Successful digitization of a unique monument: mammoth hunters' dwelling is now in 3D

A unique Late Paleolithic site, the mammoth hunters' dwelling in Mezhyrich, has been digitized in 3D. Find out how modern technologies help preserve Ukrainian cultural heritage and make it accessible to researchers and everyone in the digital space

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On March 15-16, 2025, the team of the Archaica Research Laboratory together with the Department of Archaeology and Museum Studies of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv digitized the fourth residential structure of the Mezhyrich Late Paleolithic site in Cherkasy region.

This unique object, dating back to the mid-13th millennium BC, is preserved in situ, i.e. at the site of its discovery.

Digitizing ancient history: how a mammoth hunter's home became a 3D model

Laser scanning was used to create a 3D model, which allowed us to capture the geometry of the structure with high accuracy. Photogrammetry helped to convey the color characteristics of the object using a series of photos processed in special software that transferred them to 3D space. This technology is the basis of the Archaica team's work and allows them to create three-dimensional models that can be viewed in detail from all sides.

Digitization of such objects not only helps to study them in more detail, but also serves as a means of protecting information about monuments from destruction. This has become especially important during the war, when Ukrainian cultural heritage requires special attention and preservation.

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The Mezhyrich parking lot was opened in 1966. For more than 20 years, an expedition of the Department of Archeology and Museum Studies of the Kyiv National University led by Pavlo Shydlovskyi has been researching it. Over the course of the research, four such dwellings have been found. The first of them was reconstructed and is on display at the Natural History Museum of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv. The fourth dwelling was preserved and left to be stored in situ at the site of its discovery, and it was digitized as part of the project.

The digitization process took two days, and it will take about a week to post-process. The finished 3D model will be made publicly available on the Sketchfab platform (lab_archaic), as well as on the Archaic's social media pages.

The project is being implemented as part of the Ukrainian Heritage Digitization and Dissemination Initiative in cooperation with the American non-governmental organization CyArk with the support of the U.S. Embassy Foundation Program and is aimed at preserving, popularizing, and scientifically studying Ukrainian cultural heritage using modern digital technologies. More information about the project can be found on the Archaica website.

We remind you! Half of humanity may be descended from the Yamnaya culture that lived on the territory of Ukraine. Read more about the research in our previous article.

All photos from the article: Tim Hordienko

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