Submitted by laborate on Wed, 01/12/2010 - 14:19 GMT.
The research group Land Laboratory (LaboraTe) of the University
of Santiago de Compostela (USC) has delivered to the
Lugo City Council
the first three-dimensional reproduction of the
Roman Walls of Lugo,
a monument declared World Heritage Site in year 2000 by UNESCO.
During the years 2008, 2009 and 2010, the LaboraTe research
group did two topological surveys of this monument for the
Archaeological Service of the city of Lugo. These surveys
fill an important gap of information about the Roman walls,
since the only available information before were partial,
no-referenced studies which were impossible to integrate
with other studies or the existing cartography of the city.
The first topological survey was one of classical type,
and included both the Roman walls and its surroundings.
The second one was done with Terrestrial Laser Scanning
(TLS) technology, and only included the monument itself.
The equiment used in both surveys belongs to Territorial
Information System (SIT) of the USC.
This use of TLS technology is pioneer in the region of Galicia;
in fact, currently little work has been done using this
technology in this part of Spain. In whole Spain no TLS
work of the size and complexity the Roman walls demand has
been completed. LTS is becoming the most suitable tool for
the study of the historical heritage because it allows collecting
extreme precision, high density data of geometric areas
and volumes.
The results of the TLS topological survey is a cloud of
over 100 million points whose resolution ranges from 3 to
5 centimeters. With this data it is possible to create pinpoint
accuracy, three-dimensional models. In addition to the points,
for each scanned area other data were collected: photographs
reporting the state of the areas, and the amount of laser
light reflected from the surface, a very useful information
for the study of materials.
Besides the points defining the shape of the monument, other
special items such as ridges, cracks, rails ou stairs were
also scanned. Attention was paid to those of special archaeological
value like primitive stairs, shafts embedded interests or
loopholes embedded in the walls, never scanned before.
The product of this topological survey is data that will
the base of a number of high-precision works, to be developed
in the coming years, related to the Roman wall: realistic
digital models, virtual reconstructions, creation of promotional
media, studies about deformation and conservation status...
Thus, now the city of Lugo owns top quality topographic
data that have multiple applications, such as
- urban development
- tourism promotion
- historic preservation
- research and technical studies