THE COMBINATION OF THE IMAGE AND RANGE-BASED 3D ACQUISITION IN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL RESEARCH IN THE ROYAL CASTLE IN WARSAW

Abstract. The paper presents archaeological and architectural research in the Royal Castle in Warsaw where a combination of image- and range-based 3D acquisition was applied. The area examined included excavations situated inside the Tower and near its outer western wall. The work was carried out at various periods and in different weather conditions. As part of the measurements, laser scanning was performed (with a Z+F 5006h scanner) and a series of close-range images were taken. It was important to integrate the data acquired to create a comprehensive documentation of archaeological excavations. When data was acquired from TLS together with photogrammetric data (in different measurement periods), the points' displacements were controlled and analysed. The process of orienting and processing the terrestrial images included photographs taken during the inventory of the tower (Canon 5D Mark II) and photographs provided by the Castle's employees (Canon PowerShot G5 X). Agisoft PhotoScan software was used to orient and process the terrestrial images, and LupoScan for the TLS data. In order to integrate the TLS data and the clouds of points from the photographs from the various stages, they were processed into a raster form; our own software (based on the OpenCV library and the Structure-from-Motion method) and LupoScan software were used to interconnect the multi-temporal and multi-sensor data sets. As a result of processing photographs and TLS data, point clouds in an external reference system were obtained. This data was then used to study the thickness of the walls of the Justice Court Tower, to analyse the course of the retaining wall, and to generate the orthoimages necessary for chronological analysis.