METHODOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS IN 3D SCANNING AND MODELLING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL FRENCH HERITAGE SITE : THE BRONZE AGE PAINTED CAVE OF "LES FRAUX", DORDOGNE (FRANCE)

Abstract

For six years, an interdisciplinary team of archaeologists, surveyors, environmentalists and archaeometrists have jointly carried out the study of a Bronze Age painted cave, registrered in the French Historical Monuments. The archaeological cave of Les Fraux (Saint-Martin-de-Fressengeas, Dordogne) forms a wide network of galleries, characterized by the exceptional richness of its archaeological remains such as ceramic and metal deposits, parietal representation and about domestic fireplaces. This cave is the only protohistorical site in Europe wherein are gathered testimonies of domestic, spiritual and artistic activities. Fortunately, the cave was closed at the end of the Bronze Age, following to the collapse of its entrance. The site was re-discovered in 1989 and its study started in 2007. The study in progress takes place in a new kind of tool founded by the CNRS's Institute of Ecology and Environment. The purpose of this observatory is the promotion of new methodologies and experimental studies in Global Ecology. In that framework, 3D models of the cave constitute the common work support and the best way for scientific communication for the various studies conducted on the site by nearly forty researchers. In this specific context, a partnership among archaeologists and surveyors from INSA Strasbourg allows the team to develop, in an interdisciplinary way, new methods of data acquiring based on contact-free measurements techniques in order to acquire a full 3D-documentation. This work is conducted in compliance with the integrity of the site. Different techniques based on Terrestrial Laser Scanning, Digital Photogrammetry and Spatial Imaging System have been used in order to generate a geometric and photorealistic 3D model from the combination of point clouds and photogrammetric images, for both visualization and accurate documentation purposes. Various scales of acquiring and diverse resolutions have been applied according to the subject: global volume cave, parietal representations, deposits… The aim of this paper is to issue a statement of the different 3D technologies tested in this outstanding site and the integration of magnetic measurements in the models.