DIGITAL MACRO-PHOTOGRAMMETRY IN DOCUMENTATION OF OLD TURKIC RUNIFORM INSCRIPTIONS IN THE ALTAI MOUNTAINS

The article presents a method of the 3D digitization of rock surfaces ensuring a sub-millimeter resolution. The method was developed for documenting Old Turkic inscriptions of the Altai Mountains mostly made by fine engravings on rock outcrops. These are the earliest sources on the history, language and culture of ancient Turkic peoples written in an autochthonous runiform script. The method involves the digital photogrammetry technology “Structure from Motion” (SfM) based on a set of macro photos. It was tested in the laboratory and in the field conditions, the accuracy and deviations of the obtained 3D models of documented planes were determined. The data of the obtained 3D models were extracted in the bitmap format (as height maps and orthophotos), and analyzed in the GIS application. The method was applied for documenting recently discovered and not yet published Altai runiform inscriptions in the localities D’odro and Karban; it helped to distinguish the lines of the inscriptions from those of numerous graffiti and other lines, and to decipher them. The article presents the first publication of the inscriptions D’odro I and Karban IV, including the copies based on the 3D models along with their readings, interpretations and translations.