8 Reason Why We Should Be Using Photogrammetry in Archaeology

If you are an archaeologist you should be using Photogrammetry because: It is easy to use: Unless you are dealing with something extremely large or extremely complex, Photogrammetry has an extremely high success rate. When it was still based on camera calibration, complex calculations and precise measuring was necessary, but with more modern programs often […]

Back or No Back: Tips on Photogrammetric Recording of Finds Part 1

Photographing finds in order to make a 3d model can be a quick and easy process, but on a few occasions you will find that even the most accurately placed camera positions can create blurry or incomplete models. There are many reasons for this problem, and even with all precautions taken there is no 100% […]

Using Gaming Software for Archaeology

Say you have a large archaeological site with many features and much to show. Say you want your site to be accessible to everyone who has an interest in it, regardless of their knowledge of the period or of archaeology in general. How would you go about showing what you have found in the most […]

Modelling Large Scale Features with 123D Catch

In the previous entries we have seen the use of Photogrammetry in archaeology for the recording of features and artefacts. With models of this kind the procedure is pretty simple: you take 20 or so photos from different angles and then run them through 123D Catch to get the end result. The angles themselves generally […]

Accuracy of 123D Catch

I always go on about how Photogrammetry should be used to record everything from small finds to entire sites, but just how accurate are these models? Are they good enough only for recording the objects as nice images or can they actually be used to gain more archaeological information? In essence, is it technology for […]

Using 123D Catch to Record in Situ Finds

If you have the pleasure of excavating a collection of finds rather than an individual one often one of the problems you will encounter is how to record it in situ. Some finds are delicate and may well break up once removed from the soil, while others may have been placed in a specific way […]

Reconstruction of St. Mary’s Church – Caerau

Here is my first video animation of Saint Mary’s church in Caerau, Cardiff. I made the model a few months ago of this beautiful church, which unfortunately is only partially standing today. It is based on a plan of the cemetery and a number of photographs I found from when it was still complete. Sketchup […]

Community Engagement and Online Galleries

One of the main aims of the 2013 excavation at Caerau was to engage the community as much as possible, so that this amazing hill fort would become part of the people living in Cardiff and particularly Ely, rather than something separate from them. During the four weeks spent on site hundreds of school children […]

Potential Method to Emphasise Inscriptions with 123D Catch?

Although this requires much more work and more tests with different objects, it could be a somewhat interesting method to better distinguish inscriptions present on coins or small object. The picture above is of a Medieval lead stopper or weight found at the site of Caerau, Cardiff, which has been made into a 3D model […]

Photogrammetric Pottery Reassembling (PPR) Preview

This is part of a little project I’ve been working on, and which I’m hoping to write an article about soon. What you see here is a pot which was originally in fragments, and that I’ve reassembled virtually, in order to avoid having to glue it together. I used 123D Catch to digitise the pieces […]