Odesa Archaeological Museum's 3D Model Created Using 70 Scans and 1,500 Photos

Specialists of the Archaica Research Laboratory created a 3D model of the Odesa Archaeological Museum by taking 70 scans and 1,500 photos.

According to the scientists, the main problem was the roof of the museum.

"We could have used a drone, but it is not easy to get permission to fly in wartime. We could have taken photos from neighboring buildings if there hadn't been only low-rise buildings around," the experts noted.

In the end, they decided to combine two methods: to take a photo of the roof directly from the roof itself and to stick special markers on the ground that would be included in the photo from the roof and later help to stitch everything together.

"If not for the markers, nothing would have worked. As a result of 600 photos, the roof was sewn together smoothly and beautifully," the experts noted.

The archaeologists also scanned the entire museum from the inside and made a full-fledged interior plan that will be used for the museum's needs. In total, six people, one scanner and two cameras were involved in the survey.

The 3D model we created captured the building in its current state and will become an important tool for further research and monitoring of possible damage.

The Odesa Archaeological Museum celebrates its 200th anniversary this year and is the oldest archaeological museum in Ukraine. The museum building was built in 1883 by the architect Felix Gonsiorowski as a building for the Public Library and Museum of the Odesa Society of History and Antiquities. The project was funded by the then mayor Hryhorii Marazli. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the museum has repeatedly suffered from the consequences of Russian shelling.

Earlier, the Odesa Archaeological Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, together with representatives of the NGO Archaica, spent a month digitizing and creating 3D models of Egyptian artifacts, Cypriot sculpture, and exhibits from Samarkand. The south of Ukraine - Crimea and Odesa region - will also be represented.

Кирило Бойко