Digital Documentation of the Nisa Archaeological site (Turkmenistan): Enhancing the Integration of Laser Scanning Methods for 3D Printing and Video Mapping

This project aims at establishing a comprehensive digital archive for an archaeological site, ensuring its accessibility for future applications across multiple scales and diverse research needs. The geomatics methods developed according to the site’s features provide valuable insights in the field of digital surveying, while the methodology of applying 3D printing to the site reconstruction offers the public a direct form of visualization, and the involvement of projection mapping further enhances the immersive experience and richness of the exhibition, thereby enabling the widespread sharing of academic achievements across different disciplines. The archaeological site selected and examined in this thesis is the Old Nisa site, an ancient city dating back more than two thousand years, the capital of the Parthian civilization, located approximately 16 km from the present capital of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat. Taking the Old Nisa as research subjects, the research develops a complete workflow including on-site geomatic survey, point cloud acquisition and processing, digital model reconstruction, and derivative outputs for physical and visual representation. The thesis is mainly structured covering the conceptual foundation of cultural heritage and digital archiving (Chapter 1), historical and archaeological context of Old Nisa (Chapter 2), Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) based geomatic survey and point cloud processing (Chapter 3), 3D printing-based physical reconstruction (Chapter 4), and video mapping (projection mapping) for enhancing digital interpretation and public communication (Chapter 5). This thesis is based on the collaboration of the Laboratorio di Geomatica per i Beni Culturali (Lab G4CH) of Politecnico di Torino, the Centro Ricerche Archeologiche e Scavi di Torino (CRAST) per il Medio Oriente e l'Asia, and the Laboratorio Multimediale (MULTIMEDIALab) of Politecnico di Torino within the framework of an exhibition project organized between the Musei Capitolini in Rome and the official institutions of Turkmenistan. The exhibition was held at piazza Campidoglio of Rome on October 25, titled as “Antiche civiltà del Turkmenistan (Ancient civilizations of Turkmenistan)”, with the aim of presenting to the public a multidimensional and grand narrative set in the historical context of Central Asia in the 3rd century BC. The thesis discussed the pressing challenges faced by cultural heritage sites, and further explored practical strategies for applying digital technologies to heritage conservation and dissemination. The author mainly contributed to the optimization of point clouds, further completed the construction of the three-dimensional digital model and the transformation of the physical model.