Chapter 16

Archaeological Information Systems

Creating a Visual Index to Aid Architectural Reconstruction
Iman Kulitz and Peter Ferschin

Abstract Reconstructing antique architecture is a multidisciplinary research and a time consuming process as researchers have to deal with large data sets and multifaceted information stored and distributed in different kinds of documents and media. Platforms are becoming necessary that provide an overview of the required data and make it possible to integrate the documentation of a site, ongoing research as well as research results. As the use of multimedia data acquisition is rapidly increasing, archaeological information systems should provide an integration of different media types as well. Therefore we introduce interactive information systems as visual index in this work. These systems will be presented as possible digital publication methods for archaeology. On the technical side Google Earth and 3D PDF are used as they allow the integration of multimedia and the display of temporal and/or spatial referenced data. Keywords Archaeological information system Digital publication Reconstruction Visual index

16.1

Requirements for an Archaeological Information System

In the course of archaeological research on ancient architecture several phases of research occur. Every phase stores its information and data in different media and documents. The documentation of excavated remains could store data as images, plans, maps, videos, panoramic images, object movies and 3D scans. Then postexcavational research adds references, publications, illustrations etc. This information is then compiled to reconstruct the architecture virtually as a 3D-model or as a 4D-model with the time as fourth dimension. Actually the digital research process

I. Kulitz (*) P. Ferschin Institute of Architectural Sciences, Digital Architecture and Planning, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria e-mail: kulitz@iemar.tuwien.ac.at; ferschin@iemar.tuwien.ac.at H.G. Bock et al. (eds.), Scientic Computing and Cultural Heritage, Contributions in Mathematical and Computational Sciences 3, DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-28021-4_16, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 147

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stops at this phase and most projects use traditional printpublications for scientic publishing. Few projects (e.g. The Giza Archives, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston [1]) store all kind of documents in databases and make the information accessible via internet. Other projects use GIS systems to archive and display the information in its accurate geographical position linking it with archaeological databases (e.g. [2, 3]). The Rome Reborn Project shows ancient Rome virtually reconstructed in Google Earth with additional information [4]. We propose an integrated approach which combines the 3D models of the virtual reconstruction with the multiple media from the excavation documentation and with excavation databases as well as with data from GIS-systems and digital references. Similar to traditional publication methods the digital publication should make the reconstruction comprehensible and also support further studies as the visualization gives an overview of the actual research results. The Examples of archaeological information systems were realised with Google Earth and 3D-PDF. Google Earth ensures the spatiotemporal display of information and different media as well as providing a working and publication platform that could be accessed via Internet. 3D-PDF allows the easy switching between structured layers of 3D models to show temporal developments or the archaeological interpretation (e.g. translation of inscriptions). Furthermore it is very well suited to be included into digital publications.

16.2

Visual Index of Information

The main concept of our archaeological information system is to create a visual index of information that contains a representation of each relevant document or at least a reference to it. In current terminology this is called a mashup of Information [5] as each document is merged together to a unied information space. Therefore our main metaphor for searching is to browse and lter the information. The general strategies of browsing are space (geographic location) and time (e.g. time period, dynasty, etc.) Furthermore, information can be ltered by layers with the same data-type (photos, maps, buildings, ndings, etc.). The following chapters explain which type of documents can be integrated into the archaeological information system.

16.2.1 Maps, Images and Documents

This chapter describes mainly the typical types of information of every excavation that is necessary to integrate into an archaeological information system. Integration of maps as 2d raster or vector data is of essential importance; many excavations use already a GIS system to store that kind of geo-referenced information (Fig. 16.1).

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Fig. 16.1 Geo-referenced maps, images with viewpoints and digital documents

Photographs for documenting the excavation sites can be stored on simple folder structures or inside photo database systems. For a 3D mashup the integration of photographs allows the specication of the correct viewpoint where the image was taken. To allow a quick and easy referencing of information or to refer to the original publication, digital documents are included. They can be viewed directly in the 3D view at the location of the content they describe.

16.2.2 Video-Documentation of Excavation (Digital Diary)

Digital videos as audio-visual diaries are taken to document the excavated archaeological site as well as the progress of the ongoing work. They can be uploaded to a video server (e.g. YouTube) and can be integrated at the appropriate location. They allow a continuous exchange of information as well as a comprehension of the 3D reconstruction by comparing it with the original view of the remains (Fig. 16.2).

16.2.3 Documentation of Architecture and Environment (Panoramas)

Panoramic photographs are a very cost effective method to document spatial situations. Hereby the point of view is xed and the camera is rotated 360 around the vertical axis. As they capture the complete surrounding architecture or surrounding environment, complex spatial arrangements of all objects can be represented (Fig. 16.3).

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Fig. 16.2 Videos as digital diary

Fig. 16.3 Panorama and unrolled image; Sanctuary of Heqaib, Elephantine

16.2.4 Documentation of Findings (Object Movies)

A similar concept to panoramic images is to document ndings as a whole by rotating the camera around the object that should be represented (Fig. 16.4). An object movie can be displayed interactively, creating the impression of rotating the object.

