Background

In the summer of 2019, in partnership with the Irish Archaeology Field School (IAFS), we commenced a programme of 3D laser scanning, or digital conservation, of the upstanding remains of the Ferns medieval landscape, including the 13th century Marshal Castle, Edan's Cathedral, and 12th century St. Mary's Abbey.

The 3D scanning at Ferns has generated a detailed model comprised of billions of data points, down to millimeter accuracy in places, which can be used in a host of innovative ways relating to heritage management, outreach and education, archaeological research, remote touring, etc. Most importantly, the data are an essential monitoring and conservation tool for the surveyed sites.

We hope that these completed 3D scans and subsequent models can be applied to augmented reality experiences to help tell the story of medieval Ferns. These 3D models also make medieval Ferns more accessible to people unable to visit the sites and landscape, and can make hard to access areas of Marshal Castle (for example) accessible to those visiting the site.

How to Use this Viewer

The scans available in the web viewer may be selected through the menu icon (three horizontal bars) located in the top-right, within the navigation banner.

To exit this dialog, click the "X" located near the top-right at the beginning of this dialog. Or, you can click anywhere outside of it. To re-open this dialog, click "About Us" in the navigation bar at the top of this page.

On Desktop

To look around, click-and-drag with your mouse within the canvas. You may zoom your view via the mousewheel, or the two-finger "scroll" gesture on your trackpad.

On Mobile

On mobile devices, you may touch-and-drag within the scene to look around. To Zoom, place two fingers on the scene, and perform a "pinch" gesture to zoom in, or "spread" gesture to zoom out.

AR/VR

Mobile AR

For Mobile Augmented Reality, only Google Chrome on Android (greater than version 90) is supported. Within a well-lit environment (for spatial tracking), load the page, and after the scene has fully loaded in the browser, click the White-Shaded "Enter AR" button available at the bottom of the scene.

To exit, drag from the top or bottom of the viewport for your device, and click the "Back" button for your Android system.

Oculus Quest 2

For the Oculus Quest 2, stable performance is only available on modern graphics cards through the "Virtual Desktop" portion available through the "Oculus Link" feature. After connecting your Oculus to your desktop computer running the Oculus software, enable Oculus Link through the dialogue available through your headset. Then, select the "Desktop" icon in the new menu available to you. After these steps are complete, you may open your favorite browser on your desktop computer, navigating to this site. To enter VR, while wearing the headset, click the White-Shaded button at the bottom of the scene that says "Enter VR".

To exit, simply remove your headset, or use your computer's keyboard and mouse to click "Exit VR" at the bottom of the scene as it appears on your computer's monitor.

Funding

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