Restitution of Sculptural Groups Using 3D Scanners

Imagine for a moment that you have to solve a 3D jigsaw of which you have lost several pieces. You have also lost the original box-top showing the final picture, and as if that were not enough, some of the pieces you do have may belong to some other jigsaw. This is in essence the sort of challenge that we faced in the novel project that we shall be describing in this paper. The final aim of the project was, with the help of 3D scanners, to digitalize and reconstruct multi-piece classical sculptures. Particularly, we tackle the restitution of the so-called "Aeneas Group", a famous iconographic reference during the Roman Empire. We have undertaken this ambitious project in collaboration with the research department of the Spanish National Museum of Roman Art (MNAR). This paper summarizes the real problems that arose and had to be solved, the innovations, and the main results of the work that we have carried out over these recent years.