Applications of 3D Modelling of Rock Art Sites Using Ground-Based Photogrammetry: A Case Study from the Greater Red Lily Lagoon Area, Western Arnhem Land, Northern Australia

Abstract

The creation of high-resolution 3D models using structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry is an emerging research tool in archaeology that allows the spatially accurate representation of rock art sites and landscapes. This methodology allows the creation of immersive representations of important cultural-heritage sites using widely available, inexpensive equipment and software which produce data that can be easily managed by the appropriate Indigenous custodians. In this study, ground-based photography was used to create high-resolution, georectified three-dimensional (3D) models of five rock art sites in the Greater Red Lily Lagoon Area (GRLLA) in western Arnhem Land, Northern Australia. Located directly between the East Alligator River and the Arnhem Plateau, on the Traditional Lands of the Australian Indigenous Manilakarr Clan, the rock art and cultural-heritage sites present in the GRLLA are of national heritage significance and are immediately adjacent to World Heritage-registered Kakadu National Park. This corpus of rock art is threatened by limited land management resources, tourism and visitor pressures, and land access issues. The creation of high-resolution 3D models of rock art using SfM photogrammetry provides a cost-effective approach to assist Indigenous cultural-heritage land managers to manage, record, and monitor rock art sites and enhance site access and visitor experiences.