THREE-DIMENSIONAL MODELING OF THE ROMANESQUE CHURCH OF SANTA MARIA DE CASTRELOS (VIGO – SPAIN) USING TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNER

Abstract

This article shows the results obtained in the three dimensional survey of the church of Santa Maria of Castrelos realized through a terrestrial Laser Scanner. The Church of Santa Maria of Castrelos, which was built in the early thirteenth century, is located in Vigo Spain. It is a Romanesque style church with a nave and semicircular apse with three gates decorated with rosettes and typically Romanesque geometrical figures. The survey was conducted by the laboratory of Close Range Photogrammetry of Natural Resources Department, Mining School, at University of Vigo – Spain, jointly with the Geomatics Department, Federal University of Parana – Brazil. This work explores the use of laser scanning for the surveying, three-dimensional modeling and documentation of historical monuments but also the generation of quoted plans and cross sections of this Romanesque church in the city of Vigo. The resolution of point clouds used to obtain the models varied according to need. Namely, the point cloud used for three-dimensional model for the general external and internal church was used with an approximate step width of 10 cm, while 5 cm and 1 cm step widths were used for details of geometric figures and rosettes. The results of both the three-dimensional model and the plans and sections are in accordance with the specifications and scales of representation usually used in conventional surveys of historic monuments recommended in the specialized literature in the area. The objective of this study is showing the potential of the use of terrestrial laser scanner in the documentation of historical heritage through achieving the 3D model by joining external and internal point clouds and the generation of planes and sections of the church of Santa Maria of Castrelos, Vigo.