GIAP (ICAC) travelled to Greece to survey three sanctuaries in order to create digital reconstructions in the context of the STAR-AGESS MSCA project.
A few weeks ago, Hèctor A. Orengo (ICREA Research Professor), Efrosyni Boutsikas (MSCA fellow), and Paloma Aliende (Research technician) stayed in Greece to carry out the STAR-AGESS project fieldwork (H2020-MSCA-IF-2020-101026674). We surveyed three impressive Greek sanctuaries: the Heraion of Perachora, the sanctuary of Poseidon at cape Sounion, and the sanctuary of Aphaia in the island of Aegina.
The sanctuaries were chosen for the potential they offer in the fields of 3D reconstructions, (ancient) visitor experience, ritual performance recreation, and cognitive archaeology, given their association with complex and intriguing mythological narratives, their architecture, and topography.
The imposing sanctuaries contain examples of spectacular monumental architecture dating from the Archaic to the Classical period (7th-5th centuries BCE), set in breathtaking, rural landscapes, kilometres away from the confines of civic space.
Thankfully, the weather was on our side and with the valuable collaboration of the Greek Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Ephorates, who granted us the survey permits and helped to coordinate our visits, the field-trip has been a great success.
Our aim was to digitally record the sanctuaries in their entirety, with the use of DGPS to collect highly accurate ground control points, and several cameras (including one in a UAV platform), which allowed us to take images of the temples, sanctuaries, and their environs from multiple angles.
With a collection of more than 2,000 photographs, we were able to embark on the next stage of the project, which has employed photogrammetric and 3D modelling software for the creation of digital twins for each sanctuary.
Reconstruction process of the Poseidon sacntuary at cape Sounion:
These georeferenced models will be complemented with high-resolution digital surface models (derived from TanDEM-X data) to simulate the wider environment and horizon and then integrated in a virtual planetarium able to reconstruct the sky during the times the temples were in use for festivals and religious performances . This will allow us to investigate and immersively explore cognitive aspects of ancient ritual and religion.
The project will provide uniquely detailed and accurate virtual environments that can be employed to study other research topics but will also be used for dissemination and public transfer activities.
An initial analysis we already carried out, reveals some very exciting results that we will be able to report on soon!
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101026674 (STAR-AGESS; H2020-MSCA-IF-2020).
