3D reconstruction of ancient pottery using drawn profiles. A case study: reconstructing a Dacian fruit bowl

Abstract

Without any doubt, the last years had seen an increasing deal of interest towards the Dacian culture and civilization, not just in Romania, but also in other countries. Unfortunately, most of those who are outside academia or specialized institutions do not have any sort of access to proper information about the subject. Reconstructing and bringing to life ancient artifacts could be a useful way to resolve these issues. In this paper we discuss a method for 3D reconstruction of ancient pottery using drawn profiles and we had chosen as a case study and example a reconstruction of a wheel made Dacian fruit bowl. Although the method is known, issues such as texturing are not discussed in great detail. In order to reconstruct the pot, we had used software such as Photoshop, 3ds Max and Mudbox. We processed and cleaned the original image, while importing it in 3ds Max, where, we transformed the drawing into an object and we created an UVW texture. Then, we imported our work in Mudbox, where we applied a texture. The texture was created from the photography of the original pot. We applied the texture and we obtained as a final result a pot with an authentic look. Software such as Mudbox can also be used to sculpt 3D objects in great detail, so reconstructing uneven handmade pots, painted pots, or pots with various plastic ornaments can also be possible. Reconstructing ancient pots in 3D is extremely useful especially for the larger public, as it effectively manages to " bring to life" the otherwise inert drawings that are " readable" only by the expert eye of the archaeologist.