On the road to smart archaeology

Author:Nikita Chunakov

贸易路线从古代和中世纪的十字架ed the territories of the modern-day Republic of Ingushetia in the Russian Federation. The Silk Road was the main trade route crossing the North Caucasus plains of present Ingushetia. The route often underwent changes as it crossed numerous territories with radically different political relationships at different points in time.

当地居民参加了交易，并通过观察交易路线获利。为了控制丝绸之路的走廊并保护居民免受冲突的侵害，大篷车路线上出现了强化的塔楼定居点。

Ingushetia Plains的山麓丘陵中有40个强化的塔楼定居点。这些塔楼之一位于Ingushetia共和国Dzheyrakhsky区的高山村Bisht。

To create a 3D model of the sturdy fortresses with stone towers and its surrounding area for modelling and reconstruction of the village objects, Noviy Proyekt, an experienced Russian construction company, geared up with Geosystems surveying equipment for the task.

游客的梦想，对测量师的挑战

The ancestral towers in the Ingushetia mountain territories are the republic’s main tourist attractions. The heritage marvel sitting on the marvellous Caucasian mountains has an average elevation of 1,750 metres and a change in elevation of approximately 300 meters.

Noviy Proyekt had to gear with equipment that would resist abrupt weather changes from +16ᵒ Celsius to -4ᵒ С. The survey of approximately 32 hectares was conducted in the autumn to avoid the heavy summer foliage and early winter snow.

Due to the environmental conditions and location of the site, the two surveyor specialists required equipment with the following specifications:

• Light weight
• High level of dust and moisture protection
• Minus temperatures resistant
• 3D scanning and surveying view of results right on the field
• A tool that enabled as many tasks as possible.

Laser scanning in archaeology

To survey in this environment with the requirements needed, the Leica Nova MS60 MultiStation was chosen, allowing tolaser scan at a distance of up to 1,000 metres.

“It was a pleasure to work with Hexagon Geosystems Russia. We worked with great enthusiasm with the new equipment. I am still amazed from the speed and quality of the laser scanning device. It has really sped up the execution of our tasks,”said Vitaliy Galaktionov, chief surveyor at Noviy Proyekt.

One of the advantages of laser scanning is the ability to survey even when direct access to the facility is obstructed. The georeferenced trigonometrical surface generated with the point clouds was transferred to architects for analysis of:

• 两个塔楼
• Several residential stand-alone towers
• Two cemeteries
• A large group of sepulchral vaults
• 埋葬grounds
• A sanctuary.

使用较大的间距对结构的周围区域进行激光扫描，其距离范围为10至300米，具体取决于可见性条件。在扫描过程中，激光束均击中了地面和植被，但使用专门的过滤器来进行后处理数据阵列，可以仅选择地面上的点。使用反射器和无反光距离测量值对如此广阔的领土进行调查，将花费大量时间，并需要两名专家来完成这项任务。

One of the challenges of architectural surveys is capturing facades with detail – much depends on the quality and completeness of the survey. Using the most complete data array in the form of points clouds, ensures data integrity with all necessary captured points. Aspects, such as stone size in the brickwork, flange size for the beams, and the geometry of cracks were captured with the MS60.

From outer space to the office

When working on the mountains, it is necessary to be sure of the quality of the results, which is why the Leica Viva GS16 GNSS smart antenna was selected. The smart antenna, with leading RTK technology, was integrated with HxGN SmartNet, a 24/7 HNSS network RTK and DGNSS correction service to quickly determine points withcentimetre-level accuracy in an area covered with trees。

A robust communication to a correction service is needed but cannot always be relied upon. Despite a narrow window for satellite visibility and poor coverage of the area by mobile network during the survey, the highly-sensitive board and computer core of the smart antenna delivered reliable centimetre-level positioning. Particularly suitable for this kind of low-populated area with unstable RTK communication, SmartLink fill helped Noviy Proyekt specialists toretain the positioning accuracy even if the RTK data link was lost。

经卫星校正的GS16智能天线用于：

• Surveying the outline of road edges, buildings and ruins
• Coordinating pillars in the local coordinate system
• Setting and orientating of the robotic total station.

Approximately 2,000 points and linework were collected, with polylines and splines drawn directly in the field, facilitating subsequent office processing.

Leica CS20场控制器和MS60上的Leica Captivate软件使检查调查完整性，将项目从一种乐器转移到另一种乐器，并直接在现场做出快速决策。

考古学家的智能工作流程

Using an integrated approach to archaeological tasks allows to collect the most complete and reliable data on objects. Surveying technologies paired with easy-to-use software and the largest reference station network, permit to position, visualise, georeference and preserve any cultural asset for future generations.