ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume II-5/W3, 2015
25th International CIPA Symposium 2015, 31 August – 04 September 2015, Taipei, Taiwan
METHODOLOGY OF HIGH-RESOLUTION PHOTOGRAPHY
FOR MURAL CONDITION DATABESE
R. Higuchi a, * , T. Suzuki b, M. Shibata c, Y. Taniguchi d
a
Dept. of Built Environment, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan - higuchi.r.ab@m.titech.ac.jp
Asia-Japan Research Center, Kokushikan University, Japan - suzuki.tamaki0316@gmail.com
c
National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, Japan - mina.shibata@gmail.com
d
Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Japan - taniguchi.yoko.fu@u.tsukuba.ac.jp
b
Symposium Topic D, D-4 Technologies aimed at preventive maintenance and monitoring of sites
KEY WORDS: Photography, documentation, high-resolution image, mural painting, rock-hewn church, Cappadocia
ABSTRACT:
Digital documentation is one of the most useful techniques to record the condition of cultural heritage. Recently, high-resolution
images become increasingly useful because it is possible to show general views of mural paintings and also detailed mural conditions
in a single image. As mural paintings are damaged by environmental stresses, it is necessary to record the details of painting
condition on high-resolution base maps. Unfortunately, the cost of high-resolution photography and the difficulty of operating its
instruments and software have commonly been an impediment for researchers and conservators. However, the recent development of
graphic software makes its operation simpler and less expensive. In this paper, we suggest a new approach to make digital heritage
inventories without special instruments, based on our recent our research project in Üzümlü church in Cappadocia, Turkey. This
method enables us to achieve a high-resolution image database with low costs, short time, and limited human resources.
1. INTRODUCTION
Digital documentation, such as high-resolution photography, is
one of the cutting-edge techniques and most useful methods to
record the condition of cultural heritage. Especially, in recent
mural painting conservation projects, high-resolution images
become useful because it is possible to show both general view
of mural painting and detailed mural condition in a single image.
Such digital archiving is necessary because the mural paintings
are damaged by diverse mechanisms, such as physical,
environmental and biological effects. Therefore, it is necessary
to record the details of painting condition on high-resolution
base maps.
On the other hand, the cost of high-resolution photography and
the difficulty of operating its instruments and software have
commonly been an impediment for researchers and conservators.
However, the recent development of graphic software makes its
operation simpler and less expensive. In this paper, we suggest a
new approach to develop a mural painting database, which is
based on our recent our research project in Üzümlü church in
Cappadocia, Turkey.
2. GENERAL INFORMATION OF ÜZÜMLÜ CHURCH
Figure 1. Map of Turkey and around the site
The Üzümlü church is identified as the chapel of Niketas the
Stylite (Rodley 1963). Little is known about the history of the
church since little documentation exists. However, because the
mural paintings are similar to those found in Pantokrator
Monastery (Zeyreki Kilise Camii, 1120 - 1136), Istanbul, the
mural paintings in the Üzümlü church may date between the
periods of the Komnenos dynasty (1081-1185). On the other
hand, it is very difficult to determine the exact period when this
church was built or when the murals were painted because the
cave church was extended by excavating the rock gradually.
The mural paintings do not contain any botanical materials such
as thatch; therefore, a precise dating is very difficult.
2.1 Location of the Site and its Architectural Style
The rock-hewn church of Üzümlü (Üzümlü means grape in
Turkish) is located in the Red Valley in the Cappadocia in
Turkey (Fig. 1). It is close to the west of Ortahisar village. The
church shows obvious deterioration phenomena caused by
environment, rock composition and seismic activity, biological
and human activities including vandalism.
The Üzümlü church is about 12 m in an east-west direction, and
about 8 m in a north-south direction. The church is composed of
five chambers (Fig. 2). Although it is unknown how these
chambers were used originally, we assume that the three
ordered chambers from western entrance to eastwards are
"narthex", "nave" and "apse". The two other chambers attaching
the north side of nave and apse may be extra ones, as the ceiling
height of these chambers are shorter than the other three
* Corresponding author
This contribution has been peer-reviewed. The double-blind peer-review was conducted on the basis of the full paper.
doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W3-105-2015
105
ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume II-5/W3, 2015
25th International CIPA Symposium 2015, 31 August – 04 September 2015, Taipei, Taiwan
chambers and these two are not covered with mural paintings.
