3D AND RTI DOCUMENTATION OF ARTIFACTS AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTION STOBI, REPUBLIC OF NORTH MACEDONIA
Project type/s: Conservation and documentation of artifacts and а field school
Project duration: 2015
Location: National Institution Stobi, Republic of North Macedonia
The cultural heritage monuments: Artifacts from excavations of the necropolis and urban sectors of Stobi.
Periods: Roman period (1th – 4th century CE) and Late Roman (5th – 6th century CE).
Project Directors: Assoc. Prof. Dr George Bevan, Department of Classics, Queen’s University, Canada; and Dr. Silvana Blazhevska, National Institution Stobi, Republic of North Macedonia.
BHF contribution: RTI and 3D documentation of 30 Roman period artifacts. Involvement of 7 team members and visiting specialists and 11 volunteers – students.
Project team members: Dr. Miglena Raykovska, New Bulgarian University (2015); Ian Longo (2015); and Kristen Jones (2015-present), Department of Classics, Queen’s University, Canada.
BHF project partners: National Institution Stobi (Republic of North Macedonia), Queen’s University, Department of Classics (Canada) and the Institute of Field Research (USA).
Description: The goal of this project is the RTI and 3D documentation of important artifacts from the collection of National Institution Stobi, Republic of North Macedonia. The majority of these artifacts are grave goods from the site’s necropolis, and include terracotta and stone figurines of gods, humans and animals, as well as glass and stone vessels.
RTI is a computational photographic method that captures a subject’s surface shape and color and enables the interactive re-lighting of the subject from any direction. RTI also permits the mathematical enhancement of the subject’s surface shape and color attributes. The enhancement functions of RTI reveal surface information that is not disclosed under direct empirical examination of the physical object. It can be extremely helpful for identifying unclear images or letters, sometimes even those invisible to the naked eye. 3D Photogrammetry Modeling enables creation of high-resolution three-dimensional models that can be shared and seen with accessible and open source software and used for research, conservation and representation purposes.
The 3D models can be seen at Stobi’s website – http://stobi.mk/Templates/Pages/Museum.aspx?page=3622 or on Balkan Heritage Foundation Sketchfab page – https://sketchfab.com/balkanheritagefoundation
