sofia pescarin cnr itabc vhlab - rome, italy...

1 VIRTUAL HERITAGE CYPRUS NATIONAL SCHOOL

Sofia Pescarin

CNR ITABCVHlab - Rome, Italy

www.vhlab.itabc.cnr.it

[email protected]

Ancient Landscape Reconstruction

http://www.vhlab.itabc.cnr.it/


Summary

1) Virtual Archaeology

2) Landscape (archaeological, ancient, potential)

3) Method > explicit approach (scientific method, london charter principles, vision/visualisation)

4) Workflow

5) Examples


Virtual Archaeologybasics

The term virtual archaeology was proposed for the first time in 1990 by Paul Reilly as referred to the use of 3d models of monuments and objects.

“Virtual” is commonly used as a generic term and as referred to a wide variety of interactive visualisation (Gillings 1999). It is also one of the term mostly used inappropriately. Several 3d representations should not be properly called virtual, lacking completely of interaction.


Virtual Archaeologysimulation process

Virtual Archaeology is aimed at studying, interpreting, understanding, communicating the archaeological heritage and its context, through a process of acquisition, reconstruction and continuous verifying.

Virtual Archaeology is not a simple digital reproduction of an archaeological artefact, monument, site. It is most of all a “simulation process” where various elements can be combined: behaviours, objects, ecosystems... and through which identify different potential realities of the information. Thus obtaining a cognitive increment.

Virtual Archaeology makes use of a multi-disciplinary approach, open and transparent, of interactive 3d spatial environments obtained through different kind of interaction techniques (DGPS, Laser Scanner , Photogrammetry), 3d post-processing, etc.

Different can be tools and styles of communication: from movie to multimedia, from immersive VR, to virtual story telling, from complex simulations to artificial life


Virtual Museums

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5wgwMFiIaU

Foundation of the Hellenic World: Thermopyle Battle Rome 3D, Altair4

Assassin's CreedRome Total War

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5wgwMFiIaU


Virtual Museums

It is not on line versions of real museum (at least not necessarily). Virtual museums are a new model of communication for the museum sector that aims at creating a personalised, immersive and interactive way to enhance our understanding of the past. The term virtual museum covers a wide variety of digital systems and applications

data information knowledge

Engagement, experience CHICT USERS society

Cognitive sciencesDesignArt


Virtual Archaeology

One of the goal of virtual archaeology is landscape reconstruction

But what can we reconstruct? And How?

We should distinguish between Archaeological Landscape and Ancient Landscape


Landscape: archaeological

Contemporary landscape in its diacronic dimension

We are in the landscape

It is an ecosystem which includes archaeological structures but not only

But archaeology does not only deal with the study of sites and artefacts. It also deals with dynamics ...


Landscape: Ancient

How did the man in past used to leave, to see, to use the space, his territory? Which are elements that helped him to classify and what was there value?Within the same settlement, the inhabitants were seeing and living the territory differently in accordance to their role and hierarchy?…

How could we answer to those questions?

> it is useful to have a system able to build and test models and simulations, even complex. An interactive real time system could be useful


Landscape:potential landscape reconstruction

Reconstruction of ancient potential landscape, through:

Geomorphology

Water system

Potential soil use > vegetation

Reconstruction of the anthropic aspect of the landscape (sites, monuments):

Road system

Settlements

Relation (man/man, man/environment)


Landscape

How could have potentially being a territory in certain historical period, at a certain latitude and elevation?

Based on:

Studies related to ecological attitude of a territory*

Studies related to land unit and potential use of the soil*.

Palaeo-environmental and paleo-climatic studies

.. Nevertheless it is necessary to manage a high level of uncertainty

It requires a scientific approach, based on a theoretical explicit approach* (see New Archaeology)

Di Fidio 1993; FAO 1976; Renfrew Bahn 1995


Landscape:potential landscape reconstruction

ecological attitude

It is possible to start defining the ecological attitude of a terrain [DI FIDIO], obtained when it follows its natural characteristics, compared to its shape:

.i.e.

Forest terrains and Agricultural terrains


Land evaluation

http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5310E/X5310E00.htm

1976: A framework for land evaluation, FAO Soils bulletin 32

Land evaluation derives from the interpenetration of the pedological map as the basic information. It shows how soils are distributed and their characteristics.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/X5310E/X5310E00.htm


Landscape: Issues

- How can we build a virtual archaeology model (reality-based)

- How the reconstruction process can be a gateway to an explanation and description of the past?