The plans of narthex and nave are imperfect rectangles, and the
plan of apse is an ellipse. The ceiling of the narthex and nave
are barrel vault and that of apse is dome. The two chambers on
the north side of nave and apse are cuboid and were never
covered with paintings. Compared with the exposed rock
surface of the main chambers, the surfaces of the two chambers
are roughly excavated. This obviously may indicate that the
main chambers and other combers were made by different
techniques. Therefore, it would seem that the latter two
chambers were never painted. Also, these seem to be excavated
in a later period.
were merged digitally into a single high-resolution image using
Adobe Photoshop® software. After the images were rectified by
measurement data, each image piece of wall or ceiling was used
as base map. The conditions of the mural paintings were
recorded on the OHP films on the printed base map. After
digitalising the OHP films, the condition of the mural paintings
were drawn on the high-resolution base map used by Adobe
Illustrator®. Consequently, the process of documentation
generally followed these four steps:
1) Photography of the paintings
2) Measurement of the cave and location of paintings
3) Image processing: Merging photographs into a single highresolution photograph, rectification of the images and
creation of the base map.
4) Condition assessment and recording
3.1 Instrument
The instruments we used in our study are listed below:
Digital Camera (Canon EOS 60D)
Wide-angle Lens (Canon EF-S10-22mm F 3.5-4.5 USM)
Tripod (Manfrotto 055 CXPRO3JP)
Laser digital distance meter (Leica Disto D210)
Measuring Tape
Software: Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Illustrator CS6
3.2 Photography of mural painting
Figure 2. Plan of the Üzümlü church
2.2 Former documentation project
The comprehensive documentation of the rock-hewn churches
in Cappadocia was first undertaken by Dr. Nicole Thierry, from
the University of Paris-Sorbonne, France, in the 1960s (Thierry,
1963). Her research focused on recording the iconographic
scheme. Preliminary measurement of the rock-hewn churches
around Cappadocia valley was also done by a research team led
by Dr. Masaru Maeno, Professor of Tokyo University of the
Arts in the early 1970s, during which the architectural drawings
of Üzümlü church were made (unpublished). However, since
the 1970s, no further documentation has been undertaken, and
the paintings have been gradually damaged by physical,
environmental and biological effects.
Photography was conducted by setting the camera on a tripod
horizontally and parallel to the mural painting. Then, the
distance between the lens and the mural painting was measured
by a digital distance meter. Depending on the dimensions of the
mural paintings, the paintings were taken in several shots. When
the camera was moved horizontally or vertically, the distance
between the lens and the paintings was kept constant, and each
shot should contain enough overlap with photographs of
adjacent areas, so that the digital merge could be processed
successfully. Figure 3 is an example of a merged photograph. In
this example, four photos (two rows of two shots) were taken of
the wall paining on the south-wall in the nave.
2.3 Location of mural painting
The mural paintings that were depicted in the 12th century
survive on the following surfaces of the church: intrados of the
arched entrance, west-wall, south-wall, east-wall, north arch and
barrel vaulted ceiling in the narthex, west-wall, south-wall, eastwall and barrel vaulted ceiling in the nave, southeast-wall and
domed ceiling in the apse, and transverse arch between narthex
and apse. Although we assume that the intrados of transverse
arch between narthex and nave may be covered with paintings,
we cannot identify any remnants of the mural paintings because
the lower part of this transverse arch is collapsed.
3. DOCUMENTATION METHODOLOGY
Since the paintings are depicted on the large surface of the walls,
vaulted ceiling and dome, it was impossible to capture whole
images in a single shot. Therefore, the wall was photographed in
several pieces both vertically and horizontally, and the pieces
Figure 3. Concept of image merging (the south wall in the nave)
3.3 Measurement
The measurement of the cave was based on the architectural
plan created by Prof. Maeno in 1970s, since there is no digital
measurement data about this church. Further measurements
were taken in this research in order to record the exact
dimension of the paintings and distance between some
important figures and features, which were necessary for image
processing. First, the height and width of the mural paintings
were measured using a digital distance meter or the measuring
This contribution has been peer-reviewed. The double-blind peer-review was conducted on the basis of the full paper.
doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W3-105-2015
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ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume II-5/W3, 2015
25th International CIPA Symposium 2015, 31 August – 04 September 2015, Taipei, Taiwan
tape. Additionally, the distance between distinctive figures in
the mural paintings, such as saints, was measured. When we
measured curved surfaces, such as barrel vault or dome, we also
measured the inner radial of these in order to make a planar
image from the curved surface (Fig. 4).
