3D documentation of archeological remains in the underwater Park of Baiae

This paper presents some experimentations, which have been conducted in the submerged archeological Park of Baiae, aimed to identify the problems related to the underwater 3D documentation process. The first test has been addressed to verify if a dense stereo mapping technique, usually employed in terrestrial and aerial applications, might be employed in critical underwater conditions by assessing the influence of different factors on the results. In the second test, the accuracy of the 3D model obtained through this technique has been evaluated. The third test deals with the geo-localization of the 3D models, conducted by merging the optical and acoustic data, through a multi-resolution bathymetric map of the site as a reference.