- How could you manage the reconstruction where there are fragmentary data?

- How the acquisition work can be planned and carried out as to obtain the highest reliability and accuracy?

- realismo vs. reality?


Methodology:visualisation, selection, ambiguity

Reconstruction > interpretation based on complex analysis of sources of various kind.

In interpretation, vision has a central role. Even result is “visual”

Mechanisms of visualisations > neuro biological approach

How do we get to know the world around?

We observe in order to acquire information and finally knowledge. This is done in 3 steps: classification, selection and identification of essential elements (constants)

From different variable information we are able to select constant proprierties, than we do not consider what is not relevant and finally we compare this with what it is already in our brain

Although information continuously changes, we are built to understand and get to know the world


Interpretation

Reconstructing and not replicating the elements that characterised them = identification of invariants and representative aspects

Ambiguity = positive element, it represent the various possibilities

Reconstruction through the interpretation process > increase of knowledge through the combination of information [Bateson, Mind and Nature]

Interpretation starts with an analytic process:

a) de-composition (identification of single elements, phenomenon, land units etc.)

b) ri-composition


Realism and reliability> Scientific Method

> Reconstruction has to face high level of uncertainty

> Realism is instinctively read as reliability

> Some passive media do not allow to get what is behind reconstructions.

It should therefore be based on the scientific method.

It should be: Repeatable; Verifiable; Transparent; Documentable

Steps*: initial definition of the issues to be studied; information and sources; hypothesis development; experiments, data collection and analysis; interpretation; conclusion; new hypothesis; results publication

S. Turkle,Life on the Screen, 1996; D. Schafersman, An Introduction to Science Scientific Thinking and the Scientific


Method:London Charter

Principle 1- Implementation

The principles of the London Charter are valid wherever computer-based visualisation is applied to the research or dissemination of cultural heritage.

Principle 2- Aims and Methods

A computer-based visualisation method should normally be used onlywhen it is the most appropriate available method for that purpose.

Principle 3: Research Sources

In order to ensure the intellectual integrity of computer-based visualisation methods and outcomes, relevant research sources should be identified and evaluated in a structured and documented way.


Principle 4: Documentation

Sufficient information should be documented and disseminated to allow computer-based visualisation methods and outcomes to be understood and evaluated in relation to the contexts and purposes for which they are deployed.


Method

Transparent models

Level of reliability*** very reliable** probable * evocative


Method

Principle 5: Sustainability

Strategies should be planned and implemented to ensure the long-term sustainability of cultural heritage-related computer-based visualisation outcomes and documentation, in order to avoid loss of this growing part of human intellectual, social, economic and cultural heritage.

Principle 6: Access

The creation and dissemination of computer-based visualisation should be planned in such a way as to ensure that maximum possible benefits are achieved for the study, understanding, interpretation, preservation and management of cultural heritage.


Workflow

23 SCUOLA NAZIONALE DI ARCHEOLOGIA VIRTUALE 2011

What do I need

Basic requirements

1) Digital Elevation Models

2) GeoImage

3) Thematic Layer (vett) i.e. vegetation

4) Thematic Layer (3d)

Tools:1) GIS

2) image processing

3) Terrain Generator

4) 3d modelling

5) authoring VR


sources

Basic cartography (CTR/IGM)

Historical maps

Soil maps, vegetation maps (vector/raster)

Archaeological maps and excavation maps

Satellite imagery

Aerial photographs (historical, vertical, oblique)

Contour lines and elevation points > DEM

Historical, literary sources

(Paleo) environmental data (pollen, geomorphology, lithography)


Sources: satelliterepositories on line

Satellite imagery (i.e. landsat) is relatively high resolution earth observation data that is acquired through sensors on satellites. The satellite sensors acquire high integrity images of the planet surface. Users can take this imagery and use it to determine health and type of vegetation, amount of built surfaces, agriculture, or apply it for other uses.

Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF) provides earth science data and products to help everyone to better understand global environmental systems

Landsat satellite images: 30 mtSatellites Ikonos: < 1mt Quickbird: 80 cmAerial photos: > 20 cm


Sources: DEMAster program

ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM)

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are collaborating on a project to develop ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model (ASTER GDEM), a DEM data which is acquired by a satellite-borne sensor "ASTER" to cover all the land on earth.

What is ASTER?: an earth observing sensor developed in Japan

What ASTER tells us: 1) Surface condition; 2) Surface temperature; 3) DEM

DEM is generated from a stereo-pair of images


Soil maps

It represents the characteristics of the soils (upper layer of the soil) in relation with its geomorphology, lithology, etc.

