In August 2024, Archaeovision undertook a detailed programme of Reflectance Transformation Imaging (RTI) and photogrammetric recording at the former Methodist chapel burial ground in East Boldre, New Forest. The survey focused on a group of historic headstones that had been re-erected in a vertical position, many of which exhibited advanced surface erosion and reduced inscription legibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The project was designed to create high-resolution, non-contact digital records that would both enhance the readability of inscriptions and provide a long-term, accessible archive for the local community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
RTI is an image-based recording technique that captures subtle surface variation by photographing a fixed subject under multiple, precisely documented lighting positions. For the East Boldre survey, highlight RTI was employed, a method well-suited to field conditions and larger monuments where dome-based systems are impractical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each gravestone was recorded using a fixed camera position, an external movable light source, and a reflective sphere positioned parallel to the stone. Changes in the reflected highlight on the sphere allowed the precise calculation of light vectors during processing. This approach enabled the capture of raking-light effects that are particularly effective at revealing shallow incised lettering and surface tooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These high-resolution datasets allow users to interactively relight the surface, apply rendering enhancements, and isolate surface detail that is often invisible under static lighting conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n