Open AccessSub-surface terahertz imaging through uneven surfaces: visualizing Neolithic wall paintings in Çatalhöyük
Author(s) -
Gillian Walker,
James Bowen,
Wendy Matthews,
Soumali Roychowdhury,
Julien Labaune,
G. Mourou,
Michel Menu,
Ian Hodder,
J. Bianca Jackson
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.21.008126
Subject(s) - terahertz radiation , mural , painting , optics , materials science , visualization , archaeology , geology , art , computer science , physics , art history , artificial intelligence , geography
Pulsed terahertz imaging is being developed as a technique to image obscured mural paintings. Due to significant advances in terahertz technology, portable systems are now capable of operating in unregulated environments and this has prompted their use on archaeological excavations. August 2011 saw the first use of pulsed terahertz imaging at the archaeological site of Çatalhöyük, Turkey, where mural paintings dating from the Neolithic period are continuously being uncovered by archaeologists. In these particular paintings the paint is applied onto an uneven surface, and then covered by an equally uneven surface. Traditional terahertz data analysis has proven unsuccessful at sub-surface imaging of these paintings due to the effect of these uneven surfaces. For the first time, an image processing technique is presented, based around Gaussian beam-mode coupling, which enables the visualization of the obscured painting.