Summer School "Practice of archaeological building documentation" (DAAD / Gençlik Köprüsü Türkiye-Almanya)

Özlem Kaya

In 2022 and 2023, the summer school “Praxis der Archäologischen Bauaufnahme” (Practice of archaeological building documentation) was held in Miletus. The DAAD-funded summer school was organised as part of a cooperation between the University of Hamburg and the Berlin College of Technology.

The course is aimed at bachelor’s students of archaeology and architecture at Turkish universities. They acquire basic knowledge in archaeological building documentation and learn how to accurately document ancient monuments using uncomplicated tools available at any excavation site. In 2022 and 2023, the remains of two previously undocumented bath complexes from the Roman Imperial Period were selected to work on. Following a theoretical introduction, building fragments and wall sections were recorded by hand, using total station surveying and Structure from Motion (SfM - 3D photogrammetry). The course programme also included post-processing of the data and preparation of publishable drawings. In addition to imparting technical knowledge, the summer school also aims to intensify the contacts between the German and Turkish universities.

You can download the report on the first summer school in August 2022 and its preliminary results under “Reports.” The upcoming summer school in August 2023 will concentrate on documenting a further, so far largely unexplored bath complex. 

• Partner institutions: Prof. Ing. Michael Breuer (Berlin College of Technology).

• Staff: Duygu Göçmen, M.A.