Volume Computation of Archaeological Vessels

At excavations a large number of sherds of archaeological pottery is found. Since the documentation and administration of these fragments represent a temporal and personnel effort, we construct a computer aided documentation system for archaeological fragments to form the basis for a subsequent semiautomatic classification and reconstruction. The main technical goal of this project is to perform an automated classification based on the profile section of the oriented object, which is the cross-section of the fragment in the direction of the rotational axis of symmetry. To achieve the profile, a 3d-representation of the object is necessary. The final aim is to provide a tool that helps archaeologists in their archivation process. This paper gives an overview about an automated archivation process and 3d-acquisition with respect to archaeological requirements.