A newly discovered engraved aurochs in Siega Verde, Salamanca (Spain). Documentation by combining low-cost and macro photogrammetry

The digital documentation of an engraving recently discovered at the Siega Verde archaeological site (Salamanca, Spain) is presented. It is an aurochs engraved using incision technique and the figure is almost complete. The objectives are the three-dimensional reconstruction of the rocky outcrop and the decorated surface, the obtention of the digital tracing of the aurochs and the measurement of the incision's dimensions. A methodological approach based on the combination of low-cost and macro photogrammetry has been developed to achieve the objectives, the latter to obtain exact measurements of the dimensions of the incisions. The specific difficulties, as in many other cases of incised engravings, are related to the absence of colour contrast and to the tiny dimensions of the incisions that make up the engraving. The results demonstrate that the methodology used has been successful to achieve the proposed objectives and to generate electronic files that allow the documentation and dissemination of this new Palaeolithic engraving.

Automated summary

This study presents the digital documentation of an engraving found at the Siega Verde archaeological site in Salamanca, Spain. The objectives were to reconstruct the rocky outcrop and the decorated surface in three dimensions, obtain a digital tracing of the engraving, and measure the dimensions of the incisions. A methodological approach combining low-cost and macro photogrammetry was employed to achieve these objectives. The results demonstrate the success of this methodology in documenting and disseminating this new Palaeolithic engraving.