DIGITAL TWIN AND 3D DOCUMENTATION OF A THEBAN TOMB AT DEIR AL-MEDINA (EGYPT) USING A MULTI-LENSES PHOTOGRAMMETRIC APPROACH

Abstract

This paper describes the methodology employed in 2020 to perform the 3D survey of the Tomb TT214 at Deir al-Medina (Egypt). The aim of the archaeological mission was to integrate the evidence collected in the past on this tomb with a fresh survey a detailed study of some of its elements and an evaluation of its needs in terms of conservation. In order to achieve this result, the collapse that blocked the entrance to the burial chamber had to be removed, the courtyard was cleared, and the decorated walls and blocks were inspected and surveyed. Digital imaging was used to document all these phases and portions of the work. The aim of the survey team was to identify the most efficient combination of tools and methods to be used during these logistically complex operations, during which it was necessary to coordinate the work of various specialists and of the workmen, as well as to negotiate with the environmental difficulties and constrains. The survey was conducted at two scales, one for the architecture of the funerary complex and one for minute details such as inscriptions and decorations. Beside the routine process, both sets of data underwent a further level of elaboration, in order to extract and highlight further information. The final result of the survey was a navigable 3D model able to produce different outputs, all designed to support the archaeologists on the field and during the post-fieldwork phase of the elaboration of the results. The elaboration of such an integrated model may be paired to the progressive construction of a Digital Twin, a term born from the manufacturing and industrial realm but that may be successfully exported into the archaeological realm.