3D data captured from archaeological excavations are frequently left to speak for themselves. 3D models of objects are uploaded to online viewing platforms, the tops or bottoms of surfaces are visualised in 2.5D, or both are reduced to 2D representations. Representations of excavation units, in particular, often remain incompletely processed as raw surface outputs, unable to be considered individual entities that represent the individual, volumetric units of excavation. Visualisations of such surfaces, whether as point clouds or meshes, are commonly viewed as an end result in and of themselves, when they could be considered the beginning of a fully volumetric way of recording and understanding the 3D archaeological record. In describing the creation of an archaeologically focused recording routine and a 3D-focused data processing workflow, this article provides the means to fill the void between excavation-unit surfaces, thereby producing an individual volumetric entity that corresponds to each excavation unit. Drawing on datasets from the Kaymakçı Archaeological Project (KAP) in western Turkey, the article shows the potential for programmatic creation of volumetric contextual units from 2D point cloud datasets, opening a world of possibilities and challenges for the development of a truly 3D archaeological practice.

中文翻译：

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填补考古发掘中的空白：2D 点云到 3D 体积

从考古发掘中捕获的 3D 数据经常不言自明。物体的 3D 模型被上传到在线观看平台，表面的顶部或底部以 2.5D 可视化，或者两者都被简化为 2D 表示。尤其是挖掘单元的表示，通常作为原始表面输出未完全处理，不能被视为代表挖掘的单个体积单元的单个实体。此类表面的可视化，无论是点云还是网格，通常被视为其本身的最终结果，当它们可以被视为记录和理解 3D 考古记录的完全体积方式的开始时。在描述以考古为重点的记录程序和以 3D 为重点的数据处理工作流程的创建过程中，这篇文章提供了一种方法来填充挖掘单元表面之间的空隙，从而产生一个与每个挖掘单元相对应的单独的体积实体。本文利用来自土耳其西部 Kaymakçı 考古项目 (KAP) 的数据集，展示了从 2D 点云数据集程序化创建体积上下文单元的潜力，为开发真正的 3D 考古实践打开了一个充满可能性和挑战的世界。