Morphometric Analysis through 3D Modelling of Bronze Age Stone Moulds from Central Sardinia

Abstract

Stone moulds were basic elements of metallurgy during the Bronze Age, and their analysis and characterization are very important to improve the knowledge on these artefacts useful for typological characterization. The stone moulds investigated in this study were found during an archaeological field survey in several Nuragic (Bronze Age) settlements in Central Sardinia. Recent studies have shown that photogrammetry can be effectively used for the 3D reconstruction of small and medium-sized archaeological finds, although there are still many challenges in producing high-quality digital replicas of ancient artefacts due to their surface complexity and consistency. In this paper, we propose a multidisciplinary approach using mineralogical (X-ray powder diffraction) and petrographic (thin section) analysis of stone materials, as well as an experimental photogrammetric method for 3D reconstruction from multi-view images performed with recent software based on the CMPMVS algorithm. The photogrammetric image dataset was carried out using an experimental rig equipped with a 26.2 Mpix full frame digital camera. We also assessed the accuracy of the reconstruction models in order to verify their precision and readability according to archaeological goals. This allowed us to provide an effective tool for more detailed study of the geometric-dimensional aspects of the moulds. Furthermore, this paper demonstrates the potentialities of an integrated minero-petrographic and photogrammetric approach for the characterization of small artefacts, providing an effective tool for more in-depth investigation of future typological comparisons and provenance studies.