A New Approach for Documentation, Conservation and Preservation of the Monolithic Statues in San Agustín as Pilot for Outdoor Cultural Heritage Documentation in Colombia

Abstract. The "Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia" (ICANH) started a new conservation project for the "San Agustín Archaeological Park" (Huila, Colombia) in 2013. The objectives of this project are the documentation, conservation, and preservation of the numerous monolithic statues mainly by integrating the use of new technologies (3D models). A first phase of the project has been completed, resulting in three-dimensional models of 66 of the monolithic sculptures in San Agustín. The methodology developed in this first phase will show the way for other heritage sites in Colombia and for subsequent phases applied to the archaeological park. The 3D data has been obtained using two types of data acquisition technology: the Mantis Vision F5 using infrared structured-light (SL) and a laser scanner based on the phase shift (PS) technology, the Z+F Imager 5010. The results show that future phases need improvement in data acquisition. Mainly the data obtained with the hand held scanner shows many lacunae. This article presents the observations during data processing on the basis of one sculpture, "Escultura 23". In conclusion, this first phase showed where to improve for the succeeding ones, for instance the detail of the meshes need to be increased if the models are to be used for detailed conservation and preservation purposes.