Use of Terrestrial Laser Scans for High-Resolution Documentation and 3D Modeling of “Desert Kites”

Over 3,000 Desert Kites are known in Southwest Asia. However, most are known only by the study of Google Earth images, and the majority have never been visited or surveyed by foot or thoroughly documented. The high-resolution documentation of such constructions is imperative but limited in many cases, due to the harsh conditions and the use of local undressed stones for building. We introduce here the use of a LiDAR scanner and its contribution to the study of kites, with a case study from the southern Negev, Israel. In particular, the derived 3D models provide an excellent basis for addressing research foci, such as topographic details, the area between the arms and inside the heads, inclination, and especially the volumes of the built walls. Such data enhance our understanding of the construction efforts on the one hand, and the details of the topographic settings on the other.