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Cemetery archiving often involves digitising grave registers and creating cemetery maps
with information about tombstones. Although the Ministry of Digital Affairs announced at the end
of 2021 the development of a central digital search for cemeteries and burial sites, these activi‐
ties will not include cemeteries and tombstones located in areas from which, due to geopolitical
changes, populations were forcibly relocated abroad or to new territories. Over the years,
these tombstones have been subject to natural degradation and devastation. Local historians,
recognising this, have been working in the Lemko region (Beskid Niski) since 1986 to de‐
scribe and physically rebuild selected cemeteries, formalising their activities by establishing
the “Magurycz” Association. With the current development of 3D computer technologies, it
has become possible for individuals to become involved in documenting surviving tomb‐
stones – the time has come for 3D archiving to become more democratic. Tombstones, which
are objects of cultural heritage, resemble sculptures in their artistic form and size, so close‐
range photogrammetry (NPG) or terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) are currently used for their 3D
digitisation.
The article describes a method for creating a 3D archive of all 10 of the more than 100‐
year‐ old tombstones in a small cemetery in the former Lemko village of Bałucianka (approxi‐
mately 8 km south of Rymanów Zdrój). The LiDAR system on an iPhone 16 Pro Max smartphone
with the Scaniverse app was utilised to generate meshed 3D digital models. Data acquisition
was carried out in the “Medium Object” mode (range up to 2.5 m) and processed in the “Area”
mode (5 mm resolution) and “Detail” mode (for textured objects). A quick scan of sections
of the cemetery was also performed to gather data on the tombstones’ locations. The resulting
digital 3D models were of good quality; all preserved inscriptions are legible, and the “Measure”
tool allows for measurements. Exporting the 3D models to .obj format and transferring them
to widely available graphics programmes enables further processing. The generated models can
also be easily shared online and become a public resource.
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