Hili 14 Archaeological Site
Planned Research Excavation
The Hili Archaeological Park is an enclosed public park which includes the display of several archaeological remains from the Bronze and Iron Ages. It is part of the Hili component of the Al Ain UNESCO World Heritage serial property. Hili 14 lies within this wider archaeological landscape of the Hili Component. Excavations at Hili 14 revealed the remains of a vast 50 square metre building, described as an Iron Age caravanserai — an ancient roadside inn where travellers could rest and recover from a one-day journey.
Room 33 in Trench 4–5 at Hili 14.
3-D point cloud cross-section of the site.
Orthophoto of Room 33 showing the level of detail that can be achieved.
Orthophoto to trace drawing.
Traced drawing from orthophoto.
Traced drawing plans of Room 33 in LoD 3.
The team members met to discuss the methodology for documenting Hili 14. This included determining the desired outcomes for the case study and the survey techniques to be used. As this case study was undertaken
as part of a planned excavation, aerial photogrammetry was conducted every week to monitor the excavation progress
It was focused on spatial level of 2 structure and 3 site element.
A high level of detail was selected
for the new archaeological findings
(site elements) as it was foreseen that they would be moved.
16 control points were measured throughout the site with a Leica total station. This data was used to orient the 3-D scan data.
3-D scanning was conducted with a FARO laser scanner to capture the geometry of the excavation site as depicted in Figure 56. A total of 51 scans were performed.
Aerial photography was conducted with an RPA (drone) to capture data for the site. A colour correction palette
was used for photo enhancement.
Photography was conducted with a
high-quality camera to produce a photographic portfolio for the site,
also to be used in the photogrammetric applications. Terrestrial photography was used to capture details of the trenches.
SCENE and AutoDesk Recap software. The scans were merged through the software, using the control points measured with the total station.
A metrically accurate 3-D point
cloud was created for the site using
3-D scan software FARO
Colour correction was performed on the acquired photographs to ensure the creation of high-quality photogrammetric models.
Photogrammetry was taken to get the highest level of textures of the
findings on site.
Photogrammetric models were created through Agisoft Metashape photogrammetry software, using terrestrial photography for the trenches and aerial photography for the whole site. Highly detailed and metrically accurate 3-D models of the trenches and the site were developed.
Orthophotos were developed from the photogrammetric models for the trenches and the site. Orthophotos allow for an accurate and highly detailed representation of an element projected onto a given plane, and as such proved a useful tool for the documentation of Hili 14’s historic environment.
2-D measured drawings were created for the site and the trenches by tracing the orthophotos. The drawings were created following the standardised AutoCAD template and the levels of detail as discussed in the HED Standards.