Figure 6. Image merging process 2: Choose the files to combine
Figure 4. Diagram of conversion from curved surface to planar
image
3.4 Image Processing
The photographs were merged into a single high-resolution
image using the "photo merge" function of Adobe Photoshop
CS6. The merged image was manually rectified based on the
measurement data, and resized to the exact scale. Then, these
images were imported into Adobe Illustrator CS6 to record the
mural condition. The process of merge and rectification using
Adobe Photoshop CS6 is as follows:
Figure 7. Image merging process 3: Example of succeeded (left)
and failed (right) combining photos
[Procedure of Photomerge]
1) Read files (Fig. 5): read the files to merge. Then select
[Automate] in the [File] menu. Then click [Photomerge] and
Select [Add Open Files].
Figure 8. Image merging process 5: Set the guildelines
6) Revise the photograph (Fig. 9): select [Edit] menu and click
[Warp] from the [Transform] menu, and revise the distorted
areas of the merged photographs and adjust them to fit the
exact scale.
Figure 5. Image merging process 1: "Photomerge" on the menu
2) Merge files (Fig. 6): check [Blend Images Together],
[Vignette Removal] and [Geometric Distortion Correction].
Then click [OK].
3) Check the edge of each of the images (Fig. 7): if the
processes above were done correctly, we then check each
end of the reading photographs.
4) Combine the layers: select [Layer] menu and click [Merge
Visible].
5) Set the guidelines for revision: select [View] menu and click
[New Guide...]. Then move the guides based on the measured
places such as Figure 8.
Figure 9. Image merging process 6: Chose "Warp" tool
7) Apply the transform (Fig. 10): after finishing transform, click
[Apply] in the window "Apply the transform?"
Figure 11 is an example of the photograph of the dome, which
was merged from five images.
This contribution has been peer-reviewed. The double-blind peer-review was conducted on the basis of the full paper.
doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W3-105-2015
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ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume II-5/W3, 2015
25th International CIPA Symposium 2015, 31 August – 04 September 2015, Taipei, Taiwan
Following this method, we created thirteen base maps.
resulting from cracking of the rock structure and mechanical
damage, though there may be other causes. Holes are very
circular, small holes of approximately 5mm Ø, which enter
into the plaster layer and generally do not reach the substrate.
Incised graffiti is inscriptions and drawing incised into the
surface of the painting, affecting the paint layer, ground and
plaster layer.
Figure 10. Image merging process 7: Applying the "Warp" tool
a. Biological activity
b. Deposition of dark material
c. Structural cracking
d. Spalling
Figure 12. Photos of rock layer deterioration
Figure 11. Finished photograph merged five images
3.5 Condition assessment and recording of mural paintings
After creating the base maps, the conditions of the mural
paintings were recorded on the OHP sheets on the printed base
maps. The mural paintings in the Üzümlü church are composed
of three layers: rock layer, plaster layer and paint layer.
Therefore, we recorded the condition of each layer of a mural
painting as separated mural condition sheets. The identified
deterioration items in each layer are as follows.
a) Rock layer deterioration is identified by four items:
biological activity (Fig. 12-a), deposition of dark material
(Fig. 12-b), structural cracks (Fig. 12-c) and spalling (Fig.
12-d). Biological activity is evidence of animal inhabitation
on rock, such as insects or spiders. Deposition of dark
material is deposit of dark brown or blockish material on the
surface of the rock. Structural cracks are large cracks that
run through the body of the rock, caused by faulting.
Spalling is detachment of the rock on a small scale, in
parallel to the surface of the rock.
b) Plaster layer deterioration is identified by five items:
detachment of lower plaster layer (Fig. 13-a), mechanical
damage (Fig. 13-b), cracking (Fig. 13-c), holes (Fig. 13-d)
and incised graffiti (Fig. 13-e). Detachment of lower plaster
layer is loss of adhesion between the lower plaster layer and
rock substrate, as assessed by visual evidence alone.
Mechanical damage is rupture of the painting stratigraphy
by human or animal action, causing a variety of damage
types: loss of the entire stratigraphy, revealing the
underlying rock substrate; loss of the paint layer, ground
and part of the lower plaster layer, leaving the interior of the
lower plaster layer exposed; loss of only the upper plaster
ground, leaving the surface of the lower plaster layer intact;
deformation of the painting stratigraphy, which otherwise
remain intact. Cracking is that of plaster layer most often
a. Detachment of lower
plaster layer
b. Mechanical damage
c. Cracking
d. Holes
e. Incised graffiti
Figure 13. Photos of plaster layer deterioration
c) Paint layer deterioration is identified by ten items: smearing
(Fig. 14-a), surface deposition (Fig. 14-b), dark grey veil
(Fig. 14-c), micro-losses (Fig. 14-d), grey spotting (Fig. 14e), original fixing (Fig. 14-f), biological deterioration (Fig.
