Cultural Heritage Through Time: A Case Study at Hadrian’s Wall, United Kingdom

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Diachronic studies are central to cultural heritage research for the investigation of change, from landscape to architectural scales. Temporal analyses and multi-temporal 3D reconstruction are fundamental for maintaining and safeguarding all forms of cultural heritage. Such studies form the basis for any kind of decision regarding intervention on cultural heritage, helping assess the risks and issues involved. This article introduces a European-wide project, entitled "Cultural Heritage Through Time", and the case study research carried out as a component of the project in the UK. The paper outlines the initial stages of the case study of landscape change at three locations on Hadrian's Wall, namely Beckfoot Roman Fort, Birdoswald Roman Fort and Corbridge Roman Station, all once part of the Roman Empire's north-west frontier. The main aim of the case study is to integrate heterogeneous information derived from a range of sources to help inform understanding of temporal aspects of landscape change. In particular, the study sites are at risk from natural hazards, notably erosion and flooding. The paper focuses on data collection and collation aspects, including an extensive archive search and field survey, as well as the methodology and preliminary data processing.

Archaeological Feature Detection From Archive Aerial Photography With a SFM-MVS and Image Enhancement Pipeline

“…The methodological workflow consists of two main stages. The first stage involves multi-epoch, archive aerial photography collation alongside 3D surface model and orthomosaic reconstruction using the SfM-MVS approach, as described in Fieber et al (2017). The second stage comprises an image enhancement pipeline to improve the recognition of archaeological features.…”

“…Three epochs of aerial photographic datasets, acquired in 1984, 2006 and 2016, were utilised (Table 1). Aerial photographs from 1984 (captured using a Hasselblad H5D-60) and 2006 (captured using a Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II) were digitised at 2000 dpi resolution (Fieber et al, 2017) and supplied by the Historic England Archive. It should be noted that digitisation was not performed using a photogrammetric scanner, and the resultant imagery is therefore likely subject to distortions -e.g.…”

“…This pipeline, implemented in conjunction with the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) and Multi-View Stereo (MVS) image matching approach (James et al, 2017), can ultimately document a time-series of 3D archaeological features in support of understanding cultural heritage loss. The research has been conducted as part of the "Cultural Heritage Through Time" project (CHT2, 2017), supported by the European Joint Programming Initiative for Cultural Heritage, which aims to merge heterogeneous information and expertise to deliver enhanced four-dimensional (4D) digital products for heritage sites (Fieber et al, 2017). The proposed pipeline is tested at Corbridge Roman Town (Historic England, 2017), one of the three CHT2 UK case study sites located on the Hadrian's Wall landscape (Hadrian's Wall, 2017).…”

Geomatics Technologies in the Framework of Multidisciplinary Project for Integrated Management of Cultural Heritage Sites

“…Digital reconstruction represent an outstanding technology that is used for obtaining 3D replication of real objectives with detailed information. The most important reason for 3D reconstruction of CH is for digital documentation so that the structures or sites can be better preserved and monitored under impacts such as climate change, natural disaster and human exploitation (Fieber et al, 2017). Pavlidis et al (2007) reviewed non-contact methods for 3D digitization of cultural objects and monuments, including laser scanning, shape from structured light, photogrammetry and videogrammetry.…”

Diachronic Reconstruction and Visualization of Lost Cultural Heritage Sites

“…and/or human factors (e.g., mass tourism, pollution, etc.) [2,3]. Digital reconstruction implies the representation of the artefact or monument in its original state [4].…”