Preliminary Application of the Algorithm Highlighting Petroglyph Patterns

Abstract

One of the greatest problems in the field of cultural heritage is the process of material destruction of monuments. In most cases, the cause is operational or random wear. Such processes can be slowed down or eliminated thanks to the maintenance process. The most dangerous processes of monument wear and tear are those in which historical objects are exposed to environmental impact. Cycles of weather changes have a particularly negative impact on objects of this type. These types of objects are significantly damaged and are the most difficult to scan. The research work included the scanning of such an object and attempts were made to digitise the point cloud. The monument selected for the model laser scanning was a rock petroglyph located on the slope of the Chatkal mountain near the town of Tashkent in Uzbekistan. The article describes the process of digitally recording a historic object with the use of the Artec Eva scanner. The process of data acquisition from points in space and the processes of highlighting petroglyphs are described. The highlighted model was obtained using proprietary software created for this purpose by the authors of the article. As a result, data were saved which would be difficult to save and read using the previously used 3D scanning techniques. The obtained data can be made available to recipients in the form of exhibits in virtual museums.