Project Description
2024 | Troodos Mountains, Cyprus | Erasmus+ with STARC, The Cyprus Institute
In July 2024, within an Erasmus+ mobility to the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC) of The Cyprus Institute, students of the Department of Photographic Communication at Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College, accompanied by Doron Altaratz and STARC researchers led by Prof. Sorin Hermon, documented the Monastery of Saint John Lampadistis at Kalopanayiotis. The monastery is one of the Painted Churches in the Troodos Region, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
During the first week, the team carried out field survey and data capture on site, applying the techniques the students had learnt in the third-year course 3D Documentation and Introduction to VR, including drone flights and laser scanning. In the second stage, in the Institute’s computer labs, the students processed the data into 3D models of the church using photogrammetry, the computational technique that builds three-dimensional models from two-dimensional photographs.
The painted interior of the church, and photographic capture for photogrammetry on site.
Difficult lighting, the architectural complexity of the site and the constraints of working in a sacred place required the team to develop creative solutions on the spot, lessons that will inform future projects. Beyond their documentation value, the 3D models give the Institute’s archaeologists, historians and architects new means to study the history and function of the church.
The JMC team at the entrance to the monastery, July 2024.
Team. Students of the Department of Photographic Communication, Jerusalem Multidisciplinary College, with Doron Altaratz; researchers of STARC, The Cyprus Institute, led by Prof. Sorin Hermon. Supported by Erasmus+.
Links
- UNESCO: Painted Churches in the Troodos Region
- 3D model: coming soon
