Arcadia Italy

Arcadia Students make the news with 3D archaeology

The Arcadia Sicily Center faculty and students have been involved in a high-tech challenge aimed at solving some puzzling archaeological problems. The director of the archaeological museum of Siracusa, working through the partnership between the museum and the Arcadia Sicily Center, asked us to capture some special artifacts with a 3D scanner in order to produce virtual and physical replicas.

These included: A 7^th century BC Greek milestone from the Sicilian colony of Naxos; a 6^th century BC statue of an Egyptian scribe dedicated in the Greek temple of Apollo in Siracusa; and the so-called Sarcophagus of Adelphia, a masterpiece of Christian art dating back to the 4^th century AD and found in the Catacombs of Siracusa.

​My student, Michael Lee (3D Modeling for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage), ​and I ​ applied different 3D scanning with infrared structured light scanners and photo-modeling, among other techniques, so as to produce digital models as accurately as possible.

The preliminary processing of the data is very promising and we will be able to contribute to the interpretation of those artifacts by digitally enhancing the readability of engravings on the milestone and hieroglyphics on the Egyptian statue. Once completed, the model of the sarcophagus will be used to print out a miniature scale cast in resin for projects designed for the visually impaired.

Given the importance of these three objects and the innovative approach proposed by the Arcadia Sicily Center, our work headlined the local news!

This is but one such initiative in which students enrolled in 3D Modeling for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage participate. The innovative and highly creative new science combined with the local scientific and academic collaborative efforts, give archaeology students at the Arcadia Sicily Center every opportunity to do some hands-on work in the community.