An evaluation of three methods for visualizing uncertainty in architecture and archaeology

Abstract

This project explores the representation of uncertainty in visualizations for archaeological research and provides insights obtained from user feedback. Our 3D models brought together information from standing architecture and excavated remains, surveyed plans, ground penetrating radar (GPR) data from the Carthusian monastery of Bourgfontaine in northern France. We also included information from comparative Carthusian sites and a bird's eye representation of the site in an early modern painting. Each source was assigned a certainty value which was then mapped to a color or texture for the model. Certainty values between one and zero were assigned by one subject matter expert and should be considered qualitative. Students and faculty from the fields of architectural history and archaeology at two institutions interacted with the models and answered a short survey with four questions about each. We discovered equal preference for color and transparency and a strong dislike for the texture model. Discoveries during model building also led to changes of the excavation plans for summer 2015.