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Frederick Cooper |
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At Pylos, we recovered 4,750 pieces of decorated stucco scattered over the 10,000 m square area of the site, with a concentration coming from a bronze age mosaic-like floor made of reused painted wall chips. A high percentage are of high-quality, painted in true-fresco technique and bearing elements of figural decoration. When the quantity of recovered fresco pieces began to exceed a finite number we had to design a new method for processing rather than relying upon the traditional approach of empirical matching and joining by trial and error. We began by recording each piece on a standardized inventory sheet which includes standardized taxonomy: color according to the Pantone color scale, measurements of height, length, width, and a chart to indicate the thickness of the successive layers of plaster. This last is an important diagnostic feature because the painted walls at Pylos were prepared by applying two to four preliminary layers of a stucco base. Thicknesses to the successive layers and the composition of the stucco may be consistent according to artistic program but probably varies from project to project. Thus an analysis of the fragment cross-sections is of crucial assistance in assigning pieces to individual scenes on walls. The fragment information was converted to a digital form so that the data can be assessed through a number of computer programs. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, a 4 x 8 foot glass pane in a horizontal window became a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation of a possible homicide. Forensic staff at the Minnesota Crime Laboratory, however, were unable to reconstruct the glass pane beyond the outer edge. In the fall of 1997, Laura Nelson learned of my fresco research in Greece and asked if I could assist with the reassembly of the modern pane of glass. Nelson is a forensic specialist with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. In 1999 we applied for and have received a grant from the National Institute of Justice for the purpose of fitting the specifics of the Pylos fresco project to that of the shattered plate glass with a view towards broader application of object reconstruction through the integration of commercially available digital technology. The NIJ grant provides an opportunity to implement, test and refine our reconstruction methodology. Physical objects shattered and then scattered by human actions have been difficult, if not impossible, to reconstruct into the original whole. The forensic scientist and the archaeologist often share this dilemma. |