Etruscan rock-cut tombs with decorated façades. A 3D approach

Abstract

This paper reports an aspect of the on-going project of my dissertation thesis at the Institute for Classical Archaeology at Charles University in Prague and concerns the application of multi-image photogrammetry technique in the documentation of the Etruscan rock-cut tomb facades. Etruscan rock-cut tombs with decorated facades are located in the inland area of Southern Etruria (currently Tuscany and Lazio, Italy). This paper focuses on the architecture of the tombs dated to the Hellenistic period (from the 4th century BC to the end of the 3rd-beginning of the 2nd century BC), when a significant change in architecture of the tombs took place. The aim of this paper is to show how 3D models acquired with the multi-image photogrammetry technique can serve as a tool for the archaeological analysis of the tomb facades. The acquired data and 3D models can be used for the documentation and digital preservation of the tomb decorations, which are exposed to heavy erosion mainly caused by water and vegetation. This paper also explains how acquired data can serve as well for the creation of the virtual reconstruction and virtual anastylosis of the tomb facades with missing fragments of decorations or fragments scattered around sites or in museums.