From the bas-relief to the 3D model : a reconstruction hypothesis for an 8th century BC civil fortification

Abstract

The paper examines three 8th century BC  artifacts  uncovered  in an area which historically belonged to Armenia . According to previous studies,  the findings are representations of the external elevations of a fortified civil building probably erected at the foot of the biblical Mount Ararat , an active volcano with a permanently  snow covered  top.

The study exploits the methodologically founded possibility of detecting  the representation of recurrent elements which can determine castle typology identifying features  . The drawings  guided the quest for the proportions and dimensional relationships used to reconstruct,  in precise graphical  scale, the elevations the fragments alluded to. The floor plans were obtained in  bi-univocal  correspondence to the different heights  using observations of active and passive defense   derived from the comparisons with other findings of the same period , the relevant  literature  and iconographic sources   .

The spatial configuration hypothesis was  illustrated  thanks to the  rigorous axonometric views of the virtually reconstructed digital model.