Illuminating Haiti’s Royal Past: Advancing Analytics Through 3D Data Fusion of Terrestrial Surface Models and Subsurface Geophysical Data

Summary

Since 2015, the Milot Archaeological Project has conducted a series of archaeological explorations at the Royal Palace of Henry Christophe in the town of Milot in Northern Haiti. This site, called Sans-Souci, was a principal site of political authority in the short-lived Kingdom of Haiti (1811-1820) and is a UNESCO World Heritage site of paramount importance to national development strategies in Haiti. Working with the Institute Sauvegarder du Patrimoine Cultural (Haiti), the Bureau National d’Ethnologie (Haiti), the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (University of Arkansas), and the Center for Digital Archaeology (CoDA), the Milot Archaeological Project sought a research strategy centered on minimally invasive excavation, maximal data recovery, and rapid reporting. This paper outlines the results of ground penetrating radar and terrestrial laser scan surveys conducted by CAST and explores the utility of combining these 3D datasets to investigate research questions regarding construction phases that would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible, to address using traditional methods. This effort aims to elucidate the analytical potential of employing advanced 3D data fusion and visualization methods beyond mere documentation.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 22593