14-g), superficial graffiti (Fig. 14-h), nail (Fig. 14-i) and
paint loss due to biological activity (Fig. 14-j). Smearing is
displacement of the paint layer by mechanical action beyond
its original location, seen as a spreading of the paint across
the surface of the plaster. Surface deposition is deposition of
material on the surface of the painting, such as mud from
birds' nests or from later construction in the church such as
mud plaster. Dark gray veil is veil extending over the
surface of the painting, dark gray in color, somewhat patchy,
and of unclear origin. Micro losses are extremely small,
This contribution has been peer-reviewed. The double-blind peer-review was conducted on the basis of the full paper.
doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W3-105-2015
108
ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume II-5/W3, 2015
25th International CIPA Symposium 2015, 31 August – 04 September 2015, Taipei, Taiwan
rounded losses of the paint layer generally on the order of
0.5-1 mm Ø. Grey spotting is the faint, circular grey spots,
0.5-3 mm Ø, on the surface of the painting. Original fixing
is the trace of fixing that may be carried out almost at the
same period of mural painting depicted because the colors
of this part and around area of that are almost the same.
Biological deterioration is discoloration, generally dark gray,
of certain areas of painting due to animal inhabitation.
Superficial graffiti is the graffiti applied to the surface of the
painting using a medium such as paint, ink or graphite. Nail
is the part of nail on the paint layer. Paint layer loss due to
biological activity is loss of the paint layer due to the former
presence of birds' nests primarily which, when separated
from the painting surface, removed part of the paint layer.
a. Smearing
After recording the condition of deterioration of a layer, the
OHP sheet was scanned in order to make digital mural condition
sheets (Fig. 15). In the case that there were too many items to
record an OHP sheet, we used more than two OHP sheets to
record one layer. Using Adobe Illustrator, we traced the scanned
data with a pen tool. The traced deterioration places were
divided into different layers by each item of deterioration.
Therefore, one mural condition sheet can show the deteriorated
places of selected items in one layer. Then, the scale of mural
condition sheets was adjusted to 1/10, 1/15, 1/20, 1/25. As we
checked the deterioration of each layer of the mural paintings,
we produced 39 mural condition sheets and 13 photographs of
mural paintings for the digital heritage inventories. Figure 15 is
one of the examples of digital heritage inventories, which is the
paint layer deterioration of the ceiling in the nave.
b. Surface deposition
Figure 15. Scanned OHP sheet of plaster deterioration of the
ceiling in the narthex
c. Dark grey veil
d. Micro-losses
e. Grey spotting
f. Original fixing
g. biological deterioration
h. Superficial graffiti
i. Nail
j. Paint loss due to biological activity
Figure 14. Photos of paint layer deterioration
Figure 16. An example of digital heritage inventories:
Paint layer deterioration of the ceiling in the nave.
This contribution has been peer-reviewed. The double-blind peer-review was conducted on the basis of the full paper.
doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W3-105-2015
109
ISPRS Annals of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Volume II-5/W3, 2015
25th International CIPA Symposium 2015, 31 August – 04 September 2015, Taipei, Taiwan
4. CONCLUSION
In this paper, we suggested a new approach to develop a mural
painting database, using normal digital single-lens reflex camera
and tripod, measuring tools and standard digital image
processing software. Compared with conventional digital
documentation, our method can produce high-resolution images
at low cost, and with limited time and human resources.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant-in-Aid for
young Scientists (B) Number 24760528.
REFERENCES
Rodley, L., 1985, Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge: New York.
Thierry, N. et al., 1963. Nouvelles églises rupestres de
Cappadoce, région du Hasan Dagi : new rock-cut churches of
Cappadocia, Klincksieck, Paris.
Taniguchi, Y. (ed.), 2015, Scientifics on Conservation for
Üzümlü Church and its Wall Paintings in Cappadocia, Turkey,
Tsukuba, Japan.
This contribution has been peer-reviewed. The double-blind peer-review was conducted on the basis of the full paper.
doi:10.5194/isprsannals-II-5-W3-105-2015
110