3D Modeling for Digital Preservation of Romanian Heritage Monuments

Precise documentation of cultural heritage monuments status is essential for its protection and scientific studies. The digital preservation of cultural heritage monuments is a specially challenging application of 3D modelling. Cultural heritage objects and sites greatly differ from each other and a maximized fidelity of the 3D model is a core requirement.Terrestrial laser scanning is a technology that in recent years has become increasingly popular for documentation which provides very dense 3D points on an object surface with high accuracy.Moreover the resulting 3D models can be used for digital documentation as well as to perform different analysis such as measurements, conservation monitoring, feature extractions and possibly virtual restoration.Thispaper presents the3D modelling oftwoof the most importantheritage monumentsinRomania: the rock sculpture ofDecebaluson the Danube,Orsovaand the Sphinxfrom Bucegi Mountains, without any loss of details or accuracy.