ANATOMICAL-MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF A VOLUMETRIC 3D MODEL OF AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL OBJECT

The article emphasizes the importance of anatomical-morphological analysis of a volume 3D model reconstructed from microcomputer tomographic 2D images for archaeological documentation and treatment, non-invasive archaeological analysis, and a more optimal selection of conservation methods and techniques. The object of mu CT reconstruction is a 40,000-year-old Palaeolithic hunting weapon found in 2008 in the Ljubljanica River near Sinja Gorica (Vrhnika, lat.: Nauportus, Slovenia). This wooden point (yew; lat.: Taxus baccata) is so far just one of only eight known Palaeolithic wooden artifacts found in Europe. Between 2013 and 2017, the point was conserved using a traditional waterlogged wood processing technique with melamine resin. Using computer volumetric analysis of five surface 3D models, taken before, during and after the conservation, it was found out that volumetric changes and deviations of the point have occurred (bending, weight, volume, surface cracks and changes). Surface changes of the 3D models did not answer the question: what are the causes for the resulting changes after the conservation process? Only anatomical-morphological analysis of the internal structure of the point could answer this question. To this end, we developed an iterative segmentation algorithm adapted to archaeological analysis for the reconstruction of a volume 3D model from microtomographic 2D images. In this way, we successfully supplemented the data of the surface 3D model and confirmed volumetrically and graphically the current and critical state of the internal anatomical structure of the artifact (cracks, fractures, etc.). The case study confirmed the exceptional importance of the use of microcomputed tomography as a non-invasive technique in archaeological analysis and in the planning and selection of procedures for conservation, restoration and storage of sensitive archaeological heritage remains in situ or ex situ.