G O A L S & M E T H O D S
From collections and archive of the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden (RMO) we present here stelae collected by and drawings made by J. E. Humbert (HTC, HIt), as well as plaster casts from the 1820s and 1830s donated by C. T. Falbe (CF*) and by the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden (KD). In addition we present later acquisitions, even those not 3-D scanned, which prove useful for the study of Punic and Neo-Punic epigraphy. Also included are five uninscribed funerary markers, two related stelae without casts from the Nationalmuseet Danmarks in København (NMD), four artifacts from the Museon-Omniversum in Den Haag (M-O), one from the Musée L (ML) at the Université catholique de Louvain, one terracotta plaque in The Allard Pierson at the University of Amsterdam (AP), and three stelae in private hands (published in the CIS).
Our goals:
- represent stelae with increasing precision
- modify digital photographs to 1:5 scale
- create scalable vector line drawings
- create digital 3D models suitable for scalable reproduction
- make digital images and epigraphic models widely available for study (e.g. via CIP)
- initiate modern era of collection exchange
To these ends, we have made a limited attempt to illustrate surface decoration and inscriptions. Pencil drawings were scanned and converted to vector images using Adobe Illustrator. We measured the cartesian coordinates of each stela — the width of its face (x), its depth (y) and height (z). In describing the script, we have relied upon Peckham (1968). For the 3D modeling, we tested both a hand-held blue light scanner (courtesy of Monica Huisman) and, in one case, a structured light scanner (courtesy of Stefan Oostingh), as well as LIDAR scanning (Polycam), with post-processing undertaken by Monica Huisman and Loes Opgenhaffen.
This study expands upon the work of Hoftijzer (1961, 1963, 1988). We have created hardware-reliant scans with equipment provided either by ULeiden (i.e. Artec Spider), or by Saxion (i.e. H-P DAVID SLS-3, now obsolete), otherwise we created software-reliant LIDAR scans (using Polycam). One can also find our 3D models hosted on Sketchfab.
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