AN INFORMATION SYSTEM FOR THE INTEGRATION, MANAGEMENT AND VISUALIZATION OF 3D REALITY BASED ARCHAEOLOGICAL MODELS FROM DIFFERENT OPERATORS

This paper describes a web-based information system designed with the aim to make available on a 3D GIS platform reality-based 3D models representing archaeological finds at an architectural scale. In wide and complex archaeological sites, different artifacts need to be modeled by different operators, using different methodologies and technologies, working in different places and times, so that the methods to build them need to be defined a-priori, widely shared and verified a-posteriori. This is the reason why it is necessary to work for the definition of widely shared standards and for a long-term preservation of 3D cultural heritage data related to archaeological sites. In order to meet these requirements, our application has been carried out using open source technologies and tools, widespread multi-platforms and standards. Entirely founded on the ICCD (Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo e la Documentazione) standards, our information system has been designed to guarantee interoperability and lead the cataloguer in data entry by simplifying and making the procedures more intuitive. Moreover, 3D modeling from real-world data is not a standardized procedure: survey and modeling methods strictly depend on the characteristics of the object, on the available technologies and on communicative aims. Our system is a purpose for solving the problem of the definition of the most appropriate methodology to adopt depending on the object and on the level of detail of its representation. The digital models of the finds are then linked to their related heterogeneous information using a semantic fragmentation and organization of elements and data.