Comparison of two well-established 3D acquisition techniques on a small fragmental artefact of a few cubic centimetres

The aim of this study is to obtain 3D digital models of small and opaque ceramic fragments with 3D acquisition techniques. One of these fragments used for the experiment was retrieved during an excavation campaign at Muro Leccese, Italy. That ceramic fragment is characterised by a relatively small size (3.5 cm x 4 cm x 0.4 cm), with a slight curvature and specular paintings. We investigated the use of two well-established 3D data acquisition techniques available at the university’s 3D laboratory, i.e., high resolution laser scanning and multi-view dense stereo based on polarised light. The creation of two metrically correct 3D models similar to the real artefact that are both functional and simple to display, as a result. The digital model presented us with the possibility to identify the correct inclination of the fragment in order to identify the ceramic form.