Aqueducts of the Greater Iraklio Area (AGIA)

Report on 2023 season of work

Methodology: In June 2023 Amanda Kelly and her team flew a DJI Mavic 3 classic drone, with a Parazero Mavic 3 flight termination system for safety, with a view to creating models of the aqueduct bridges from point clouds. For 3D modelling, Evan O’Keefe used Agisoft Metashape Standard Edition. For the post-fieldwork, Evan ran the data through openMVG with MVE for greater detailed models.

In June 2023 - having secured all permissions through the Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion (as kindly facilitated by Elisavet Kavoulaki, Eleni Kanaki and Giorgos Katsalis), the Central Archaeological Council and Museums Council, KAS (Κ.Α.Σ.), the Aviation Authorities of Greece (courtesy of Damianos Skourtis and Panagiotis Dimitropoulos of the Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority, HCAA), and greatly assisted by Eleni Tsiknakou of the IIHSA - we flew over seven monuments along the aqueduct routes (see below).

Presented below is a series of model images which we are currently working on.

Flight 1 The Aqueduct Bridge at Karydaki

Flight 2 The Aqueduct Bridge at Spilia/Agia Irini

Post flight processing

Evan is using Agisoft Metashape Standard for the initial 3D modelling. He ran the data through openMVG with MVE and use CloudCompare/Meshlab for measurement checks. OpenMVG can use the GPS data in the images to generate metric scaled models (UTM or ECEF scaled). Each model is scaled in meters, which allows for accurate measurements of each of the scans completed.

Project Outputs

On-going: Amanda Kelly and Evan O’Keefe are currently creating a website that will present the aqueduct map with pop-up information on everything found along their lengths. Links to models and drone data will also be embedded in the map.

 September 2023: Amanda Kelly submitted a chapter on the 19th-century aqueduct of Mehmet Ali for a special issue of the Architectural Histories journal Classicisms: Oblique views on, and uses of the ancient monuments of Greece, by kind invitation of Nikos Magouliotis, ETH Zürich, Switzerland.

September - December 2023: Amanda Kelly prepared her book manuscript on the Venetian aqueduct of Candia (outside the walls) as a Stanley J. Seeger Research Fellow 2023, Princeton University. https://hellenic.princeton.edu/people/amanda-kelly

October 2023: Amanda Kelly delivered the IIHSA Open Meeting for 2023, entitled ‘The Bridges Of Minos' County (Aqueducts Of The Greater Iraklio Area, AGIA)’, on Wednesday October 2023.

January 2024: Amanda Kelly gave a talk on her aqueduct project in the Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, Uppsala University, Sweden, on 16 January 2024, by kind invitation of Patrik Klingborg.
Lecture title: ‘The Aqueducts of the Greater Iraklio Area, on foot and by drone’.

15-16 March 2024: Amanda Kelly gave a talk at the Interdisciplinary BIRI Conference, 'Sustainable Water Management: Learning from the Past to Inform the Future' at the British Academy, by kind invitation of Amy Bogaard.
Talk Title: ‘Securing the Knossos-Iraklio water supply over two millennia, a case study’.

30-31 May 2024: Amanda Kelly gave a talk at the conference "GIS in Crete: Archaeological Questions and Computational Answers", in Athens. Talk Title: ‘Digitising the “Aqueducts of the Greater Iraklio Area” AGIA.’

Project Director: Amanda Kelly (University College Dublin)
Project team: Drone operator, Evan O’Keeffe, ProvEye Dublin
Project Engineer: Marios Kazasidis, Research Engineer