Close-range digital 3D data acquisition from UAV of a medieval keep in Montecorvino (Italy). (Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) international conference. March 19 - 23 2018, Tubingen, Germany). (original) (raw)

Montecorvino is a deserted medieval village, located near Volturino (Foggia), in South – Eastern Italy. Archaeological investigations have been conducted on this site since 2006 by University of Foggia (Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici), under the supervision of Prof. Pasquale Favia and Prof. Roberta Giuliani. Among the many research activities conducted on the site, in July 2017 a 3D data acquisition of the norman keep in Montecorvino has been performed by taking circa 400 aerial images from an UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and processing them in a dedicated software (Pix4D), using the “Structure from motion” technique. The UAV model used is a DJI Phantom 4 Pro Plus, equipped with a camera featuring a 1 inch, 20 megapixel CMOS sensor. The achieved resolution is 1.9 cm/pixel. The norman keep in Montecorvino (originally part of a more complex castle) is still standing today for 24 metres in height and 3 floors (originally 4). Images have been captured making several flight circles at different altitudes around the structure, with camera pointing to the ground at a 45 degree angle. A very high (around 85%, side and frontal) overlap between images has been applied. A sparse point cloud, densified point cloud and a textured mesh have been generated through software processing. The generated 3D model has been uploaded in Sketchfab (an online 3D and VR model viewer) and integrated with historical and archaeological annotations about the structure of the keep. It is published at the following link: https://skfb.ly/68QJU