CyArk 3D Heritage Archive

Although this actually launched a couple of months ago, I wanted to point out the CyArk 3D Heritage Archive, which has a great story behind it and touches on some of the research we do in the area of representing landscapes, especially past landscapes, through geospatial technologies and virtual reconstructions. The CyArk 3D Heritage Archive is a collection of 3D models of cultural heritage sites, which are available freely from the CyArk website, which is part of the larger CyArk 3D Heritage Network. There are some amazing scans, like the ones for ancient Thebes or Mesa Verde, and some of the site have other documentation such as 3D CAD drawings, maps and photographs. There are currently 60 scans available, and there is a Java-based 3D point cloud viewer for viewing them in 3D. The hope is to use the models to do what we are working on in our own research, which is recreate past worlds in a virtual environment.

Also check out this San Francisco Chronicle article that talks about the founder of the CyArk project, Ben Kacyra, whose work on developing a 3D laser scanning tool led him to found the Kacyra Foundation to help archaeologists and other researchers scan historic sites.