Chapter 1: Introduction

The 3D Modelling and Reconstruction in Archaeology course is a theoretical and practical course at the Masters level of your academic studies in Archaeoinformatics, Digital and Computational Archaeology, Archaeology or Digital Humanities. It will teach you three main things:

• The theoretical approach to scientific archaeological reconstruction
• The practical tools to understand and use a 3D software (in our case Maxon Cinema 4D)
• The organisational skills to create, implement and present a group project of your choice (e.g. in Virtual Reality).

As we will be tackling the first two points simultaneously in the first half of the semester, the third point will be part of the later second half. In order to cope with this immense curriculum, we will be using the Flipped Classroom concept for this course. What this basically means is that in preparation for each course you will read and work through the relevant chapters on this website. Prepared in this way, we will spend a short amount of time on questions about the task at hand, and then move on to more advanced techniques in order to reach a certain level by the middle of the semester. We need to reach this level so that you can work independently on your group projects. The time you spend preparing for a class is part of your self-study.

In addition to the practical work and application, we will discuss the theoretical approach to archaeological reconstruction through some further reading of selected articles. This part will take place throughout the semester at the beginning of each class.

What is an archaeological reconstruction?

An archaeological reconstruction is an attempt to visualise, in one way or another, materials from the past. In our case, we are mainly talking about architecture, but you could also reconstruct landscapes, objects, rituals and so on. But the main problem with reconstruction is uncertainty. We always have to use a certain amount of guesswork when we reconstruct. That in itself is not the problem, but it becomes a problem because the viewer or consumer of that particular reconstruction is not aware of that uncertainty or subjectivity. So we need to have a sound methodology when we reconstruct, we need to have proper and detailed documentation, and at the end of the day we need to make sure that our results are properly communicated to whatever audience we are trying to reach.

During the course we will discuss all three points in more detail, but for now it is important to understand that you will ultimately fail to create a perfect reconstruction. We all will, because it is not possible to get everything right. If we could, we wouldn't be talking about reconstructions, we'd be talking about copies. So for the first lesson you should understand that there is no such thing as a perfect reconstruction. Never. There is a quote from Simon James that fits perfectly:

“Even if you follow the rules [of reconstruction], the only certain thing about any reconstruction drawing is… that it is wrong. The only real question is, how wrong is it?” - James, S. 1997: 25.

So over the next few weeks we will be discussing the theoretical issues such as the use of different sources, methods and the intention of our reconstructions. Practically, we will learn how to implement the theoretical approaches through a group project and how to communicate these results in a meaningful way.

Further Reading

• Hageneuer, S. 2015: Archaeological Reconstructions (Online article on Smarthstoryblog.org).
• Hageneuer, S. 2016: The influence of early architectural reconstruction drawings in Near Eastern Archaeology, in: Proceedings of the 9th International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE), Wiesbaden, 359-370.
• Hageneuer, S. 2019: »Without Drawing the Study of Antiquities is Lame!« – Architektur-Rekonstruktion als wissenschaftliches Tool?, in: Der Modelle Tugend 2.0 - Digitale 3D-Rekonstruktion als virtueller Raum der architekturhistorischen Forschung, herausgegeben von Piotr Kuroczyński, Mieke Pfarr-Harfst, und Sander Münster, 2:203–12. Computing in Art and Architecture. Heidelberg: arthistoricum.net.
• James, S. 1997: Drawing Inferences. Visual Reconstruction in Theory and Practice. In: B.L. Molyneaux (Ed.) Cultural Life of Images. Visual Representation in Archaeology, 22–48. Oxfordshire, 1997.
• Quick, S. 2020: Using Digital Media to Mediate Archaeology in the LVR-Archaeological Park Xanten / LVR-RömerMuseum, in: Communicating the Past in the Digital Age: Proceedings of the International Conference on Digital Methods in Teaching and Learning in Archaeology (12th-13th October 2018), herausgegeben von Sebastian Hageneuer, 73–84. London: Ubiquity.

What is 3D software and which one will we use?

“3D software produces computer-generated imagery (CGI) through 3D modeling and 3D rendering or produces 3D models for analytic, scientific and industrial purposes.” - Wikipedia contributors, "3D computer graphics software" (accessed April 12, 2017).

There are several options when it comes to choosing a software, and with the exception of a few, all of them are capable of producing very good results and are also used by the industry. As a free and open source option, [Blender] (https://www.blender.org/) is a perfect choice as it is capable of producing stunning results. Its features include modelling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation, so it's basically the full package.

But commercial software has a lot more functionality. Again, we have a lot of options, but to name the two biggest, we could use Autodesk 3ds Max, which is a very professional software that is used a lot. However, in our course we will be using [Maxon Cinema 4D] (https://www.maxon.net/de/cinema-4d), which is also a software with the same professionalism. It was originally designed for graphic designers (not engineers) and is therefore easier to understand than other software (IMHO).

Like other software, Cinema 4D also has a student program where you can use the current version of Cinema 4D almost for free as a student. All you have to do is register on their website, pay a small service fee, download the software and wait for an email with an authorisation code. Once you have entered it, you will be able to use the high-end version of Cinema 4D for (almost) free!

When I talk about industry, the applications of 3D software are many and varied. Architects use it to visualise current projects, the film industry uses 3D software to create entire films, the advertising industry uses it to visualise products. The possibilities are endless and the results can simulate hyper-realism in a way that you probably don't recognise.

The applications for Archaeology are manifold too. Informative graphics, simulations, landscape visualisations or 3D reconstructions as we will do are only a few examples. The results can differ in quality and complexity, but always need to be scientifically based. The main differences to industrial visualisations are two:

Money: We have not the same financial support as the industry has
Accuracy: We can't (or shouldn't) cheat in creating visualisations

For this reason, we must pay close attention to the methodology of reconstruction in order to produce scientifically sound reconstructions with comprehensible documentation and targeted communication. The first step, however, is to acquire the necessary visualisation tools with good 3D software. Only when you are able to produce what you want in 3D will you be able to produce reconstructions that focus on scientific rather than visual values.

Further Reading

• Campana, Stefano. “3D Modelling in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage - Theory and Best Practice.” In 3D Recording and Modelling in Archaeology and Cultural Heritage. Theory and Best Practices, edited by Fabio Remondino and Stefano Campana, 7–12. BAR International Series 2598. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2014.
• Cargill, Robert R. “An Argument for Archaeological Reconstruction in Virtual Reality.” Near Eastern Archaeology 72, no. 1 (2009): 28–41.
• Kensek, Karen M., Lynn Swartz Dodd, and Nicholas Cipolla. “Fantastic Reconstructions or Reconstructions of the Fantastic? Tracking and Presenting Ambiguity, Alternatives, and Documentation in Virtual Worlds.” Conference of the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture 13, no. 2 (March 2004): 175–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2003.09.010.
• Lanjouw, Tijm. “Discussing the Obvious or Defending the Contested: Why Are We Still Discussing the ‘scientific Value’ of 3D Applications in Archaeology?” In The Three Dimensions of Archaeology. Proceedings of the XVII UISPP World Congress (1–7 September 2014, Burgos, Spain), edited by Hans Kamermans, Wieke de Neef, Chiara Piccoli, Axel G. Posluschny, and Roberto Scopigno, 1–11. Volume 7/Sessions A4b and A12. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2016.