PetroSurf3D - A Dataset for high-resolution 3D Surface Segmentation

The development of powerful 3D scanning hardware and reconstruction algorithms has strongly promoted the generation of 3D surface reconstructions in different domains. An area of special interest for such 3D reconstructions is the cultural heritage domain, where surface reconstructions are generated to digitally preserve historical artifacts. While reconstruction quality nowadays is sufficient in many cases, the robust analysis (e.g. segmentation, matching, and classification) of reconstructed 3D data is still an open topic. In this paper, we target the automatic and interactive segmentation of high-resolution 3D surface reconstructions from the archaeological domain. To foster research in this field, we introduce a fully annotated and publicly available large-scale 3D surface dataset including high-resolution meshes, depth maps and point clouds as a novel benchmark dataset to the community. We provide baseline results for our existing random forest-based approach and for the first time investigate segmentation with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) on the data. Results show that both approaches have complementary strengths and weaknesses and that the provided dataset represents a challenge for future research.Comment: CBMI Submission; Dataset and more information can be found at http://lrs.icg.tugraz.at/research/petroglyphsegmentation

Seradina I R. 12 (Parco Archeologico Comunale di Seradina-Bedolina, Capo di Ponte, Valcamonica, Brescia, Italy), photo of North-Western sector

Detail of panel with ploughing scene (horses), sex scene and hunting scene (archer chasing chamois). The combination of scenes, attributable to a common "artist", can be dated between the VII and the V century BC thanks to strong similarities with similar themes depicted in situla art

Il sito protostorico di Dos dell'Arca (BS): la campagna di scavo e documentazione 2018 dell'Università di Pavia (Progetto Quattro Dossi - fase II).

In 2015 the University of Pavia started the first phase of the Quattro Dossi (Four Hills) Project, research conducted in the homonymous area in the municipality of Capo di Ponte, at the heart of the UNESCO Site n.94 “Rock Drawings in Valle Camonica”, of which a first report was given in this same journal, in 2018. This paper presents the results of the second phase of the Project, namely the 2018 excavation and rock art documentation at Dos dell’Arca, a settlement with phases from Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages. The site in question is part of the wider Quattro Dossi area and is of great importance for the studies of protohistoric Alps. It had already been partially excavated in 1962 under the direction of Emmanuel Anati. The University of Pavia’s research followed three guidelines: opening new excavation trenches (Saggio C), continuing work in the old unfinished trenches (Saggio B), and documenting the stratigraphy in the old finished trenches (Saggio A) in order to shed new light on the findings of 1962, which are almost entirely unpublished to date. The first campaign, presented here, documented a homogeneous and coherent stratigraphic situation, which cumulated a well-established material culture and led to the identification of new engraved figures below archaeological layers. The second objective of this campaign was to initiate complete documentation, performed with up-to-date methodology, of the engraved rocky surfaces present both inside and outside the area of the settlement: in the 2018 fieldwork Rocks n. 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 were documented, three of which are fully presented here. This work also includes an update about the latest rock art discoveries at the site, as well as an iconographic insight on the depictions of hands in Valle Camonica rock art, giving a multidisciplinary overview of the various ramifications of the Quattro Dossi Project, which will continue with campaigns in 2019 and 2020

Seradina I R. 12 - Full analysis preview published in Adoranten 2016

This paper offer an overview of the main themes depicted on Seradina I rock n. 12, one of the richest concentration of rock art in Valcamonica. Here the full tracing, never published before, is presented for the first time. The big panel has around 1700 images, divided into well characterized themes: hunting scenes with horsemen, dogs and deer with solar antlers, ploughing scenes followed by sex scenes involving human being with hoe, duels. The rock, for its unsual links to the subjects depicted in situla art, can be traced back to the work of specific "artists/carvers" operating around the VI century BC

Bridging the gap: rock art and archaeological context in the "Quattro Dossi" area (Capo di Ponte, Valcamonica, Italy).

The paper presents the first outcome of the "Quattro Dossi" project, established by University in Pavia in Valle Camonica, UNESCO site no. 94. New rock art surfaces are presented in detail, along with a complete presentation of the site of Dos dell'Arca, the first of the four rocky hills of the area. The data, both from a material culture point of view and from the iconographic side, span from late Neolithic to Iron Age, and the novelties show surprising new features

Dos dell'Arca e l'area dei Quattro Dossi (Capo di Ponte, BS): un aggiornamento

Il contributo presenta un aggiornamento sull’attività di ricerca dell’Università di Pavia nell’area dei Quattro Dossi (Capo di Ponte, BS) in media Valle Camonica. Si tratta di un’area di grande interesse archeologico dove sono presenti numerose rocce incise e strutture insediative di età pre-protostorica. Oggetto specifico di analisi sono alcuni aspetti di Dos dell’Arca, la più meridionale delle colline dell’area, dove gli scavi moderni rappresentano l’ideale prosecuzione delle ricerche condotte nel 1962 da Emmanuel Anati. Viene presentata una descrizione dettagliata degli scavi nel Settore Nord, in cui risulta di grande importanza il cosiddetto “muraglione megalitico”, un’imponente struttura in pietra databile alla media età del Bronzo. Per quanto riguarda lo studio delle rocce incise, si delineano gli aspetti più significativi del sito, dedicando maggiori approfondimenti alle nuove scoperte delle rocce nn. 24 e 40, due superfici che contribuiscono a gettare nuova luce su un sito storico che viene costantemente riscoperto

Il riparo del Cuel (Cimbergo, BS) tra frequentazione protostorica e pitture parietali

Between 2008 and 2015 the Soprintendenza Archeologia della Lombardia performed two excavation campaigns at the Cuel rockshelter, located in the municipal area of Cimbergo, in Valle Camonica (BS), known since the 1990s for two painted figures on top of the rock wall, right above the shelter. This paper presents new unpublished data from the diggings, along with the results of the analyses on the sediments and a 14C dating, a typological analysis of the material culture and a stylistic consideration of the painted figures. The excavations documented a sequence of 4 phases of frequentation: the first human presence is evidenced by a carbonaceous layer and several copper slag, dated to the 9th-8th centuries BCE. After a hiatus, the site was re-occupied in the 6th century BCE, and a sequence of five fireplaces, all constructed in the same peculiar fashion, were created inside the small shelter. The close proximity of these structures, along with their particular shape and the analyses carried out on their contents, suggests that their use was somehow related to some sort of cultic or symbolic occurrence. The painted figures on top of the rock, which do not have physical contact with the archaeological layers, are painted in red, and depict a deer with semi-folded legs and short antlers along with an almost fully erased anthropomorphic figure. These figures are stylistically akin to other painted scenes in the area of Paspardo, which are dated to the final Iron Age (2nd-1st century BC), so there is no clear chronological link between the material use at the site and the paintings. The last stage of habitation appears to be from the middle ages, dated from the find of a silver coin found in the 2008 excavations