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PHARAOH PEPI L: DOCUMENTATION OF THE OLDEST KNOWN LIFE-SIZE METAL 
SCULPTURE USING LASER SCANNING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY 
Guido HEINZ 
Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz, Emst-Ludwig-Platz 2, 55116 Mainz, Germany 
and 
i3mainz, Institute for Spatial Information and Surveying Technology, FH Mainz, University of Applied Sciences, 
Holzstrasse 36, 55116 Mainz, Germany 
heinz@geoinform. fh-mainz.de 
KEY WORDS: Archaeology, Cultural Heritage, Close Range, Documentation, Laser scanning, Visualization, Photogrammetry 
ABSTRACT 
Two statues of Pharaoh Pepi I. are the oldest known life-size metal sculptures in the world. They are dated to about 2300 BC and 
were excavated in 1897. In 2001, after a several years lasting process of restoration, conservation and technological investigation, the 
statues were documented geometrically. The shapes of the sculptures were recorded using a 3D laser scanner. Special features like 
the seams between the copper sheets forming the statue and the rivets connecting them were measured using close range 
photogrammetry. A model was generated from the scanner data as well as a 3D vector map of the line features from the stereo 
images. Besides these single results, both were combined for visualization purposes such as video sequences of the rotating sculpture 
or a combination with reconstructed vanished parts of the statue like the loincloth and the crown. 
INTRODUCTION 
In 1897, amongst numerous other things two statues of Pharaoh 
Pepi I. were found in a temple of the ancient city of 
Hierakonpolis. They are dated to the 23 rd century BC and are 
considered to be the oldest known life-size statues made of 
metal. After a first restoration around 1900 AD, the statues were 
in the exhibition of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. In 1996, a 
joint project between the Egyptian Museum Cairo, the 
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, Abteilung Kairo and the 
Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz in Germany 
started with the aim of the restoration, conservation and 
technological investigation of the statues. The bigger (fig 1) 
statue is about life-sized (178 cm), the small one about 78 cm 
high. The statues are made of copper sheets that are connected 
with a kind of rivets. To conclude the restoration project, the 
statues had to be documented geometrically. 
Different demands were to be fulfilled: The shape and size of 
the copper sheets and the rivets had to be documented and to be 
plotted in maps from different views respective reference 
planes. Measurements, e.g. distances between certain surface 
points, shall be possible, even if not directly accessible. The 
documentation of the bigger sculpture was of higher importance 
as compared to the small one. 
OBJECTIVES 
Measurements of any kind between points of the surface of the 
model are easily possible using a digital model of the statue. 
Generating a surface model of this kind can reasonably be 
accomplished using the points measured with a laser scanner. 
This model can also be used for visualization purposes. 
As the accuracy of the used scanning hardware was limited to 
about 0.7 mm, the smooth seams between the single copper 
sheets and the single rivets connecting them cannot be 
recognized reliably in the model. To achieve this part of the 
documentation, the corresponding parts of the statue were also 
recorded using close range photogrammetry. The resulting 3D 
Figur 1. Statue of Pharaoh Pepi I.