YAKUTSK, June 5. /TASS/. Scientists will create a 3D model of Yakutia's northernmost Tangaralaakh rock painting, located in a remote area on the right bank of the Olenyok River, expert of the archaeology laboratory at the Institute of Humanitarian Problems and Low-Numbered Peoples (the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch) Vladislav Danilov told TASS.
"We plan to digitalize within this year the northernmost Tangaralah painting, which is on Yakutia's list of cultural heritage sites. We would like to link the 3D models of Yakutia's paintings with the geographic information systems (GIS). They will feature copies of the paintings with photos, descriptions and virtual models. This platform will be useful for school students and for anyone interested in the region's history. For example, if books on Yakutia's history had a QR code for the paintings' 3D models, readers will receive additional emotions," the expert said.
The VR technologies may be used to organize virtual tours to the locations where the rock paintings are, he said.
Yakutia's authorities report about 100 ancient rock arts objects. As a rule, they are located on banks of large rivers - the Lena, the Aldan, the Amga, and the Tokko.
How to preserve rock paintings
Another reason for creating 3D models is that the heritage objects are very vulnerable. "The main reasons for the destruction of rock arts are humans and nature. The ancient arts objects are located along rivers and therefore they are at high risk of destruction during the spring ice drift. Paintings found in caves may be closed. This, for example, has been done to the paintings in Spain's Altamira. As for Yakutia, the monuments are located outdoors, and they cannot be closed. In this sense, 3D modeling is a way to preserve them," the expert added.
Subsoil mining companies pose another threat to the paintings and other archaeological sites, he continued. "However, Yakutia's Cultural Heritage Protection Department controls the situation," he said.
The photogrammetry method is used to create 3D models. It consists in creating numerous photographs of the object - the more, the better. Special software processes more than a hundred high-resolution images. This is how a model of the Oi-Muran painting in the Khangalassky District was made last year.
Specialists have made five 3D models of Yakutia's rock paintings. "We will make more. So far, distances between the objects and their location in hard-to-reach areas are hindering the process to cover many objects. Most of them are accessible only in spring or autumn. The distance to the northernmost painting Tangaralah on the Olenyok River's right bank is about 320 km from the district's center, and getting there is possible in May only - first by plane, then by boat. Another issue is whether there will be good weather for filming, as well as the object's safety," Danilov said.
Support from the North Center
The work is supported by the world-class scientific and educational center North: Territory of Sustainable Development.
The Center unites institutions of Yakutia's Academy of Sciences, the Yakut Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Siberian Branch, and the Northeastern Federal University. The Center represents five Far Eastern regions - Yakutia, Sakhalin, Magadan, Kamchatka and Chukotka.