CIP A 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
518 
In applications which require recording of large objects, usually 
the integrated or combined use of laser scanning with 
photogrammetric methods can give better results than the sole 
implementation of each one technique. This paper discusses the 
combined use of photogrammetric and laser scanning methods 
for the creation of an accurate 3D solid model of a complex 
large statue. The ancient statue made by Praxiteles presents the 
mythical god Hermes and is housed in the archaeological 
museum in Ancient Olympia in Greece (Figure 1). Data 
collection and processing aspects for each methodology are 
described and results are given to highlight the advantages that 
are available to end users through the combined use of the two 
technologies. 
2. THE HERMES OF PRAXITELES PROJECT 
The main objective of the “Hermes Project”, which was funded 
by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture, was the construction of a 
seismic isolation retrofitting assembly for the statue. This is 
because the region whereby the archaeological museum of 
Ancient Olympia is located and houses the statue, is subject to 
high seismic activity. The assembly is designed to minimize the 
ground accelerations and to nullify the possibility of causing 
damage to the statue due to any possible earthquakes. For this 
purpose, an accurate 3D model of the statue was required. The 
project was commissioned to a team of researchers from the 
Schools of Civil Engineering and Rural and Surveying 
Engineering of the National Technical University of Athens, in 
Greece. 
The Hermes statue is considered a masterpiece of sculpture art 
of the classic antiquity era. It is dated circa 343 BC and is made 
of Parian marble. It is believed to be the only original work still 
existing by the famous sculpture Praxiteles. The statue was 
dedicated to the sacred Altis from the Eleians and the Arcadians 
to commemorate their peace treaty. The statue shows Hermes 
holding in his left arm the infant Dionysos while in his raised 
right hand he probably held a bunch of grapes. Hermes looks 
sluggish but manly, resting in the trunk of a tree. His hair are 
mixed up and come in contrast with his skin, which looks 
tender and smooth (Figure 1). The statue’s height is 2.13m, and 
is standing on a marble base of dimensions 1.25 in height and 
1.26 m by 0.84m horizontally. 
For the creation of the statue’s 3D model, it was decided to 
perform a complete close range stereoscopic photographic 
documentation as well as an independent scanning using a 
terrestrial triangulation laser scanner. The use of two 
independent techniques allows evaluation of the reliability of 
each and the attained precision in restitution of the object’s size 
and shape. 
3. DATA COLLECTION 
The data acquisition from both methods, due to the size of the 
sculpture and the fact that the object was impossible to move, 
required the use of scaffolding with appropriate levels, so that 
access to all parts of the statue could be facilitated. The width 
of the scaffolding was broad enough to enable unobstructed 
movement of the instruments and operators within necessary 
distances between the camera or scanner and the object. 
Special attention was paid to the stability of the construction, so 
that vibrations during data capturing mainly caused by the 
operator would be minimised. This is important, because 
motions during data capture may introduce noise to scanned 
images and displacements of the control points at the photo 
images. Figure 2 depicts the wooden construction specifically 
built for this project. 
Figure 2. Special scaffolding was constructed for the data 
collection 
The scaffolding had basically two levels: 
• A first level of 1.25m height from the ground, which 
surrounded the sculpture with a width of 1.20m and at 
distance of 0.30m from the perimeter of the sculpture’s base. 
This level was used during the photo acquisition of the whole 
body of the sculpture and the scanning of the lower body 
part. 
• A second level of 3.90m height from the ground, which was 
effectively above the sculpture with a width of 1.00m. In 
addition, a gap of dimensions 0.80x0.50m was purposely 
constructed to enable access for the photo acquisition of the 
upper parts of the sculpture, heads and hands of Hermes and 
infant Dionysos (Figure 3). 
• An alternative location of the second level at height of 2.70m 
from the ground, which encircled the statue’s upper body in 
order to allow details of the upper parts of the object being 
captured (Figure 4). 
Figure 3. The central photo of the strip taken from the top 
Data acquisition for the base of the sculpture was performed 
last in sequence, from the ground level when all levels of 
scaffolding were removed.