Vision metrology and Structure from Motion for archaeological heritage 3D reconstruction: a Case Study of various Roman mosaics

Abstract

<p class="Abstract">Vision metrology and computer vision can be successfully used for archaeological heritage 3D reconstruction in very high precision 3D measurement projects. Of those archaeological objects requiring very accurate measurements (<1 mm), ancient mosaics comprise some of the most important. The aim of this paper is to assess the photogrammetric/computer vision approach in a vision metrology context as part of a 3D mosaics survey. In order to evaluate the optimal photogrammetric/computer vision workflow in this work, three different surveys were performed on three mosaics of different sizes and locations. Two of these are stored at the <em>Antonino Salinas</em> Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo (Italy) and the other is located at the <em>Baglio Anselmi</em> Regional Archaeological Museum in Marsala (Italy). The mosaics survey was undertaken in order to obtain a very detailed 3D model and a full-scale ortho-image (scale 1:1), which would be useful for documentation and restoration processes. The research involved an evaluation of the potential and the related issues of the photogrammetric/computer vision approach for 3D mosaic documentation, particularly regarding the issue of camera calibration.</p>