By Christopher Dollard, Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon

Roman amphitheater ruins, Etruscan-era artifacts and alabaster sculpture studios that preserve ancient art are all within the historic walled city of Volterra. Located in Tuscany, Italy, Volterra is known for its rich cultural heritage, making it the ideal environment for using reality capture to scan, document and preserve historical locations and artifacts while furthering archaeological research.

A recent educational expedition sponsored by the Volterra-Detroit Foundation, in collaboration with Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, and Case Technologies recently explored ancient ruins in Volterra. Using a combination of autonomous reality capture and handheld scanning products, students explored the city. Most notably, the scans included city streets, an amphitheater, a monastery and museum artifacts.

Virtually Visiting Volterra

One of the goals of the foundation is to create a digital twin of Volterra and support a virtual walking tour. Using the portable, handheld Leica BLK2GO reality capture product, the researchers were able to scan as they walked along the city streets, entered historical buildings and explored ancient ruins. Following are three location highlights from the scanning workshops.

To scan an abandoned monastery, the team turned to autonomous reality capture using a Leica BLK2FLY. While the monastery’s courtyard is intact, its roof is missing, making it an ideal site for a flying laser scanner to easily capture external dimensions. The combination of reality capture scanners in the air and on the ground was key to getting complete datasets.

Tackling a more complex project is the team’s ongoing scans of a prominent amphitheater, one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the past 150 years. Each year, students and instructors have been capturing more and more of the archaeological site with the ultimate goal of creating a 3D model of how the theater likely looked during Roman times.

According to Paul Aubin, an officer on the Volterra-Detroit Foundation Board of Directors, “Using a great mix of technologies, each year we’ve been able to explore, document and share something new at the amphitheater.”

Students in the workshop also explored alabaster studios. The oldest studios have been in operation since the early 20th century, but the art itself – carving intricate sculptures out of alabaster – and the artisans often recreate artifacts from the Etruscan era.

Using 3D laser scanners, the students were able to digitally preserve the alabaster studios. including ways of connecting them with the newly-renovated Etruscan Museum. The Etruscan Museum is connected to the team’s scans of the city, and feature hundreds of ornate burial urns that are carved out of alabaster. For example, the sculptors carved a replica of an urn featuring Helen of Troy.

Aubin commented, “Seeing artisans apply their craft to something so specific as alabaster, and being able to capture it today is remarkable. We’re hoping the scans and virtual experiences we captured will reignite interest in alabaster sculpture to preserve the art.”

Yet there is a distinct possibility that these workshops might not be around for much longer as younger people haven’t taken up the craft. “Most of the alabaster artisans are aging,” said Mark Dietrick, director of services at Case Technologies and founding officer of the Volterra-Detroit Foundation Board of Directors. “To see their work, and for the students to capture it for posterity, was very special. The impetus for focusing on the alabaster studios this year was that specific predicament – how the art itself is precarious for the city of Volterra.”