In November 2013, researchers of the Department of Geography (Bart De Wit -assistant-, Britt Lonneville -Ma-student in Geomatics Surveying- and Cornelis Stal- PhD-student) went to Mexico to map the Mayan temples of Edzna (Campeche) in 3D.
This campaign was the continuation of a fruitful cooperation between the Department of Geography of Ghent University, UNESCO, ULiège, GIM and the Mexican Anthropological Institute (INAH) concerning the World Heritage site of Calakmul and funded by BELSPO (Belgian Science Policy).
3D models of cultural heritage can help INAH in managing this heritage. They are useful for a sustainable management and to provide support to the scientific research. In the two weeks that they have been working on the site of Edzna all main archaeological structures were photographed from different angles, both terrestrial and aerial (using an UAV, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle).
In addition, a large number of topographical measurements and GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) observations to create a highly accurate metrical context were completed. The thousands of photos and the accurate field survey allow in an integrated approach to process the data to highly accurate 3D models.
The elaboration of a virtual archaeological site will we the next step, using an approach with different levels of detail (entire site - separate structures - objects of interest on these structures); data set that will be made available on an online environment. In addition, the models will be part of a 3D-GIS (Geographical Information System) model.
Ghent University has an important experience in the development and use of UAVs. The Department of Geography provided a significant contribution to this development in using such devices for creating virtual 3D models of objects. The UAVs used by the researchers of the department are characterized by their lightweight, low cost and compactness.
The current project combines the expertise of the 3D Data Acquisition research group and the CartoGIS research group of the Department of Geography and is funded by resources of the department.
About the team
Bart De Wit is teaching assistant at the department of geography at Ghent University. He is specialised in GIS, web cartography and integrated GI applications. In this project he will focus on the integration of the 3D models into GI Systems for cultural heritage management.
Britt Lonneville (°1991, Bruges, Belgium) is a Master student in Geography and Geomatics. She is currently working on her master dissertation entitled 'Towards an archaeological 3D GIS: the case study of Edzna, Mexico'.
Cornelis Stal (°1985, Waalre, the Netherlands) is a PhD student working on the combination of airborne and terrestrial laser scanning for 3D city modeling. His special interest is in the (automatic) generation of geometric, radiometric and semantic rich 3D models, derived from irregular point sets and other spatial datasets. This means that both laser scanning as a discipline in the land survey and geo-IT (GI-systems, GI-programming, GI-management,...) are important pillars of his research.
About Edzna
Edzna is located south-east of Campeche on the Yucatan peninsula, Mexico. The city of Edzna was inhabited from 600 BC until 1450 and counted 25.000 citizens at its climax. The site was discovered in 1906 and investigated the following years. The meaning of the name 'Edzna' is subject of discussion: it could either mean 'House of the Itzas' (the Maya people also responsible for the construction of Chichen Itza), 'House of the grimace' or 'House of the echo'. The structures were influence by the Puuc-style that can also be detected in the temples of Uxmal and Chichen Itza. The whole site covers approximately 18 km², the main part - including the Five-story Building covers about 0,12 km².
The site contains several structures and is delimited to the north by the Platform of Knives, to the east by the Great Acropolis, to the south by the Temple of Masks and to the west by Nohochna. The most important structure is the Five-story Building (Edificio de los Cinco Pisos). The upper floor consists of a temple, the four underlying floors contain rooms. A pyramid in Petén-style was discovered underneath the building. Apart from the Great Acropolis, there is also a smaller acropolis to the south of the site. Masks can be found both in the Five-story Building and the Temple of masks, among them a mask of sun god Kin. Furthermore, the stairs of the Five-story Building and the Temple of the Stairway of Reliefs (Small Acropolis) are adorned with reliefs.
