Site Investigation of Alauqaiser Historic Church Using Photogrammetric Reconstruction

Abstract

Alauqaiser Church is one of the Christian heritage sites that are mentioned extensively in historical literature. The site is described to be in the desert to the south west f Karbala, Iraq. The site was excavated by the Iraqi government to reveal most of the church building which was covered by soil for long time. However, it is believed that there could a human settlement around the church which is not investigated or determined physically on the ground. This paper aims to investigate the possibility of the existence of any settlement or development around the site and stimulate further research about this important fact. Photogrammetric reconstruction was used to prepare engineering drawings and digital three-dimensional models of the site. Pictures were captured using off-the-shelf small drone which successfully provided enough level of details to prepare precise orthophoto and digital elevation model of the site. Results of the site’s orthophoto and digital elevation model showed that there are clear footprints of physical development around the church.