THE DETERIORATING PRESERVATION OF THE ALTAI ROCK ART: ASSESSING THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE-BASED MODELLING IN ROCK ART RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

Gertjan Plets; Geert Verhoeven; Jean Bourgeois; Birger Stichelbaut; Wouter Gheyle; Jeroen De Reu; Dimitry Cheremisin; Ruth Plets

Rock Art Research

Vol. 29 No. 2 (2012)
Published : Nov 7, 2012

THE DETERIORATING PRESERVATION OF THE ALTAI ROCK ART: ASSESSING THREE-DIMENSIONAL IMAGE-BASED MODELLING IN ROCK ART RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT

Gertjan Plets ⁽¹⁾, Geert Verhoeven ⁽²⁾, Jean Bourgeois ⁽³⁾, Birger Stichelbaut ⁽⁴⁾, Wouter Gheyle ⁽⁵⁾, Jeroen De Reu ⁽⁶⁾, Dimitry Cheremisin ⁽⁷⁾, Ruth Plets ⁽⁸⁾

(1) Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium

(2) Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium

(3) Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium

(4) Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium

(5) Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium

(6) Department of Archaeology, Ghent University, Belgium

(7) Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Prospect Akademika Lavrenteva, Russia

(8) Environmental Sciences Research Institute, University of Ulster, Ireland

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Abstract

The unique rock art of the Russian Altai is increasingly suffering from human and natural processes. Without well-directed action and documentation it will be practically impossible to establish conservation initiatives and, eventually, many of these sites will be lost. This paper presents an overview of the different processes affecting this rock art, based on fifteen years of observations in the region and recent three-dimensional (3D) photorealistic documentation. A cost-effective 3D workflow for rock art recording and research is discussed as a possible way to tackle this worsening situation. The application of 3D documentation in rock art research has seen an explosive growth during recent years, but its use is still maturing and a strategy on how to deal with the models is still lacking.