3D digitisation of the morphology and rock art of La Pileta Cave using LiDAR technology on a smartphone and laser scanner

A team of researchers from the University of Seville has managed to capture a three-dimensional image of La Pileta Cave (Benaoján, Malaga), a National Monument since 1924 and a European reference in cave art. Its importance lies in the fact that this cave preserves several thousand graphic motifs from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Bronze Age. 

These include animal figures, symbols and silhouettes of humans. In addition, La Pileta preserves an archaeological sequence spanning more than 100 millennia and unique finds such as a lamp with traces of pigment from the Gravettian period, considered one of the oldest lighting devices on the Iberian Peninsula. 

The research project was based on a combined methodology. Firstly, a mobile LiDAR from a smartphone, which allows the distance from a laser emitter to an object or surface to be determined using a pulsed laser beam. This provided versatility, access to narrow and difficult-to-reach areas, and high-quality textures. Secondly, the terrestrial laser scanner provided an accurate, far-reaching and reliable metric basis. The complementarity of both systems made it possible to obtain a complete and validated 3D model, with minimum margin of error with respect to topographic reference points. 

In addition to being a first-rate resource for archaeological research and heritage management, this model opens up new possibilities for understanding archaeological sites in caves, preventive conservation, rock art analysis and the creation of immersive educational experiences. 

Overall, this research, published in the prestigious Journal of Archaeological Science, reinforces and complements archaeological work, providing new tools for understanding, preserving and disseminating cultural heritage. The work was carried out by Daniel Antón, from the Department of Graphic Expression and Building Engineering at the Higher Technical School of Building Engineering at the University of Seville; Juan Mayoral, from the PAMSUR research group: Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in southern Iberia (University of Seville); Mª Dolores Simón and Miguel Cortés, from the Department of Prehistory and Archaeology at the Faculty of Geography and History of the University of Seville; and Rubén Parrilla, member of PAMSUR and the ICArEHB research centre at the University of Algarve, Portugal.