Low cost 3D-modelling of a complex archaeological site using aerial photography in the hinterland of Petra, Jordan

Abstract

ABSTRACT:Individual archaeological sites can sometimes show a complex morphology. One such site is the Roman quarries located one kilometre northwest of the Roman fortress at Udhruh, in the hinterland of Petra. In archaeology there are various platforms such as balloons, kites and unmanned aerial vehicles (uav's) from which low altitude aerial photographs can be taken that have been proven to work. All with their specific advantages above others in different circumstances. By designing a very distinct setup for the kite and optimizing the workflow accordingly, an effective and steady platform for the camera was created. The Quarries were photographed from the air and the images then provided enough material to accurately create a 3D model of the site.

UAV images and historical aerial-photos for geomorphological analysis and hillslope evolution of the Uggiano medieval archaeological site (Basilicata, southern Italy)

“…At the same time, however, they already demonstrated a high potential for several types of applications (see for example Hendrickx et al 2011). Lately, advances in UAV technologies and the rapid development of photogrammetry software packages used for generating high-resolution ortophotos and 3D models of complex landscapes have fostered the first applications of UAV images for monitoring and mapping of archaeological excavations (Eisenbeiss & Sauerbier 2011;Emaus & Goossens 2015;Fern andez-Hernandez et al 2015), landslide evolution (Niethammer et al 2012;Turner et al 2015), landscape analysis (Hugenholtz et al 2013;Mirijovskỳ & Langhammer 2015) and soil erosion (D' Oleire-Oltmanns et al 2012;Eltner et al 2015). Today, the main advantages of this approach for geomorphological studies are the opportunity to obtain low-cost and accurate multi-temporal digital elevation models (DEMs), which can be very useful to unravel geomorphological evolution and to contribute to provide data for extracting rates of landscape evolution over small areas.…”