
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, 2015
A 3D reconstruction of complex architecture will never be complete nor constructively sound witho... more A 3D reconstruction of complex architecture will never be complete nor constructively sound without the combination of knowledge and expertise from different scientific branches. Yet, how should all the different perspectives from these diverse disciplines, leading to different ideas and views on material, be approached, in order to convert the knowledge to a coherent model? It is the goal of this paper to contribute to the development of a common approach to diverse datasets, ideas and interpretations that are involved in the creation of 3D reconstructions. The outline of our suggested approach is demonstrated though two case-studies differing in time and region, but revolving around the same research topics, showing that the approach is universally employable. Therefore, interdisciplinarity-one of the key principles of the Seville Charter-will be the leitmotif of this paper.
2013 Digital Heritage International Congress (DigitalHeritage), 2013
The project `The Art of Reconstruction' explores the usage of digital three-dimensional (3D) ... more The project `The Art of Reconstruction' explores the usage of digital three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions to support research into historical and archaeological architectural settings. More specifically, the aim is to enhance the research on buildings that are nowadays partly or entirely lost, buildings that were once were keystones in the formation of local identities. Using 3D reconstructions during the research into built environments offers new insights and a new approach for analyzing data. The path that leads to the final reconstruction of the building should be documented and this documentation generates a vast amount of new data otherwise never encountered. This data should be stored in an interoperable database and combined with the results of the project published in an accessible format. The many perspectives on the actual building itself, i.e. the spatial context, and the possibility of visualizing the architectural phases through time, makes 3D modeling an innovative tool for the specialist. It offers a virtual world where various kinds of experiments can be conducted. This paper will show some preliminary results of the digital 3D reconstruction of the lost Archaic temple of Caprifico di Torrecchia (Latium, Italy) that, when only described in words and drawings, would have remained invisible.
Open Archaeology, 2021
Visualization techniques may have changed over the years, but have they fundamentally changed arc... more Visualization techniques may have changed over the years, but have they fundamentally changed archaeological visual literacy and the ways archaeologists create knowledge? Or do new digital tools merely disguise conventional practices? The answer may reside in a deeper understanding of the long tradition of visualization practice, from the Renaissance to the present, for which the foundation lies in the activities of antiquarians and artists, as well as artistic, technical, and scientific innovations. This paper presents an historical synopsis of two usually separated but complementary research areas, digital archaeology and archaeological visualization, and builds on previous research undertaken on these traditionally separated subjects. By taking a slightly Dutch perspective I will introduce a few visualizing protagonists who have left substantial traces in our collective visual memory, aiming to contribute to a more inclusive historical narrative on archaeological visualization. T...
DAACH, 2022
Digital-born research archives, data re-use, participation and the inclusion of academic and lay ... more Digital-born research archives, data re-use, participation and the inclusion of academic and lay stakeholders in archaeological knowledge production. These are important topics that are increasingly addressed but often overlooked in the creative stages of archiving, be it data collection or the reproduction of an archiving practice. This creative practice is affected and changing due to the implementation of digital technology. These practices are reproduced in the design of the research archive and, as such, the impact of technology can potentially be scrutinised and traced reversely by analysing the uses of the archive. In addition, digital technology is believed to prompt greater inclusivity of diverse audiences. But how to reach that audience, and who is this "audience"? In this paper, emphasis is placed to reflect upon the practice of archiving of ongoing, post-excavation archaeological research with an audience, as opposed to well-established reflexive research into excavation and museum practices. As such, the concept of archiving as research process, rather than the traditional approach towards archives as data repositories is introduced here. As a case study to identify and assess potential change in a particular archaeological practice, the paper describes and analyses the archiving practice of the team of the Tracing the Potter's Wheel-project, from its inception in offices and storerooms to the archive's targeted manifold use as a place of knowledge production, data sharing and learning.
