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Article
Reverse Engineering a Bronze Cannon from the La Belle Shipwreck
Historical Archaeology (2021)
  • Dr. Robert Z. Selden, Jr., Ph.D., R.P.A.
Abstract
The goal of this project was to scan and reverse engineer one of three bronze cannons (41MG86 - 11900-1) recovered from the La Belle excavation, which is currently on exhibit at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas. A freeform computer aided design (CAD) model was generated based upon the topology of the three-dimensional (3-D) mesh in Geomagic Design X with a desired maximum deviation of 0.1 mm between the model and the mesh. Deviations were calculated in Geomagic Control X using the surface model as the reference data, and the mesh as the measured data. A custom patch network was subsequently designed using a series of iterative revisions until the whole of the surface model met with the specified tolerance. The 3-D surface model of the cannon will be replicated in a variety of media at variable scales for use in exhibits and for educational and promotional material for the Texas Historical Commission, the Republic of France, and their partner museums.
Keywords
  • France,
  • virtual archaeology,
  • computational archaeology,
  • nautical archaeology,
  • La Belle,
  • museum studies,
  • digital humanities,
  • STEM,
  • STEAM
Publication Date
2021
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41636-020-00280-2
Citation Information
Robert Z. Selden. "Reverse Engineering a Bronze Cannon from the La Belle Shipwreck" Historical Archaeology Vol. 55 (2021) p. 290 - 299
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/zac_selden/2255/