Peter Allen leads team developing new archaeological visualization tools

A Columbia University research group involving computer scientists, environmental engineers, archaeologists, art historians, classicists and preservationists is developing new computer modeling techniques that promise to open historic structures and archaeological sites to more visually detailed, accurate and efficient examination.

The team, led by the principal investigator, Professor Peter Allen, a computer scientist at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, received $2 million in funding over five years this month from the National Science Foundation to develop the computer modeling tools, which will be tested at Columbia's new excavation at Amheida in Egypt's Dakhleh Oasis in the western desert and at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, near the Columbia campus on Morningside Heights in New York City.

The Dakhleh Oasis site, because it is undamaged, of significant size and previously unexcavated, promises to be one of the most important digs in Egypt, providing a unique opportunity to understand the peoples and cultures of western Egypt and the central issues of Egyptian settlement archaeology.

Allen, whose research focuses on robotics and computer vision and who has been named a Presidential Young Investigator by the National Science Foundation, said the new computer technique uses an above-ground laser scanner and below-ground sensing device mounted on a mobile robot that can be used as an intelligence-sensing device over a large area. "The robot gives us the ability to explore the site and scan its measurements both above and below ground," said Allen.

The data collected can provide an accurate and realistic three-dimensional model of an historic site or building. "Typically in the past, researchers have had to use laborious and inefficient hand measurement techniques to create a 3-D model," said Allen. "It's not very accurate and it cannot capture rich detail. By using high-resolution laser scanning, we can do it much more efficiently and quickly."

This dynamic model, Allen said, will be linked to a database of the entire site, which will help record and annotate archaeological information and the physical environment; target opportunities for further excavation; conserve structures and artifacts and reconstruct their context for an interpretive center for visitors to the site in Egypt. The team also will develop new visualization tools to provide annotated and augmented-reality views of the site for both researchers and students. In the future, scholars hope to use the site as the basis for distance learning through Internet-based college and pre-college level education in science, engineering, social sciences, and the humanities.

The project brings together scholars of wide knowledge and expertise. Besides Allen, the team includes Professors Steven Feiner and Kenneth Ross, both computer scientists, and Earth and Environmental Engineering Professor Roelof Versteeg, all from the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science. Also participating are Art History and Archaeology Professor Stephen Murray, Classics Professor Roger Bagnall, Anthropology Professor Lynn Meskell, and Historic Preservation Professor Pamela Jerome. The project is co-administered with Columbia's Media Center for Art History, Archaeology, and Historic Preservation Associate Director Maurice Luker and Staff Associate for Archaeology and Historic Preservation James Conlon, who also serves as assistant field director of the Amheida excavation. Through the Media Center, a Columbia research group involving many of the same participants is studying the fragile structure of Beauvais cathedral in France in an attempt to examine its weaknesses and propose remedies. The cathedral, the tallest medieval cathedral in France, is listed on the World Monuments Fund's Most Endangered List.

Allen said, "We could not have put this spectacular group together anywhere else except at Columbia—the mix of experts right here on our own campus is tremendous."

Roelof Versteeg specializes in below-ground and non-invasive sensing. Kenneth Ross is an expert on databases and new methods of accessing data. Steven Feiner is at the forefront of user interface design and augmented reality research. Lynn Meskell is an authority on Egyptian archaeology and serves as field director of the excavation at Amheida. Stephen Murray is a leader in bringing historic monuments and sites alive through his use of new technology.

Columbia's initiative in Egypt will provide first-hand experience in the field for students and offers newly excavated material for specialists and researchers to work on. As new artifacts are unearthed, and links established to other historic research, they could be combined into an interactive database that will give students and researchers access to a wide scope of learning materials related to the site. These new tools will also allow multimedia access to buildings, invisible areas, and artifacts. The outcome is a powerful tool for investigating the site as well as discovering new regions and areas of the site to explore.

Click for further information on the project.