Open Archaeology, 2021
In this study, we introduce the themes of the Special Issue on Art, Creativity and Automation. Sh... more In this study, we introduce the themes of the Special Issue on Art, Creativity and Automation. Sharing 3D Visualization Practices in Archaeology, and present the most important outcomes of a roundtable session involving prominent researchers in the field, organized by the authors during the Archon Winter School in February 2020. By assessing the diversity of research aims, artistic projects, creative practices and technology used in the contributions to the Special Issue, and drawing on the thoughts and perspectives generated during the roundtable discussion, we seek to identify shared challenges within the community of visualizers which could ultimately pave the way to shared practices. In this light, we assess whether established charters and guidelines are still relevant in a now matured digital archaeology, where visualization techniques have attained a central position in archaeological knowledge production. Although parts of the guidelines have become common practice, the rema...
Open Archaeology, 2021
Archaeologists are the mediators between fragmented, and often contested, pasts and the momentary... more Archaeologists are the mediators between fragmented, and often contested, pasts and the momentary present. To record, organise, interpret, and reconstruct complex narratives of the past and to communicate these to present-day peers and the public, they use a wide range of visualisation methods. As such, visualisation methods form an intrinsic part of the representation of practical and intellectual findings, being crucial to knowledge production in archaeology. The adoption and adaptation of digital visualisation technology changes the way archaeologists shape new knowledge. However, for a discipline that is particularly concerned with how technology had an effect on past societies, for example, the impact of the potter's wheel on local ceramic production strategies, archaeologists have a remarkably limited awareness of how current (digital) technology has an impact on their own visualisation practice and the subsequent knowledge production. This study presents the conceptual framework "tradition in transition," which integrates technological and visualisation methodologies, and aims to provide a framework to analyse the underlying processes and mechanisms that shape and change the practice of creating visualisations.
Open Archaeology, 2021
In this study, we introduce the themes of the Special Issue on Art, Creativity and Automation. Sh... more In this study, we introduce the themes of the Special Issue on Art, Creativity and Automation. Sharing 3D Visualization Practices in Archaeology, and present the most important outcomes of a roundtable session involving prominent researchers in the field, organized by the authors during the Archon Winter School in February 2020. By assessing the diversity of research aims, artistic projects, creative practices and technology used in the contributions to the Special Issue, and drawing on the thoughts and perspectives generated during the roundtable discussion, we seek to identify shared challenges within the community of visualizers which could ultimately pave the way to shared practices. In this light, we assess whether established charters and guidelines are still relevant in a now matured digital archaeology, where visualization techniques have attained a central position in archaeological knowledge production. Although parts of the guidelines have become common practice, the remainder did not keep up with the fast pace of development of digital practice and its current fundamental role in archaeology, and as a result some of the guidelines risk becoming obstructive in archaeological creative practice.
Tracing Technology. Forty Years of Archaeological Research at Satricum, 2021
This paper proposes an innovative integrated methodology that combines the chaîne opératoire appr... more This paper proposes an innovative integrated methodology that combines the chaîne opératoire approach with digital 3D modelling. The methodology is demonstrated through the reconstruction of the late Archaic temple of Mater Matuta at Satricum, specifically the phase that goes by the name ‘Temple II’, dating to 500-480 BC. Studying technology through the lens of a chaîne opératoire approach enables to break the complex sequence of building activities into several steps, and 3D modelling applied during research enables to virtually re-build the temple step by step, or stone by stone. Additionally, the integrated technology assesses and combines both traditional and digital datasets from a different perspective, which generates new information. Ultimately, the
bottom-up perspective to architectural technology allows to enter the previously intangible building site of the past, revealing how multiple craft communities and foreign workshops were organized and how they communicated about construction matters.
Interdisciplinaria Archaeologica , 2021
This backstory article discusses the work of the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel Project (TPW), an
int... more This backstory article discusses the work of the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel Project (TPW), an
integrated archaeological research project using the potter’s wheel as a prism through which to
investigate the transmission of craft knowledge in the Bronze Age Aegean. The TPW methodology
integrates theoretical perspectives on social interactions, technological processes and innovation, with
experimental, 3D digital and analytical methods for visualising and interpreting ceramics. Two central
goals have emerged: to provide high-quality resources and standardised guidelines for researchers to
learn how to technologically assess assemblages in their own research, and to broadly define the nature
of the uptake and use of the pottery wheel in the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age.
Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media
In this article we evaluate the relevance of 3D visualisation as a research tool for the history ... more In this article we evaluate the relevance of 3D visualisation as a research tool for the history of cinemagoing. How does the process of building a 3D model of cinema theatres relate to what we already know about this history? In which ways does the modelling process allow for the synthesis of different types of archived cinema heritage assets? To what extent does this presentation of “content in context” helps us to better understand the history of film consumption? We will address these questions via a discussion of a specific case study, our visualisation of Jean Desmet’s Amsterdam Cinema Parisien theatre, one of the first permanent cinemas of the Dutch capital. First, we reflect on 3D as a research tool, outlining its technology and methodological principles and its usefulness for research into the historiography of moviegoing. Then we describe our 3D visualisation of Cinema Parisien, discussing the process of researching and building the model. Finally, we evaluate the re...
Open Archaeology, 2021
Visualization techniques may have changed over the years, but have they fundamentally changed arc... more Visualization techniques may have changed over the years, but have they fundamentally changed archaeological visual literacy and the ways archaeologists create knowledge? Or do new digital tools merely disguise conventional practices? The answer may reside in a deeper understanding of the long tradition of visualization practice, from the Renaissance to the present, for which the foundation lies in the activities of antiquarians and artists, as well as artistic, technical, and scientific innovations. This paper presents an historical synopsis of two usually separated but complementary research areas, digital archaeology and archaeological visualization, and builds on previous research undertaken on these traditionally separated subjects. By taking a slightly Dutch perspective I will introduce a few visualizing protagonists who have left substantial traces in our collective visual memory, aiming to contribute to a more inclusive historical narrative on archaeological visualization. The overview ends with an integrated discussion on the shared creative visual practice and its epistemic role in archaeological knowledge production. A praxis-oriented and reflexive approach to the history of visualization provides a critical understanding of the current workings of 3D visualization as a creative practice, and how archaeology responds and acts upon innovations and the adoption of new visualization technology.
The Cultural Heritage domain is increasingly using Web3D technologies to share data for teaching,... more The Cultural Heritage domain is increasingly using Web3D technologies to share data for teaching, research, and dissemination among peers and the general public. In this special track, we seek to explore more specifically how 3D web technologies contribute to knowledge production once the data have been processed, shared, and used through online platforms. What is the legacy and impact of virtual content in documenting, interpreting, and showcasing Cultural Heritage.
To answer this question, we invite experts in various fields of Cultural Heritage (CH) that have effectively embedded Web3D technologies in their research and academic and public educational activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on projects focusing on mobile objects, spanning from archaeological finds to reference collections, to closed and open online repositories, and from pipelines to process 3D models for the Web to visualization and design methods. We are particularly interested in experiences stemming from scholarly research, teaching, curatorial and museum practices, scientific dissemination, and more generally public engagement.
Open Archaeology
The project Pottery Goes Public explores the potential of 3D analytical tools to assess to what e... more The project Pottery Goes Public explores the potential of 3D analytical tools to assess to what extent they can provide us with new interpretations and insights into the technological aspects of ancient pottery manufacturing. However, developing innovative 3D imaging techniques for ceramic analysis is not the only aim of the project. Since its inception, Pottery Goes Public has been designed to involve a wider audience not only into the study of ancient potting techniques, but also into the very process of carrying out the research. As advocated by the proponents of a reflexive approach to archaeology, in order to make the past relevant to contemporary society it is imperative for the archaeologist to include all interested parties into every stage of the analysis, from the formulation of the research questions to the dissemination of outputs. In this sense, the deployment of modern 3D technologies proved to be an indisputably powerful medium of communication and interaction with th...
