The contribution of laser scanning technology in the estimation of ancient Greek monuments' deformations

Terrestrial laser scanning technology is nowadays more and more used for the documentation of cultural heritage monuments. The thorough exploitation of the main advantage of terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) that is the acquisition of extremely dense discrete points in a relatively small time period leads to detailed 3D representation of the monument, overcoming possible difficulties such as limited accessibility. Most often, this 3D representation is used for the monument's documentation as well as for virtual tours in, out or around it. This detailed documentation can be used for one more purpose: the estimation of the deformation that its elements have experienced through the centuries and, following, the monument's restoration, provided that, its' initial, constructional geometry is known. In this paper, research towards this goal is presented, dealing with the estimation of the deformations of a column of the ancient temple of Zeus in Nemea Greece using TLS technology. This column is standing erect since the temple's construction in 330 BC and it has been subject to serious deformations because of various causes.