One Big Jigsaw: Challenges in Disseminating 3D Data from the Former Curzon Street Station Yard
0Valeria Carrillo
"As the UK’s largest linear infrastructure project, High Speed Two’s archaeology programme, offers a unique opportunity for preserving and sharing valuable insights into Britain’s modern history. This presentation delves into the challenges encountered while disseminating 3D data from the Former Curzon Street Station Yard, a significant historical site that stood as a testament to Britain's industrial past before the construction of the new high-speed railway.
In 2020, excavations at the site of the new Birmingham Station unearthed the world's oldest locomotive roundhouse, designed by renowned railway engineer Robert Stephenson. This historical find prompted the creation of plans, digital photographs, 3D models, processing reports, and site records, all of which were deposited at the Archaeology Data Service (ADS) earlier this year.
Archiving 3D data from this site posed significant challenges due to the complexity of the data itself. Large files, inconsistent naming, information overlap, and extraneous geometry presented obstacles to manipulating data and understanding the roundhouse properly.
This presentation delves into the preservation of 3D models derived from photogrammetry workflows, emphasising the use of preferred formats and safeguarding raw data for future researchers. The discussion will extend to the rationale behind disseminating models enhanced by the ADS, which would facilitate access for the general and specialised public, inspiring engagement and future research.
The talk will also cover the method used for 3D data post-processing, which involved eliminating noise and errors and aligning the deposited models; an essential clean-up effort for making sure all models came together seamlessly, painting a complete picture of the early railway terminus.
The impact of this work will be highlighted showcasing how the correct dissemination of 3D data can open new research avenues and enrich the study of cultural objects and sites through their 3D reconstructions.
In conclusion, the Former Curzon Street Station Yard archive serves as a valuable case study in digital preservation and archiving of 3D data derived from Structure-from-Motion workflows. This presentation provides insights for archaeologists, digital preservation practitioners, and depositors, hinting at the archive’s forthcoming release and promising further discoveries in HS2 archives and similar projects in the future.