what does archaeological building research do in Doliche?
I have been involved in the Doliche project as a building researcher since 2021 and have been working on the built structures. During my studies in Historical Building Research, I was able to take part in the excavation for the first time and get a taste of archaeological building research and have not let go of it since. Back then, I was allowed to document the so-called Hangkirche (hillside church), but today I am only on field 414, where a monumental stone building is currently being excavated. But why do the objects found need to be examined again by building research if they have already been documented by archaeologists?
In addition to the different focal points, the main difference lies in the disciplines’ different ways of thinking: While archaeology digs from top to bottom, defines features and recognises connections from the interdependence of these layers, building research thinks three-dimensionally. We building researchers are interested in the buildings as a whole, not only in plan, but also in elevation. The focus is on the architecture of the building, how the load-bearing system functioned and what ornamentation was used. Including the archaeological finds and working closely with the archaeologists is of course essential, as often only the archaeological finds can provide information about connections and reliable results can only be obtained through interdisciplinary considerations.
However, in order to be able to make assumptions about the original form of a building, the remains found must first be documented. Various methods are used for this, depending on the aim of the documentation and the resources available. In addition to detailed descriptions and photographs, an important aspect is scale drawings, so that after the campaign, when you are no longer on site and can re-measure, you can examine all the connections in the building. A 3D model is usually created first, either with a laser scanner or using an SfM (structure from motion), whereby photos are calculated into a three-dimensional model. Two-dimensional plans can then be transferred from this three-dimensional data. While digital drawings are usually produced in building research today, this is not directly possible in Doliche. In the hot outside temperatures, digital devices often cannot be taken into the field, so analogue drawings are made with pencil on paper. But why not simply continue working with the 3D model, why create elaborate two-dimensional documents?
This means you can print out the plans and take them with you, send them or publish them. In addition, you can determine the level of detail in the drawings yourself, while elements (e.g. trees or shadows) that are irrelevant to the building are often visible in the 3D models. At the same time, important information such as work marks on the stone may not be visible, which can still be added manually in the drawings. Sometimes you can recognise different details on the stones at different times of day with different positions of the sun, so these may be missing in the 3D model and have to be measured on site and entered in the plan. It is therefore important to draw directly on the excavation so that no information is forgotten and things are not accidentally drawn that do not exist in reality. Final interpretations can then be recorded in the resulting plans, for example which materials were used or which construction phases can be recognised.
In addition, components that no longer remain “in situ”, i.e. in their original location, must be documented because they can ultimately provide information about the original appearance of a building. In Doliche, such stones are stored at the edge of the field or, if they are only small fragments, in the depot in the house. Here, too, photos are taken, 3D models are created with a hand scanner, or the components are measured and drawn by hand.
While the documentation will of course be completed as the excavation progresses, this is not the final result. All the data collected – drawings of floor plans and sectional views, measurements, recorded building components – will ultimately be used to reconstruct the original building. Because only a few walls are still preserved in situ, comparable buildings in the region must also be researched in order to decide what our monumental building might have looked like in ancient times. In the form of sketches and digital drawings, in which all the information can be combined, initial ideas about the ground plan, the elevation and details of the building are currently emerging. Some questions will probably remain unanswered or will have to be answered by well-founded assumptions, which is what makes archaeological building research so complicated, but also so exciting.
Expert & Author:
Theresa Pommer M.A.
Historical Building Research
University of Braunschweig
