Mobile Computing for Classical Archaeology: Smartphone LiDAR Modeling of Campanian Features

Abstract

Modern archaeological research rapidly evolves with digital documentation and data collection procedures, from LiDAR scanning to analyzing genetic archaeological evidence with HPC and bioinformatic methods. However, these effective technologies are often beyond the budget limits of most research groups or require excessive knowledge beyond usual fieldwork training, leading to inequality between different research institutes and hindering the knowledge and research work. Thus, our interest lies in testing and evaluating low-budget and easy-to-use pervasive sensing and modeling technologies suitable for archaeological research. In this paper, we address the timely research topic of applying mobile computing in (classical) archaeology, evaluate the opportunities and challenges, and present an example of experimentation with smartphone-based 3D modeling in the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.