Analyzing fracture patterns in theran wall paintings

H. Shin, C. Doumas, T. Funkhouser, S. Rusinkiewicz, K. Steiglitz, A. Vlachopoulos, T. Weyrich

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

In this paper, we analyze the fracture patterns observed in wall paintings excavated from Akrotiri, a Bronze Age Aegean city destroyed by earthquakes preceding a volcanic eruption on Thera (modern Santorini) around 1630 BC. We use interactive programs to trace detailed fragment boundaries in images of manually reconstructed wall paintings. Then, we use geometric analysis algorithms to study the shapes and contacts of those fragment boundaries, producing statistical distributions of lengths, angles, areas, and adjacencies found in assembled paintings. The result is a statistical model that suggests a hierarchical fracture pattern, where fragments break into two pieces recursively along cracks nearly orthogonal to previous ones. This model could be useful for predicting fracture patterns of other wall paintings and/or for guiding future computer-assisted reconstruction algorithms.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationVAST 2010 - 11th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage
EditorsAlessandro Artusi, Alessandro Artusi, Morwena Joly, Genevieve Lucet, Denis Pitzalis, Alejandro Ribes
PublisherEurographics Association
Pages71-78
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)3905674297, 9783905674293
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Event11th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage, VAST 2010 - Paris, France
Duration: Sep 21 2010Sep 24 2010

Publication series

NameVAST 2010 - 11th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage

Conference

Conference11th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Intelligent Cultural Heritage, VAST 2010
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityParis
Period9/21/109/24/10

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Computer Science Applications
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition

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