The grotto is situated within the grounds of Ascot Place in Berkshire. As you look at the rock formation from across the lake it is difficult to believe that it is a man-made structure and that it is over two hundred years old. Once you enter the grotto, built circa 1770, you see why it is now a grade 1 listed building. The grotto has a series of tunnels leading into domed caverns. The walls are lined with flints and foundry slag and, in the caverns themselves, false wooden stalactites covered in lime plaster and gypsum hang in geometric patterns from the ceiling. Although the grotto is complete it is in need of extensive restoration and remedial works to stabilise the structure. HGP Conservation had no existing drawings or records to work from and a detailed survey was essential before any works could commence.

In addition to photographic documentation, Upton Bishop Parochial Church Council wanted an accurate three-dimensional record of a fragment. The fragment measures approximately 400 mm x 200 mm x 210 mm and belongs to The Parish of St. John the Baptist, Upton Bishop.

Founded in 657 AD, Whitby Abbey occupies a prominent headland site, overlooking the historic town of Whitby. The present remains date back to the 11th Century and are situated alongside associated buildings of historical and religious importance. Part of the reason the site is so attractive, is its high visibility from both land and sea but the very existence of this ancient religious site is threatened by the ever-encroaching coastline. In 2000 a significant cliff collapse occurred, prompting English Heritage’s Centre for Archaeology to excavate and document important archaeological deposits near the cliff edge. Coastal erosion is an incessant natural process, and it was important that a monitoring strategy was designed to detect change due to coastal erosion to enable organisations, such as English Heritage, to gain an improved understanding of the longer-term threat so that, if necessary, steps can be taken to preserve this valuable heritage.

In the churchyard of Prestbury Church stands an important Anglo-Saxon Cross, thought to mark the arrival of Christianity in the North West of England. The sandstone cross measures 940 mm by 400 mm by 240 mm, the surface is weathered and some green moss obscures the upper east face. Anglo-Saxon Cross, Prestbury The original location of the cross is unknown, however it was previously sited inside the church. The cross is highly decorated with intricate patterns. There are clearly sections missing, particularly between the three sections it is now in, discernable by gaps in the pattern, either side of fills holding the piece together. Prestbury Parochial Church Council wanted the cross accurately recorded prior to conservation work and possible re-siting.

The Lion Salt Works in Cheshire is the last surviving open pan salt works in the country and was recently upgraded from a Grade II listed building to a scheduled ancient monument. The building complex dates from the nineteenth century and includes office/exhibition buildings, a pump house, five pan houses, a smithy and a salt store. Salt was shipped out to Manchester or Liverpool and exported worldwide. The Lion Salt Works finally closed in 1986 but the trust, set up in 1993, hopes that it can be restored to a working industrial museum where brine will once again be evaporated to make white salt crystals.

Laser scanning tests were carried out on an 18th-century gilded wood table (William Kent) at Chiswick House, London. Earlier tests had been carried out on the same table seven years earlier in 1999. The main aim of this work was to investigate the feasibility of laser scanning ornate gilded surfaces. The earlier work had highlighted the limitations of laser scanning such ‘shiny’ and complex surfaces. Results obtained in the 2006 survey were compared to those obtained in 1999 to evaluate the advances made in laser scanning during that period.

The Witham Valley Research Project has utilised various survey techniques and part of the designated area had already been subject to archaeological interpretation and mapping from aerial photographs. It was decided to compare lidar with the data recorded from the traditional aerial survey methodology employed by Lincolnshire National Mapping Programme (NMP), with particular interest in the usefulness of available archive data flown for nonarchaeological purposes.

In 1863 workmen near Leasowe Castle in Wirral, Merseyside, found a skeleton. The skeleton has been scientifically dated, and the remains are the only known Romano- British skeleton from Merseyside. As a part of the exhibition “Living with the Romans”, at the Museum of Liverpool Life, a full facial reconstruction from the skull was been undertaken. The skull was scanned using a 3D laser scanner and the resulting data post processed by Conservation Technologies. Two replicas of the digitally reconstructed pieces were produced by selective laser sintering. One replica went to Dr Caroline Wilkinson, a facial anthropologist at the University of Manchester, to be used in the creation of a full facial reconstruction, including skin tissue and hair. The second replica of the reconstructed bones was placed in the “Living with the Romans” exhibition.

In 2003 Historic Royal Palaces re-designed the exhibition space within the Beauchamp Tower at the Tower of London. The Medieval graffiti carvings in the upper room were to be replicated to improve visitor access. Due to the fragile surface of these carvings traditional moulding techniques could not be used. Scale replicas were produced using 3-axis CNC (computer numerically controlled) machining. The replicas were installed in the new exhibition in December 2003 and greatly improve visitor access to these important carvings. The original graffiti remains on public display, behind sheets of glass for protection, in the upstairs room of the Beauchamp Tower.

