A Procedural Approach to Computer-Aided Modelling in Nautical Archaeology

This chapter analyses the functionality and applicability of procedural computer-based modelling techniques in the field of nautical archaeology. To demonstrate this approach, an interactive procedural model of the lower hull timbers of a sixteenth-century European merchant ship was developed through a process of prototype implementation, and an evaluation of the usefulness and effectiveness of the prototypes developed was carried out using the timbers from the hull remains of the Belinho 1 shipwreck, found in Portugal in 2014. The 3D model was created using Houdini, a procedural node-based 3D software package. A basic collection of the main timber components of a ship’s lower hull was defined, and functional rules were created for each timber, based on real-world ship design and construction processes. Then the rules were incorporated into the logic of the procedural modelling algorithm, and the resulting model was changed by using the Belinho 1 shipwreck scantlings. The results, which will be discussed, were satisfactory, except for the planking, which is a very complex part of the shipbuilding process and deserves future attention.