3D digital reassembling of archaeological ceramic pottery fragments based on their thickness profile

Abstract: The reassembly of a broken archaeological ceramic pottery is an open and complex problem, which remains a scientific process of extreme interest for the archaeological community. Usually, the solutions suggested by various research groups and universities depend on various aspects such as the matching process of the broken surfaces, the outline of sherds or their colors and geometric characteris-tics, their axis of symmetry, the corners of their contour, the theme portrayed on the surface, the concentric circular rills that are left during the base construction in the inner pottery side by the fingers of the potter artist etc. In this work the reassembly process is based on a different and more secure idea, since it is based on the thick-ness profile, which is appropriately identified in every fragment. Specifically, our approach is based on information encapsulated in the inner part of the sherd (i.e. thickness), which is not -or at least not heavily- affected by the presence of harsh environmental conditions, but is safely kept within the sherd itself. Our method is verified in various use case experiments, using cutting edge technologies such as 3D representations and precise measurements on surfaces from the acquired 3D models.