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Darnall Crucible Workshop
The three-dimensional recording and analysis of Sandersons Darnall Works is a cutting edge archaeological survey and historic buildings analysis. The projects primary objective is to digitally capture the existing complex of buildings to provide a 3-D record of the site before and during restoration. English Heritage awarded a grant to assist in the restoration of the Darnall Crucible Works. This important crucible steel production complex was established by Sandersons, one of Sheffield's leading 19th century steel firms, and is thought to be the only surviving large scale crucible workshop in the world. Archaeological investigation and historic buildings analysis are part of the restoration project.
The Darnall crucible shop archaeological survey utilises the latest in laser scanning technology to digitally capture this grade II listed building. This important industrial heritage site is being investigated and recorded by Michael McCoy, a sheffield based archaeological consultant. Michael commissioned ArcHeritage to conduct a full 3-D laser scan of the entire complex, and the production of structural drawings to illustrate the archaeological investigations. The survey and drawings were organised and executed by myself, Marcus Abbott.
The onsite survey was conducted with a Leica C10 laser scanner and consisted of over 60 individual scans. These independent scans were merged into one project file, creating a detailed 3-D representation of the main crucible shop and its associated complex of buildings
With the information captured and assembled into one file, we could set about deciding where to cross-section the buildings to produce the structural drawings needed for the historic buildings analysis. The benefits of having such a detailed and accurate survey of the complex are most apparent when creating sections through the data, what would normally require a vast amount of planning and hundreds of measurements can be achieved with relative ease.
The laser scan data provided the flexibility to section the buildings on any axis. This enabled us to gain a far greater understanding of the structural relationships between the buildings than the data produced from a conventional survey. Adding this functionality to the archaeological investigations and historical research creates an unparalleled resource to aid in the understanding and interpretation of the Darnall Crucible complex.
Further work is planned with the construction of a navigable 3-D model of the crucible shop forming the basis of an interactive tour and explanation of 19th Century crucible steel manufacturing processes. This is the fourth and arguably the most impressive and important crucible workshop I have worked on, below are some examples of my work on two other crucible workshop sites. I produced these reconstructions whilst working for Archaeological Research and Consultancy University of Sheffield.