16.2.5 3D Reconstructions
In the course of digital reconstruction of antique architecture, several stages with different strategies of visual representation occur.

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Fig. 16.4 Statue of Imenj Seneb, Heqaib Sanctuary, Elephantine

16.2.5.1

Working Models

3D working models represent intermediate stages of reconstruction. Therefore the visual complexity is reduced either by using simpler geometries and/or reducing complex textured materials to a single colored representation. Furthermore the excavated part is indicated and thus visually differentiated from the reconstructed part of an object. Measured points are indicated with their numerical values to verify the proportion of the intermediate constructions. Images from literature references are directly compared with onsite photographs, together with the bibliographical reference. If parts of the reconstruction require a further discussion between the involved experts, open questions or remarks can be posted directly into the 3D model (Fig. 16.5).

Uncertainties In some cases the availability of archaeological data is very limited. Parts of the reconstruction could not be generated with the same amount of condence. To indicate such a case we used a coloring scheme at the working model stage that should also help to visually represent the different levels of uncertainty of the reconstruction. In our case we used different levels of grey for encoding uncertainty, while brighter levels were used for increased uncertainty (Fig. 16.6). Additionally other colors were used to indicate known areas of the reconstruction, like brown for the excavated structures, green for vegetation and white for the mountain rocks.

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Fig. 16.5 Working model of house 70, Elephantine

Fig. 16.6 Temple of the Aghurmi Acropolis/Siwa; uncertainty by levels of grey

Variations Despite the uncertainty of the reconstruction, the interpretation of the remaining structures allow several plausible reconstruction versions. At our archaeological information system, we implemented special layers that allow the switching between several possible variants (Fig. 16.7).

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Fig. 16.7 Reconstruction versions at the Temple of Umm Ubaydah/Siwa

Fig. 16.8 Presentation model of the Sanctuary of Heqaib, Elephantine

16.2.5.2

Presentation Models

As a contrast to working models, presentation models are an outcome of the reconstruction process, visualizing the reconstructed object with a much higher visual quality. Hereby the materials are represented with complex textures, very often derived from a photographic survey. All the data, that is only relevant to experts is removed, possible variants of reconstruction are reduced to the most plausible version. Additionally specialized metadata or descriptive information might be added that will allow a non-expert user to understand the reconstructed environment (Fig. 16.8).

16.2.6 Representing Time 4D Reconstruction

As time is one of the most essential information types in archaeology, it is of high importance to implement it inside an archaeological information system (Fig. 16.9).

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Fig. 16.9 Development of the Island of Elephantine at different time periods

We implemented a hierarchical time concept that allows an additional temporal navigation, which is easier to memorize than by navigation through the sequence of years. In our case the temporal hierarchy allows the selection of large periods (e.g. Old, Middle and New kingdom, etc.) intermediate periods (e.g. fourth dynasty) or short periods (e.g. Period of King Sesostris I).

16.3

Conclusion and Future Work

The implementation of an archaeological information system requires several considerations to be realized and at the moment not all of these considerations might be realized together in any system. As it might also depend on the specic tasks that should be performed for a certain scientic problem, we described our point of view, which is especially focused on architectural reconstructions. However we see the concept of creating an archaeological mashup of information, which we described as a Visual Index to be a very general approach of getting a suitable overview of large, distributed and diverse amounts of information. Future work will try to integrate excavation databases, GIS systems and online libraries. Furthermore complex environments (large cities, laser-scanned 3D models) should be integrated by using a suitable LOD (level of detail) concept.

References
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3. Wingly S et al (2006) An auto-composing virtual heritage system. In: Proceedings of the 11th international conference on computer aided architectural design research in Asia (CAADRIA), Kumamoto, Japan 4. Wells S, Frischer B et al (2009) Rome reborn in Google Earth. In: Making history interactive, 37th proceedings of the CAA conference 2009, Williamsburg, Virginia. http://earth.google. com/rome/ 5. Anand S, Batty M, Crooks A, Hudson-Smith A, Jackson M, Milton R, Morley J (2010) Data mash-ups and the future of mapping. JISC, Bristol 6. Conolly J, Lake M (2006) Geographical information systems in archaeology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 7. Ferschin P, Kulitz I, Hollweger F, Kuhlmann KP (2008) Documenting the reconstruction process with Google Earth reconstructing the Oracle Temple in Siwa, Egypt. In: Workshop 13, Cultural heritage and new technologies, Vienna 8. Kulitz I, Ferschin P, Matejowsky P (2006) 4D Visualization methods in archaeology. In: Workshop 11, Cultural heritage and new technologies, Vienna 9. Kulitz I, Ferschin P (2009) GOOGLE EARTH als Informationssystem in der Arch aologie. Sokar 18(1):9297 nosi P, Kulitz I (2009) Creating a virtual archaeological model of the 10. Stangl B, Ferschin P, Ja Queen Meresankh III Mastaba with Adobe 3D PDF. In: Workshop 14, Cultural heritage and new technologies, Vienna 11. KML Reference http://code.google.com/apis/documentation/kmlreference.html 12. Google Earth Web API http://code.google.com/apis/earth/