Redefining Digital Archaeology: New Methodologies for 3D Documentation and Preservation of Cultural Heritage

Fabrizio Galeazzi
School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Arts
UC Merced

The dissertation research presents an innovative interdisciplinary approach for the documentation, preservation and communication of cultural heritage. The project investigates the potential use of 3D technologies for the analysis and interpretation of archaeological and heritage sites. In the last ten years the use of new technologies for the 3D documentation and reconstruction of cultural heritage has changed the way to approach the archaeological survey. Archaeology is becoming increasingly ‘digital’. The use of 3D laser scanners and photogrammetric methods is well established in the archaeological field now, since these techniques allow to digitally preserving information through time. In this way archaeology and tangible heritage can be revisited over the long-term and, thanks to the following of new discoveries, analyzed by multiple experts and subjected to new analytical techniques. This research analyzes this new digital phenomenon in order to understand if, due to the use of new technology, it is really possible to increase objectivity in the excavation process, leaving the subjective level to the final interpretation of material data. Scholars are debating on the authenticity of 3D digital reproductions in heritage and archaeology. How should we consider these digital and virtual reproductions? Are they original digital representations of our cultural heritage or just virtual ‘fakes’? The research investigates if it is possible to define universal predetermined categories for the definition of ‘authentic’ or if 3D digital reproductions of tangible heritage are influenced by the subjective interpretation of the creator of 3D contents.