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Papers by Loes Opgenhaffen
bottom-up perspective to architectural technology allows to enter the previously intangible building site of the past, revealing how multiple craft communities and foreign workshops were organized and how they communicated about construction matters.
integrated archaeological research project using the potter’s wheel as a prism through which to
investigate the transmission of craft knowledge in the Bronze Age Aegean. The TPW methodology
integrates theoretical perspectives on social interactions, technological processes and innovation, with
experimental, 3D digital and analytical methods for visualising and interpreting ceramics. Two central
goals have emerged: to provide high-quality resources and standardised guidelines for researchers to
learn how to technologically assess assemblages in their own research, and to broadly define the nature
of the uptake and use of the pottery wheel in the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age.
To answer this question, we invite experts in various fields of Cultural Heritage (CH) that have effectively embedded Web3D technologies in their research and academic and public educational activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on projects focusing on mobile objects, spanning from archaeological finds to reference collections, to closed and open online repositories, and from pipelines to process 3D models for the Web to visualization and design methods. We are particularly interested in experiences stemming from scholarly research, teaching, curatorial and museum practices, scientific dissemination, and more generally public engagement.
bottom-up perspective to architectural technology allows to enter the previously intangible building site of the past, revealing how multiple craft communities and foreign workshops were organized and how they communicated about construction matters.
integrated archaeological research project using the potter’s wheel as a prism through which to
investigate the transmission of craft knowledge in the Bronze Age Aegean. The TPW methodology
integrates theoretical perspectives on social interactions, technological processes and innovation, with
experimental, 3D digital and analytical methods for visualising and interpreting ceramics. Two central
goals have emerged: to provide high-quality resources and standardised guidelines for researchers to
learn how to technologically assess assemblages in their own research, and to broadly define the nature
of the uptake and use of the pottery wheel in the Aegean during the Late Bronze Age.
To answer this question, we invite experts in various fields of Cultural Heritage (CH) that have effectively embedded Web3D technologies in their research and academic and public educational activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on projects focusing on mobile objects, spanning from archaeological finds to reference collections, to closed and open online repositories, and from pipelines to process 3D models for the Web to visualization and design methods. We are particularly interested in experiences stemming from scholarly research, teaching, curatorial and museum practices, scientific dissemination, and more generally public engagement.
This paper discusses the practical hurdles which have been faced and surmounted over the course of the TPW project. The presentation covers aspects of archiving which are specific to the problems overcome. We highlight in particular the need to move beyond a traditional ceramic catalogue to create a digital archive which provides learning pathways for users to gain more out of the dataset. The TPW archive is a dynamic learning tool which marries the stable storage of digital pottery information with a user-focused interface. Through this user-focused interface, the archive is a valuable research tool for both specialists and novices alike.
TPW’s focus has now turned toward understanding the current landscape of digital archiving of 3D resources and establishing an appropriate repository for these data which can foster further research by future scholars. This stage requires weighing options between the range of already-established data platforms, the necessity for cost-effective solutions, and the unique nature of the data. Out of the intersection between data requirements and goals for functionality, TPW has struck a balance which is a useful case study for others tackling similar issues. Although a major goal is to assure stability of data storage, the project weighs this against the drive to make the data accessible – 3D data is exceptionally useful as a means to simulate intensive object study in the field. By explicitly integrating data sharing alongside data storage, TPW has forged a strategy where any data management solutions must accommodate known project objectives alongside unknown requirements of future users.
A central goal of the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel project is to teach people the importance of ceramic technology for investigating the intangible dynamic behaviours that can be identified through the tangible remains of pottery. From the outset we have aimed to set up a 3D archive of pottery with guided accessibility. These guided pathways to learning, enabled through our archived 3D models, are built upon the way that data was collected, the process of identification, and the process of archaeological interpretation. In this way a structured and curated 3D archive serves as an effective teaching tool for specialist and non-specialist audiences, who might never gain physical access to the archaeological material. This allows all stakeholders to be able to use and re-use high-quality archaeological data to gain new knowledge and, from their diverse perspectives, be able to explore new narratives for cultural heritage study.
presented to the Centre for Digital Heritage meeting 2018: 3D Archives, (Re)Use and Knowledge Production’, Lund (Sweden), 18 – 20 Jun 2018.
