3D Scanning at the Woodville Civic Centre in Gravesend, UK
This post has been cross posted from our sister blog DRAGEN Tales.
During the first week of June 2023, a small group of students from the DRAGEN Lab began a two-week research assignment at the Woodville Civic Centre in Gravesend, England, in partnership with the Hands on Archaeology: Unearthing Gravesham’s Past project. The students are working to create 3D scans of Roman and Anglo-Saxon artifacts unearthed from a high-status burial in Gravesheath. When the team first arrived at the Woodville Civic Centre, they were met by Dr. Stephen Sherlock, a co-investigator on Environments of Change and an archeologist with Britain’s National Highways agency.
The team’s principle contact at Gravesend are Lyndsey Thompson, Arts and Heritage Officer in Gravesham Borough Council and Dana Goodburn-Brown, a Conservator preserving the artifacts at the Blake Gallery who runs a series of interactive public workshops. While in Gravesend, our team supports their work in providing a deeper understanding of the benefits of digitally reimagining historic artifacts. Through their 3D scans, they reach out to communities and share the value of archaeological finds. The ultimate aim of our participation is to create some replica items to make a more tactile interactive display for the public.
To that end, our students are contributing to an interactive exhibit and virtual museum to encourage community engagement, as well as a physical space for visitors to view the finds housed at the gallery. Members of the community have been invited to stop by to view the artifacts, to watch as they are 3D scanned by our team, and to learn about the process of digitally reimagining historical artifacts. Our team looks forward to sharing more about this exciting project in the coming weeks through the DRAGEN Tales blog!
Written by Shannon Blackmore, Kian Drew, Astrid Woerner Kropp, and Katrina van der Ahe.