Experimental BIM Applications in Archaeology: A Work-Flow

In the last few decades various conceptual models, methods and techniques have been studied to allow 3D digital access to Cultural Heritage (CH). Among these is BIM (Building Information Modeling): originally built up for construction projects, it has been already experimented in the CH domain, but not enough in the archaeological field. This paper illustrates a framework to create 3D archaeological models integrated with databases using BIM. The models implemented are queryable by the connection with a Relational Database Management System and sharable on the web. Parametric solid and semantic models are integrated with 3D standardized database models that are finally manageable in the public cloud. The BIM application’s work-flow here described has been experimented on the Roman structures inside the Crypt of St. Sergius and Bacchus Church (Rome). The experiment has highlighted capabilities and limitations of BIM applications in the archaeological domain.