Digital survey techniques for the documentation of wooden shipwrecks

Nowadays, researchers widely employ the acquisition of point clouds as one of the principal type of documentation for cultural heritage. In this paper, different digital survey techniques are employed to document a wooden ancient shipwreck, a particular and difficult kind of archaeological finding due to its material characteristics. The instability of wood and the high costs of restoration do not always offer the opportunity of recovering and showing the hull to researchers and public and three-dimensional surveys are fundamental to document the original conditions of the wood. The precarious conditions of this material in contact with air could modify the structure and the size of the boat, requiring a fast and accurate recording technique. The collaboration between Ca' Foscari University and the Laboratory of Photogrammetry of Iuav University of Venice has given the possibility to demonstrate the utility of these technology. We have surveyed a sewn boat of Roman age through multi-image photogrammetry and laser scanner. Point clouds were compared and a residual analysis was done, to verify the characteristics and the opportunity of the two techniques, both of them have allowed obtaining a very precise documentation from a metrical point of view.