What is represented in the map: substratum, deepness, type of texture, drainage, slope, agro-environmental characteristics


VU6: Volcanic soils, deep, plain or low slope. Dominant soil use: vineyard, fruit, crops, pastureVS2: Volcanic soils, limited deepness, mainly stony, limited slope or plain. Dominant soil-use: vineyard, crops or pastureVD: Volcanic soils, deep, with little depressions in the upper planes, low slope or plains.Dominant soil-use: crops


Land Units

Land Unit: “area of a terrain drawn on a map that has specific characteristics/quality of terrain” (FAO 1976).

Developed originally for land evaluation

For every unit is given: geological and morphological aspects, climate, hydrological, vegetation aspects, anthropic activities

30 SCUOLA NAZIONALE DI ARCHEOLOGIA VIRTUALE 2011Unit 4: Volcanic relieves drained by small riversSubunits:4a) volcanic tops, undulated, dominant pumice 4b) steep and deep valleys 4c) isolated volcanic relief, with slag and lava4d) volcanic hills with dominant pumiceLithology: pumice, lithoid tuffMorphology: wavy landscape or hills with not deep valleysHydrography: radial networkSoils: not deep, locally stony, medium texture. Dominant soil use: mix agriculture, crops, locally woods


On the field

Passive sensors: digital cameras - they store the (electromagnetic) information “visible” in the scene and deliver e.g. images

• Active sensors: laser scanners - the emit a signal and observe its deformation or wait for a response

• Photogrammetry: derives metric information from images - measurements in images (also manually) with precision and reliability in mind – widely separated views

• Remote Sensing: image (satellite) interpretation and classification – no geometric processing

• Computer vision: image processing and 3D in a fully automated way with no interest to accuracy - closely separated images

• Computer graphic: image and model representation, rendering for impressive and nice looking results


Tools

GPS Remote Sensing

Scanner Laser

Photogrammetry Computer Vision

GIS (GRASS, QGis) Remote-Sensing/GIS

(GRASS, Erdas) Software ponts/Mesh

( Riscan, Cyclone, Meshlab)

Software Photgrammetry (I.e. photomodeler)

DEM Geoimages

(sat./aerial) Point-

clouds/meshes DEM, 3d model

(mesh textured)

(4)


GIS

Geographical Information System is the technology made of hardware/software/data, that enable to position, analyse, simulate objects and events that happened on the earth It is used in any situation where the spatial component is important

GIS enables to:

Archive

Overlay

Visualise

Manage

….

Spatial Analysis


Spatial Analysis

DTM (data interpolation)

Analysis of slopes (Slope)

Analysis of the exposition of the sides of hills/mountains (Aspect)

Definition of areas around vector objects (Buffer)

Visibility analysis (Viewshed)

Identification of areas influence around points (Thiessen Polygons)

Cost Analysis – Resources accessibility analysis (time/distance and other factors)

Site Catchment; Site Exploitation Territory analysis (identification of terrains potentially good for agriculture > identification of max extension of a site based on the distance a farmer can reach for his work). It is obtained combining different analysis


Ecosystem generation


Terrain generation


Open source solutions

OpenSceneGraph > OSGdem

Virtual Terrain Project> VTP, ENVIRO

L0 L1 L2

L3


Commercial solutions

Blueberry3d

Terravista > Terrex now Presagis (15000 $)

Visual Nature Studio VNS by 3dnature (1000 Euro)

Terragen

Vue by E-on software, from $100 to $600 depending on product: Attractive non-realtime landscape renderer

CityEngine > ESRI/Vue


Examples:Integrated Technologies of robotics

and virtual environment in archaeology

Robotics and Virtual Environments: "Integrated Technologies of robotics and virtual environment in archaeology" VR multiuser domain in the web, for scientific communities. Funded by FIRB projects. 2006-2008

Tools > Virtools Dev, 3d studio max


Examples:Matera

pliocene

neolithic

nowadays

Norman


Examples:Virtual Rome

Virtual Museum of Ancient Via Flaminia

Tools > Virtools Dev, 3d studio max

Tools > OpenSceneGraph: OSGdem, OSG4WEB


Ca' Tron

Examples:Ca' Tron

Tools > VTP, GRASS


Examples:Medieval Dublin

Tools > Flash. 3D Studio Max


Examples:Apa

Tools > Blender


Examples:Aquae Patavinae

Tools > OpenSceneGraph, OSG4web

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