Gulag camps and uranium mines in Kodar mountains (Eastern Siberia, Russian Federation) - field documentation and low altitude aerial photographs in extremely remote locations

Summary

This paper presents the methodological approaches and results of the expedition for documentation of abandoned Gulag camps and uranium mines in Kodar mountains where prisoners mined uranium for the first Soviet atomic bomb. The main goal of the expedition was to document these places for the purpose of creating a virtual tour and reconstruction in order to make it possible for the general public to visit places that are otherwise virtually inaccessible. We have been using a combination of terrestrial and aerial methods (kite aerial photographs) of field documentation. Especially a close-range photogrammetry (Structure from Motion method) has been applied to the recording of standing buildings and other areas within the camp as well as artifacts preserved in-situ. The paper also discusses an applicability of field documentation techniques in terms of their effectiveness in extremely remote locations where using of conventional procedures  and equipments would be very difficult.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Paper / Report Submission (General Sessions) 2017   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2017

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

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PaperId(s): 490