3D-portable documentation technology for analysis and preservation of schematic rock art panelsa case study of the Castrocontrigo calcolithic paintings

Résumé

The Castrocontrigo rock art, located in the southwestern area ofthe León province (Spain), is one of the occurrences of Neolithicrock art in northwest Iberia. They comprise a series of schematicpanels within two rock shelters characterised by the presence ofanthropomorphs, sun-forms and pectiforms that nowadays lackof any preservation directives. Recent forest fires and other humanactivities have partially damaged the motifs, eventually leading tothepossibledestructionof this singular place. This paper dealswiththedigital descriptionanddocumentationof the two shelters usingnon-invasive procedures based on structure-light scanner, photo-grammetry and digital image enhancement. The acquisition of 3Ddigital information in combination with the application of imageenhancement tools reveal the presence of new motifs in poorlypreserved sectors of the studied panels. Although the age of themotifs remains unknown (allegedly between the Chalcolithic andthe Iron Age), they provide useful information about the humansocio-cultural relationships, suggesting military and/or religiousrepresentations. In addition, the distribution of motifs, both inhorizontal and vertical panels, suggests the distinction within thesocial group as well as the existence of power relationships. Thegeneration of photorealistic models from the outcrops aims at thebetter visualizationof themotifs fromdifferent angles andperspec-tives, providingvaluablequalitative andquantitative information forarchaeologist and historians. Our 3D models aim too at providingeffective and wider dissemination of the results ensuring the rockart preservation and awareness to the general public.