The archaelogical excavation of the early neolithic site of Portonovo as a case of study for testing a 3D documentation pipeline

The paper outlines how different state-of-the-art survey workflows can be applied to map the Early Neolithic site of Portonovo - Fosso Fontanaccia (Ancona, Italy), establishing a straightforward, fast and often low-cost workflow for excavation recording. Different survey experiences are carried out to map the five domed ovens (VI millennium BC) excavated during the 2013 field campaign, ranging from digital photogrammetric to terrestrial laser scanner data acquisition and from open source to commercial processing. The option of quick, well-tested and often low cost/open source survey pipelines makes the research experience a case-study highlighting new approaches that can be integrated in the general excavation methodology and additional interesting features such as model/data reusability. The produced photorealistic 3D models together with all the other digital data are integrated inside a GIS environment satisfying the need to manage on situ the documentation of on going excavations.