The years are not kind to George and Abraham. The erosive forces of wind, rain, heat and cold constantly badger the granite and other metamorphic rock from which the Mount Rushmore National Monument was carved. Water seeps into cracks, freezes and expands, causing damage, dings and pocks unsuitable for the face of a former president.
But a technical conservation group from Historic Scotland and the Glasgow School of Art has swooped down on South Dakota this week to offer assistance. The team is on a mission to digitally scan 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites around the world using state-of-the-art laser technology from Oakland, CA-based CyArk. Five of the sites are in Scotland and the other five will come from around the world.
Essentially, the laser beam, housed inside box, scans the surrounding area in an up-and-down motion while the box moves slowly from one side to another. The laswer moves so fast, that it can pick up 50,000 points in space every second and can reproduce details down to 3 millimeters.
The endeavor is called the The Scotish 10 Project, and Mount Rushmore is the first on their list. the information gleaned from these surveys will allow scientists and archaeologist to produce accurate computer models and serve as a resource for when future repairs to these archaeological wonders are needed.
Tags: 3D Models, Archaeology, Architecture, History
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