Research Computing Services Blog

3D printing and the (re)creation of artefacts

For many of us, the fascination of archaeology is the knowledge that we can hold an object made by another human being thousands of years ago in our hands. There’s something magical about the connection to the people of the past that comes through handling an artefact and wondering about its journey, whether it’s a precious artwork or an everyday utensil. But for numerous reasons, we can’t always get to grips with archaeological finds in the way we’d like to. Some are very fragile while others are hugely valuable. Many can’t be removed from the country where they were excavated. All of these factors limit the ability of archaeologists to work with artefacts but also mean that students seldom get to handle them.

Seventh century CE shoulder-clasps from the Sutton Hoo burial ship - kept behind glass

There’s much more value in being able to touch and feel artefacts than just feeling like Lara Croft. When studying many objects that were used in everyday life, it’s important to understand what they feel like. How heavy is it? Do you need to be very strong to use it? What’s the most comfortable way to hold it? It may sound silly, but often the best way to really understand how artefacts were used is to try them out.

If you follow this blog, you’ll know that we love 3D printing over at the Research Bazaar, and not just because it makes cool stuff. As we’ve already explored, creating custom equipment can save researchers huge amounts of time and money. 3D printing can also be used to reproduce historic artefacts and we’ve been working with some archaeologists to do just that.

3D printed enlargement of a Roman period Greek coin

Of course, people have creating reproductions of ancient art and artefacts since antiquity, but there’s some great potential in 3D printing and scanning. By creating scans of objects in the field, archaeologists can then reproduce artefacts at home, while the originals remain in their country of origin. They can produce multiple copies for use in teaching and, if the scan is of sufficient quality, can enlarge objects and reveal tiny details. Archaeologist Simon Young made this short video about his experience scanning and printing an ancient coin with the help of Fiona, Paul and University’s digitisation service.

While there were some challenges getting a scan of sufficient resolution to show all the fine detail of the reverse side of the coin, high resolution printing showed that there’s real promise in using this technology to recreate ancient artefacts for study and enjoyment. In addition, technologies such as the Mcor IRIS can 3D print antiques in full colour, allowing for near perfect replication.