TRIPPING THE LIGHT FANTASTIC: USING LIGHT-BASED TECHNIQUES TO DIGITALLY DOCUMENT MEGALITHIC ARCHITECTURE

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses the preliminary results of a small scale visualisation project as part of which the low-cost LiDAR scanner that now comes as standard with the iPad Pro was used in conjunction with both the Arctec Leo structured light scanner and photogrammetric survey methods to record, analyse and present the recently excavated remains of a Neolithic passage tomb at Dowth Hall, Co, Meath, Ireland. It considers the ease and speed with which the small to medium scale structural components found here can be scanned or photographed, meshed, and textured using each approach and further explores whether the outputs produced in each case might be used to support and enhance each other.