Multi-resolution Modeling of Complex and Detailed Cultural Heritage

Abstract

The article reports the interdisciplinary project of the virtualization of the Great Inscription of Gortyna (Crete) for 3D documentation, structural studies and physical replica purposes. The digitization of the longest epigraphic text of the Greek civilization (6 m long and 1.75 m high, with ca 2-3 mm depth engraved letters) and its surrounding heritage area (ca 30 x 30 m), required a long planning and the construction of a dedicated acquisition system to speed up the surveying time, limited to few hours per day. Primarily range sensors were employed in a multi-resolution way, digitizing detailed parts in highresolution and less smoothed areas with lower geometric resolution. Some selected areas were also modeled with our multi-photo geometrically constrained image matching approach to demonstrate that the same accuracy and details can be achieved using either scanners or photogrammetry. The derived 3D model of the heritage is now the basis for further archaeological studies on the incision techniques and a deeper structural analysis on the monument. The challenges of the work stay in the acquisition, processing and integration of the multi-resolution data as well as their visualization.