APAC Lab researchers create 3D replica of Golgoi archaeological site funerary stele

The Cyprus Institute has created a replica of a funerary stele that was found at the archaeological site of necropolis at Golgoi in Cyprus, and now exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of New York.

The replica was made in collaboration with the Athienou Municipality, the Kallinikeio Municipal Museum of Athienou, the Athienou Archaeological Project and Larnaca Tourism Board.

The stele displays a tree–of–life motif with two Greek-type sphinxes facing each other, a symbol that has since been adopted as the logo of the municipality.

The project aimed to deliver a realistic replica of the funerary stele, both aesthetically and qualitatively in colour, weight, and texture.

The Metropolitan Museum of New York provided high-resolution digital images and the artefact's 3D model for the 3D printing of the replica, which took place at the Machine shop of the Cyprus Institute. Due to the size of the object, the 3d model was divided into 26 pieces which were printed as puzzle pieces using resin (a mixture of materials of acrylate, photoinitiator, and pigments).

The printing resolution was 0.043mm and following the printing process, the 26 pieces were assembled together into one. The printed copy was then used to create a uniform silicon and fibre glass mold to produce a cemented and perlite mixture for the cast copy. The material of the cast was chosen so that it could be refined easily by hand and allow replication of the engraved decoration of the funerary stele. Tools and equipment similar to those used in antiquity were used to work on the replica's surface and layers of natural pigments were applied with the aim to render the characteristic feature of the Cypriot limestone from the Athienou region.

The coordination of the project, on behalf of The Cyprus Institute, was undertaken by the Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories (APAC Labs) of the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC) in collaboration with the Director's Office of Research and Technical Services & Support.

This is the second replica created for the Athienou Municipality, following the creation of a votive relief, also exhibited at the Kallinikeio Municipal Museum of Athienou.