Shoutout to the grad student who let me try photogrammetry on a broken pot

I mean, I was just helping out at a dig near Tucson last summer, and they had this one piece that wouldn't fit with any other sherds. We took like 80 photos from all angles to make a 3D model, and the software basically showed us it was from a totally different type of vessel, maybe traded from farther south. Idk, it just felt like finding a new piece of the puzzle without even digging more. Has anyone else had a simple tech thing totally shift how you saw a find?

3 comments

3 Comments

phoenix_bailey12d ago

Photogrammetry turning a broken pot into a plot twist is pretty great. It's like the artifact had a secret identity all along. Just wait until the pottery starts giving its own lectures.

aaron_adams11d ago

My buddy works at a museum and they scanned a "vase" that turned out to be an ancient oil lamp base. Totally changed the display info overnight.

the_drew11d ago

Love that idea! Imagine a whole museum of pots just telling their own stories.