The death and the (digital) re-birth of a god – 3D virtual refitting of the Palaikastro Kouros

A unique anthropomorphic statue, representing a young man standing tall ca. 50 cm. and primarily made of ivory and with gold decorative elements, was discovered heavily fragmented and burnt during the extensive excavations at the Bronze Age site of Palaikastro in Crete, Greece in 1987, 1988 and 1990. Through a painstaking restoration process of nearly a decade long, the statue was brought back to its original shape from ca. 200 recovered fragments and it is now exhibited in the Siteia Archaeological Museum in East Crete. The statue and the remaining fragments that the conservators were not able to refit on the statue were recently 3D documented by means of a high-precision optical scanner, resulting in the virtual re-positioning of many remaining fragments, correction of the statue's right foot orientation and its overall posture, and a better understanding of its assembly technique. This article presents these results and the digital processes that lead to them.