CONSOLIDATOR TECHNIQUE: DIGITAL IMAGE ANALYSIS FOR ANCIENT MONUMENT
RECONSTRUCTION AND ATLAS CREATION
PROJECT SUMMARY
The proposed CONSOLIDATOR project is aimed at facilitating systematization, sorting and identification of monument fragments in order to consolidate and effectively reconstruct whole monuments. The technology is based on assigning a unique ID to each fragment and a further computerized clustering of fragments using the ID. The innovative technology of sorting and systematization of scattered stone monument fragments is based on an interactive computer system developed using up-to-date computerized algorithms of search and comparison, which allows speedy and efficient sorting and identification of numerous fragments of monuments using digital images of fragment surfaces. This technology will assist archeologists, historians and restorers in archeological explorations and research.
The final result of the project is creation of a technological chain which could link archeological explorations, stone and monument fragment repositories, museum repositories, arts collections. Creation of such a chain will involve development of a special database – or atlases - of images of all available monument fragment surfaces. The database will be organized according to similarity of certain distinctive features of the images, arranged in clusters. The tangible result of the “CONSOLIDATOR” project is a database - or atlas - of images of all available monument fragments kept at various museums and places.
This database can be made available for researchers on the Internet or on CD-ROM for research, restoration, creative and educational purposes, in order to develop historical and arts materials, objects, as well as in order to create catalogues, historical and cultural atlases, digital libraries of cultural heritage objects, etc.
Further project development and its value:
Creation of comprehensive atlases of monument fragments kept in various museums worldwide (The British Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the Louvre Museum, the Hermitage, the Egyptian Museum, etc.) based on sorted and ordered digital images of monument fragments with unique IDs (using CONSOLIDATOR);
Such atlases allow a reliable reconstruction (actual or virtual) of whole monuments from available fragments kept all over the world;
Historical, educational and cultural value: creation of a linkage: museum - excavation site - ancient temple - open pit, which allows to trace the origin of valuable granite historical monuments (statues);
Creation of atlases of fragments discovered at excavation sites and monuments kept at museums, using CONSOLIDATOR technology;
The project team is looking for sponsors and partners from EU and the
USA and welcomes cooperation and advice on further project support
Contact person: Irina Alexeeva, phone +7(495) 332-00-34 (office), +7(916)649-07-97, irina1@rcsme.ru