This paper presents the methodology of the Tracing the Potter’s Wheel Project (UvA) which focuses on the transmission of the potter’s wheel as an innovation within ceramic production during the Bronze Age period of the Aegean region. Our project employs a three-fold analytical method, integrating 3D techniques with experimental archaeology and compositional analysis of ceramic materials, to investigate how and where ceramic vessels manufactured using RKE were produced. By analysing key ceramic assemblages throughout the Aegean region, we aim to shed light on the hidden story of the potter’s wheel in the Aegean Bronze Age and test the transmission of potter’s wheel technologies, or the incorporation of RKE potting into potters’ skill sets, across traditionally assumed geographical and chronological trajectories.
Paper presented at European Association of Archaeologists (EAA) 23rd Annual Meeting 30 Aug-3 Sep 2017, Maastricht, Netherlands.
use of 3D models of objects in archaeological research - October 15th -
16th 2016, University College Dublin', is an adapted version of the presentation with the same title at the EAA 2015. The presentation was, however, extended to the use of 3D technology as a valuable and succesful research tool archeology and its public outreach. 3D technology encompasses 3D scanning, 3D modelling and visualisation and 3D printing and how this enhances archaeological research while at the same time it is a powerful tool for dissemination of ongoing research output to the public.
More and more hyper-realistic and consequently convincing, truth-suggesting, 3D reconstructions of archaeological sites or historical monuments are created, these are – if at all - mostly based on traditional data such as ancient manuscripts, texts, photo’s, paintings and such. If this data is not somehow connected with the 3D model, the 3D model remains just ‘a nice picture’.
Without information, the model is unusable for interpretive and explorative purposes. 4D visualisation is a powerful new research tool that overcomes this by combining 3D modelling with 2D data in a diachronic way. It helps the archaeologist to manage complex data and assist in the interpretative process, to visualise what he/she explores, experiences and perceives and to communicate this in an organised manner to the outside world. With this tool it is possible to experiment and test hypotheses which was previously quite a problem in the Humanities in general.
3D techniques are most valuable if used as a method to enhance and enrich any ongoing research. It is a transdisciplinary tool that requires to comprise knowledge from all disciplines.
I shall try to explain the role of 3D modelling as active research tool and the 3D visualisation not as a data-container, but as a dynamic, multidisciplinary and interactive way of doing research, by presenting some practical issues through personal experience. With this demonstration, I also hope to contribute to the NIAS theme Biographies of Building, which is – partially – devoted to investigate what data needs to be delivered to create a 3D reconstruction of a lost monument.
In this paper, we argue that the integration of 3D scanning technology within standard procedures of macrotrace analysis not only enables us to record vessels’ surface topographies more systematically and in greater detail than with the naked eye, but may lead ultimately to the development of an algorithm that automates the process of identifying different forming techniques. By presenting a multidisciplinary study conducted on both experimental and archaeological ceramics (from Late Bronze and Early Iron Age Central Italy), involving ceramic analysts and IT specialists, we seek to illustrate how significantly the use of 3D technology may implement the quality and quantity of information at our disposal for assessing wheel-fashioning methods.
In this paper, we seek to demonstrate that the full potential of 3D scanning technology applied to archaeological ceramics goes way beyond accurate documentation procedures. For this purpose, we have undertaken a multidisciplinary research project, involving ceramic analysts and IT specialists, on a wide range of pottery material (from Iron Age burnished wares, to Hellenistic black gloss and Roman Terra Sigillata) from several sites and museum collections in Greece, Italy and the Netherlands. On the one hand, the application of 3D technologies enabled us to determine vessels capacity, calculate the density of ceramic material, examine in greater detail surface texture and macrotraces, leading ultimately to a better understanding of the very process of making a pot, manufacturing methods and potters’ technological choices. On the other hand, the possibility of carrying out part of the study in museum open spaces allowed us to involve the public in actual research and experimental sessions, proving the communication advantages of integrating technologies such as 3D printing and augmented reality.
