Virtual reconstruction and representation of an archaeological terracotta statue

This paper describes the virtual reconstruction of a late fifteenth century terracotta statue. The proposed solution was adopted during the restoration process when it was not possible to get back the fragments from the missing parts that were lost during the burial period. The archaeological statue that has been called “Crist del Fossar”, according to its morphology and provenance, was found severely damaged, as it appeared highly fragmented with dull and age-worn edges. The restoration was assisted by means of an automatic reassembly technique that operates on digital models of fragments. This technique considers the best alignments between themselves (without the need to manipulate the original ones) and leads the reassembly and adhesion processes of the fragments. The statue will be part of a temporary exhibition at the Museu de Prehistòria de València where visitors would be able to appreciate the restoration of the few fragments that have been conserved and will be able to explore the virtual reconstruction of the entire statue through an immersive 3D interactive visualization.