Under the high saddle roof of the St. Petri cathedral a truss is located which consists of five floors. Terrestrial laser scanning was used to record the geometry of the bottom floor, which had dimensions of 60 m x 31 m x 5 m. The survey aimed to collect data for an automatic digital reconstruction and structural analysis of the truss itself. Although the point cloud contains a huge amount of geometrical information, many users prefer a 2D representation for interpretation. Therefore, the survey also aimed to derive a general 2D plan from the point cloud. Algorithms were developed for an automatic analysis of the scanner data.

This was a collaborative project involving the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), Bangkok, Thailand, and The Department of Spatial Sciences at Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. The aim was to create a realistic and accurate 3D model of this culturally and architecturally significant heritage precinct and to make it accessible over the WWW, thereby providing the archaeological as well as heritage management community, and the general public with the opportunity to examine and visit it remotely.

For the past 50 years, a colossal red granite statue of Ramesses II, one of the mightiest pharaohs of the 19th Dynasty, has languished in downtown Cairo's Ramesses Square. The statue has been deteriorating badly from pollution and excessive vibrations generated by the traffic that clogs the three major thoroughfares. The decision has been made to move the statue to the Grand Egyptian Museum, planned for Giza Plateau, and finished around 2010. Survey was required to provide a permanent, accurate record of the statue and to provide the data necessary to move the massive monolith safely. Duncan Lees of PCA undertook the work, organised by Lon Addison of UC Berkeley and UNESCO, with colleagues Björn Van Genechten from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium and Dr Tariq Al Murri.

In the collections of the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek (Copenhagen, Denmark) is a marble bust of the Emperor Caligula. The sculpture was probably carved between 39 and 41 AD. Originally such sculptures were painted (polychrome) and this piece has traces of the original polychromy remaining. Roman marble sculptures retaining their original polychromy are exceedingly rare. The curators and conservators in Denmark wished to study the pigments to determine their exact composition and then reconstruct a possible colour scheme on a replica object. A noncontact 3D recording using laser scanners was used to create a digital 3D model of the sculpture. A full-scale replica in marble was produced using 5-axis CNC (computer numerically controlled) machining. The re-pigmented replica was displayed, next to the original, in exhibitions in Munich, Copenhagen, and Rome during 2004 and 2005.

The Forest of Dean had been subject to standard aerial survey techniques as part of the National Mapping Programme (NMP) for Gloucestershire. Using historic aerial photographs taken over a number of years it had been possible to record some features that were visible during periodic phases of felling, but given the nature of the Forest, with a high proportion of land covered by dense woodland, there were large areas where very few archaeological features were recorded. The Aerial Survey team at English Heritage have been examining lidar data with a view to assessing its suitability since 2000. It was therefore seen as an excellent site on which to test the capabilities of lidar.

The Northumberland and Durham rock art project, funded by English Heritage between 2004 and 2006, has developed a toolkit to enable non-intrusive digital recording of the rock art and rock surface. The project has recruited and trained about 50 volunteers from the local community and the methodology has been specially designed for them to use with ease. The core aim of the project is to use this toolkit to document all engraved panels (currently around 1500) in this region and produce a comprehensive database, accessible to the general public via a website. For this ‘baseline’ recording, 2D data are captured using GPS, digital photographs and specific recording proformas, 3D data are captured using stereo photography. High-resolution recordings of select panels have also been made using laser scanning.

The Discovery Programme’s Medieval Rural Settlement Project undertook an excavation at an earthwork mound in the village of Tulsk, Co. Roscommon, Ireland. The excavation revealed at least three distinct phases of activity on site, including the remains of a large masonry tower. Work began in 2005 with the task of excavating through the large amount of rubble that filled the tower's interior. The tower measures some 20 m long and 10 m wide, and had rounded corners and a battered external wall profile. The excavation revealed large elements of complex stone work which the graphic survey; using tapes and planning frames, was not satisfactorily recording. We believed that scanning would be able to provide a much improved quality of record in a shorter time.

As part of the English Heritage Rock Art Pilot Project (1999), laser scanning as a method of documenting rock art in the field, was examined. The petroglyphs studied are located on Rombald’s Moor in West Yorkshire. The areas scanned were approximately 1.2 by 0.5 m in size. Laser scanning was found to be a good technique for the 3D non-contact recording of rock art.

Introduction Prestbury Church (Cheshire) has an important Norman doorway. The doorway and surround measures approximately H 6 m x W x 2.8 m x D 0.7 m, the smallest detail to be recorded on the doorway and surround was approximately 5 mm. The sandstone surface is badly weathered and very friable. The aim of the work was to provide an accurate 3D record of the doorway at the time of recording.