In this paper, we seek to demonstrate that the full potential of 3D scanning technology applied to archaeological ceramics goes way beyond accurate documentation procedures. For this purpose, we have undertaken a multidisciplinary research project, involving ceramic analysts and IT specialists, on a wide range of pottery material (from Iron Age burnished wares, to Hellenistic black gloss and Roman Terra Sigillata) from several sites and museum collections in Greece, Italy and the Netherlands. On the one hand, the application of 3D technologies enabled us to determine vessels capacity, calculate the density of ceramic material, examine in greater detail surface texture and macrotraces, leading ultimately to a better understanding of the very process of making a pot, manufacturing methods and potters’ technological choices. On the other hand, the possibility of carrying out part of the study in museum open spaces allowed us to involve the public in actual research and experimental sessions, proving the communication advantages of integrating technologies such as 3D printing and augmented reality.
the usage of digital three-dimensional (3D) reconstructions to
support research into historical and archaeological architectural
settings. More specifically, the aim is to enhance the research on buildings that are nowadays partly or entirely lost, buildings that were once were keystones in the formation of local identities.
Using 3D reconstructions during the research into built
environments offers new insights and a new approach for
analyzing data. The path that leads to the final reconstruction of the building should be documented and this documentation
generates a vast amount of new data otherwise never
encountered. This data should be stored in an interoperable
database and combined with the results of the project published in an accessible format. The many perspectives on the actual building itself, i.e. the spatial context, and the possibility of visualizing the architectural phases through time, makes 3D modeling an innovative tool for the specialist. It offers a virtual world where various kinds of experiments can be conducted.
This presentation will show some preliminary results of the digital 3D reconstruction of the lost Archaic temple of Caprifico di Torrecchia (Latium, Italy) that, when only described in words
and drawings, would have remained invisible.
To bridge this gap, we will present the preliminary results of a pilot study carried out on consistent bodies of pottery, spanning from the Iron Age to the Mid Republican period, in which systematic ceramic analyses have been coupled with 3D scanning technologies. By means of this integrated approach, we aim at demonstrating that the full potential of 3D scanning technology applied to archaeological ceramics goes way beyond accurate documentation procedures. In receiving the complete account of surface geometry, texture and volume, 3D models enable to determine vessels capacity, calculate the density of ceramic material and virtually assemble dislocated fragments. More importantly, three-dimensional models provide additional information on the very process of making a pot, shedding light on manufacturing methods, technological choices and potters’ motor habits. In fact, the detailed recording of surface topographies can lead to more accurate analysis of features such as grooves, spiral ridges and cracks, commonly examined to assess different shaping techniques (wheel throwing, moulding, coil-building). Likewise, 3D models may establish different degrees of variability in the morphological attributes of a ceramic assemblage, contributing therefore to trace scale and intensity of pottery production.
Heritage?
To answer this question, we invite experts in various fields of Cultural Heritage (CH) that have effectively embedded Web3D technologies in their research and academic and public educational activities. Particular emphasis will be placed on projects focusing on mobile objects, spanning from archaeological finds to reference collections, to closed and open online repositories, and from pipelines
to process 3D models for the Web to visualization and design methods. We are particularly interested in experiences stemming from scholarly research, teaching, curatorial and museum practices, scientific dissemination, and more generally public engagement.
and 3D visualization.
People have been making the humble cup for thousands of years, whittling them
from wood or bone, casting them in metal, or shaping them from clay. What is
exciting for archaeologists is that plastic cups of today have a strong connection with ceramic cups in prehistory.
The conical cup is a small, handleless and usually undecorated cup, which can teach us about the lives of the Minoans of Crete, as well as other regional communities of the Aegean during the Bronze Age. Despite their plain, featureless design, these little cups appear at archaeological sites far from the Cretan palaces, throughout the other islands of the Aegean and the western coast of Anatolia. What made these cups so popular? And how can archaeologists begin to answer such questions?
The exhibition is at Heraklion Archaeological Museum from 18-29 September 2019.
Further information and companion material is available on http://tracingthewheel.eu/exhibition2019