3D SURVEY AND MONITORING OF ONGOING ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATIONS VIA TERRESTRIAL AND DRONE LIDAR

Abstract. In recent years, LiDAR has seen an increased application in the field of archaeological documentation, as it allows for rapid acquisition of spatially dense and accurate point clouds. The three-dimensional survey and monitoring of ongoing excavations is a topic of particular interest for archaeological documentation, due to the importance of recording stratigraphy during the destructive and irreversible process of the excavation, and the challenges of obtaining complete photorealistic digital representations of the archaeological terrain. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility of obtaining in real time high-quality digital models and maps of the stratigraphy via laser scanning, aiming to establish a replicable methodology for archaeological practice. Optimal acquisition and processing scenarios are explored for both terrestrial and drone-mounted LiDAR. The application concerns two different case studies of archaeological interest with different topography. The presented research is part of the project ARCHAEORAMA–“Advanced system for multimodal Recording, Documentation and Promotion of Archaeological Work”.