METHODS OF SURVEYING IN ARCHAEOLOGY
DEMONSTRATED AT THE TANG EMPERORS’ MAUSOLEUMS
Wolfgang Böhler and Guido Heinz
Fachbereich Geoinformatik und Vermessung
Fachhochschule Mainz
Holzstr. 36, D-55116 Mainz, Germany
Commission V, Working Group 4
KEY WORDS: Archaeology, Surveying, Close Range, Remote Sensing, Visualization,
Cultural Heritage Mapping.
ABSTRACT:
The eighteen mausoleums of the Tang Emperors (A.D. 618 - 907), scattered over an area of about 5 000 km? in the
vicinity of Xi'an, the capital of the Province of Shaanxi, in the People's Republic of China, are presently documented in a
joint Chinese-German project. The scales of the plans and maps to be produced extend from 1 : 2.5 to 1 : 1 Million.
Consequently, a large variety of surveying methods is used, including close- range photogrammetry, tacheometry, GPS
measurements, and remote sensing. For this reason, the purpose of this paper is not only a report about the specific
project but also a review of possible solutions when geometric and topographic information has to be surveyed and
visualized in archaeology.
KURZFASSUNG:
Die achtzehn Mausoleen der Tang-Kaiser (618 - 907 n. Chr.), die über einen Bereich von ungefáhr 5 000 km? verstreut
in der Nähe von Xi'an, der Hauptstadt der Provinz Shaanxi, in der Volksrepublik China liegen, werden gegenwärtig in
einem gemeinsamen chinesisch-deutschen Projekt dokumentiert. Die Maßstäbe der zu erstellenden Pläne und Karten
reichen von 1 : 2.5 bis 1 : 1 Million. Es werden verschiedene Meßmethoden wie Nahbereichsphotogrammetrie, Tachy-
metrie, GPS-Verfahren und Fernerkundung eingesetzt. Daher ist die vorliegende Veróffentlichung nicht nur ein Bericht
über dieses spezielle Projekt, sondern auch eine Übersicht über verschiedene mógliche Methoden zur Aufnahme und
Darstellung geometrischer und topographischer Informationen in archáologischen Aufgabenstellungen.
1. THE TANG EMPERORS' MAUSOLEUMS 1.2 Present Condition
The ancient walls and temples, having been constructed
of tamped loess, have vanished. Their location can be
ascertained, however, since many of the baked roofing
1.1 Original Condition
The emperors of the Chinese Tang Dynasty tiles can still be found. The ruins of the towers and gates
(A.D. 618 - 907) went to great expenses for the con- are recognizable as mounds rising about 5 metres above
struction of their mausoleums (ASIM, 1993). The actual the surrounding area. They have a very similar appea-
funeral chamber was excavated at the end of a tunnel dug rance as the numerous tumuli of the attendant tombs,
into the ground or a mountain slope. It was surrounded by which can reach elevations of 20 m, however. Many ofthe
a large wall with towers and four gates. More than stone sculptures are still in situ and in good condition,
life-sized stone sculptures representing human figures others are fallen over, or broken to pieces. The funeral
and animals were erected outside the gate areas. As a chambers are not accessible. Possibly they have been
rule, the procession way leading to the south gate consists robbed in earlier times. It is not intended to open any of
of two columns and about thirty of those sculptures. Every the funeral chambers in the near future.
mausoleum was equipped with several buildings.
1.3 The Documentation Project
The mausoleum wall can easily have a total circumference
of 10 km. Including the stone sculptures located outside
the wall region, the immediate area of one Tang mauso-
leum may comprise 15 km? Furthermore, attendant
tombs of nobles, court officials, and generals are spread
over the country in the vicinity of the mausoleums. The
total number of the Tang emperors’ mausoleums is 18.
Together with many hundreds of attendant tombs they are complete documentation. This is car-
scattered over an area of about 5 000 km? in the vicinity ried out in a joint venture between
of Xi'an, the capital of the Province of Shaanxi, in the archaeologists of the Shaanxi Archaeological Institute
People’s Republic of China. (Xi'an, P.R. China), and the Rômisch- Germanisches
The Tang emperors mausoleums
were added to UNESCO's list of World
Heritage Sites. Since only very few
mausoleums had been documented in
the past (SONG and YAO, 1990), an
effort was started in 1993 to do a
48
International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B5. Vienna 1996
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