Analytical methods for the extraction of content from high resolution 3D data sets: Epigraphical applications to the Drakon Stele.

摘要

High resolution, close-range, three-dimensional (3D) scan data of the Drakon stele were captured using a Breuckmann SmartSCAN-HE 3D white light scanner. The Drakon stele, located in the Epigraphical Museum in Athens, Greece, is an inscription written in BCE 409/8 containing a republication of Drakon's law on homicide. The law is considered to be "the most important evidence we have for the origins of written criminal law in Athens" (Stroud 1968:1). A fair amount of the text on the stele is damaged and therefore has not been definitively transcribed. Due to concerns of causing damage to the stele, further cleaning of its surface is no longer allowed and the creation of new squeezes is not permitted. Scanning provides a non-contact and non-damaging method for reexamining the inscription in an effort to improve the epigraphic restoration of the text. Although this thesis reports the technological aspects of the project rather than the epigraphic results, it appears that over ten letters have been recovered using this method. The project demonstrates a new analytical and methodological application for the use of high resolution 3D data sets.