From “Radders” in 1981 to “Kingdom of Crystal Skull” in 2008, the movie “Indiana Jones” uniquely imprinted the image of an archaeologist on the public. The archaeologist, wearing a fedora hat and wearing an old cross bag, is searching the world for the ark, the Holy Grail, and the remains of Nurhachi. Until the mid-20th century, archaeologists had a strong atmosphere like field workers, if not like Indiana Jones.
But 21st-century archaeologists are more like scientists and engineers using advanced technology at their disposal, surrounded by satellites, computer programs, and various experimental instruments.
A joint research team at Max Planck Institute of Human History and Archaeology at Exeter University in the U.K. announced on the 17th that it has developed a method to restore artifacts, bones, and plants that were discovered at the site using artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D printing technology. The results of the study were published in the April 16 issue of Floss One, an international journal published by the U.S. Public Science Library.
In the field of anthropology and archaeology, it is important to restore relics and remains made of plants as well as stones, ceramics, and metals excavated from the ruins and express them visually. This is because it not only brings the past to reality and shows it to researchers, students, and the public, but also allows them to grasp the level of culture or technology at the time. Until now, there has been a limitation in that it is not easy to reproduce the restoration technology as it was.
For this reason, digital photography and 3D scanning technologies are emerging as alternatives. The 3D scanner is an optimized technology for restoring buildings without design drawings because it can express artifacts as 3D data and combine digital images of various time and space based on it. In fact, Oxford University’s Digital Archaeology Research Institute restored the Syrian Palmyra Arc de Triomphe and Bell Temple arch model destroyed by IS with 3D scanner technology and exhibited it at Trafalgar Square in London in 2016. The problem is that restoring similar to the actual one is expensive and takes a long time to produce.
The research team developed restoration technologies called SOAP and HRP by utilizing computer graphics technology that makes video games and AI and 3D printing technologies with existing 3D spatial information and 3D scanning technologies. Using the two technologies, it is possible to accurately restore small parts even though they are not the actual size.
SOAP, a “small object and art photography,” is similar to a common digital photographic correction technology that supports the initial setup of digital cameras used by archaeologists in the field for digital restoration of artifacts. If HRP, a high-resolution photogram technology, is applied to relics taken at the site, it is possible to digitally reconstruct the appearance of the relics and even make them into small models through a 3D printer. The research team is known to have allowed related researchers to use the newly developed restoration technology freely.
Using this technology, it will also be possible to develop a 3D online artifact library that anyone can enjoy artifacts online. It has the advantage of being able to appreciate artifacts by moving them to a place or time point where they were originally located, rather than simply viewing them in three dimensions with AI technology.
“Science plays an important role in filling the void of imagination in traditional humanities such as archaeology,” said Felipe Rodriguez, a professor at Exeter University in the U.K., adding, “3D printing technology that shows past technologies and cultures at a glance like movies and photos will raise modern archaeology to the level of precision science.”