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MAPPING EXCAVATIONS AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES
USING CLOSE RANGE PHOTOS
K. Tokmakidis*, D. Scarlatos ”
? Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Dpt of Geodesy & Surveying, 54006 Thessaloniki, Greece, tokmakid@topo.auth.gr
? Geoanalysis S.A., 24 N. Plastira str. N. Smirni, 17121 Athens, Greece, dskarlat@geoanalysis.gr
Commission V, WG V/4
KEY WORDS: Close Range, Photogrammetry, Archaeological Site, Excavation
ABSTRACT:
During the last decade there have been many constructions of roads and other technical works taken place in Greece. All those have
caused an extraordinary great number of newly found archaeological sites due to all those constructions. In all cases there is an
extraordinary need for fast mapping techniques in order to continue the construction works. Usually archaeologists need a long time
for excavating the site and after that they need another long period for documenting all the findings with surveys and photos. The
real need is to describe and document the status of the findings and in some cases this should take place several times while the
excavation continues to the lower levels of the site. We also can have the determination and analysis of the site in order to compare
the uses of the site throughout the years. Close range techniques have been developed in order to solve this problem. Another extra
we have nowadays is the software development which solves many problems and makes things easier.
Finally some examples are given from applications that took place during the construction of Egnatia which will be a vital main road
in north Greece. In those examples we have used a radio controlled model helicopter to take the photos from which we have then
produce the final plans and orthophotos.
1. INTRODUCTION
A major need of archaeologists during and after excavations is
an accurate and detailed plan of the site for documenting the
situation of the findings. This plan in many cases should be
drawn in various layers of the excavation due to differences in
the lower levels of the site. They should do this for recording
the situation of findings, for studying or restoring the sites and
programming the future excavations. Registration for a
monument is needed each time we want to study, or to repair, or
to reconstruct, or to conserve it. There is no possibility to do
anything on a monument or an archaeological site without
drawing its present accurate situation on a plan. Also in some
cases we have to survey the monuments just for registration
purposes only, because there are monuments which are
invaluable and we have to register them in detailed archives.
This becomes more obvious for all classical ancient monuments
all over the world. The necessity of surveying the monuments
and the archaeological sites is obvious.
Traditionally they survey the excavations using string-grids or
in a better case theodolites or total stations. Last years the
classic method of surveying by architects is modernized and
automated with less people and time needed for similar or
sometimes better results. New techniques are developed that
give various methods for the survey and the editing of the final
plans. Even more when we need detail surveys in large scale we
need high accuracy in measuring thus we apply special
surveying methods. Whenever a detailed plan is needed in great
scale we have to apply different methods in surveying. Last
years the classic method of surveying by architects is
modernized and automated with less people and time needed for
similar or sometimes better results. Apart of all those techniques
photogrammetry has also changed a lot and became friendlier in
a great number of specialists due to its automation through
computers.
When we choose photogrammety, we need high accuracy in
control points. Another factor we have to face is that we need
very high resolution in shots; therefore we use large format
cameras. Usually we use control points for the survey which are
permanent marked on its surface in a way that they can easily be
used for further densification of the details in future surveys. In
this way we succeed to have higher accuracy and connectivity
of the measurements between different measuring epochs. At
last emphasis has been given in detail surveys as a major tool
for studying the monuments. Also detailed plans are used for
reconstruction in a computer graphic environment, those
presentations are valuable for restoring the monuments.
As a result of the above many scientists are involved in
surveying monuments. Their specialization varies widely and a
common language is needed but more over is needed their close
collaboration. So the archaeologist, the architect, the
conservatist, the engineer, the phogrammetrist, the surveyor,
and others are requested to work together as a team. And
generally, I believe that, we are leaded in a new century of
teamwork, because of the huge and very fast development of
technology.
On the other hand the cost that concerns both time and money
has been eliminated in the modern methods of surveying. This
is because of the automation in many steps in both field and
office work. Even though the cost of the initial instrumentation
is higher it is worthy because you have the payback sooner.
Many new techniques have been developed for surveying
monuments during the last years. This happened because of the
development of instrumentation in surveying, of computers
which automated most of the work, of photogrammetric
instrumentation from analogue plotters to the digital plotters and
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