Contact: Dr. Anna Bertelli
The Apollo Pythios sanctuary in Gortyn (Fig. 1a), the former capital of the Roman province of Creta et Cyrenaica, is home to the so-called Edificio C, a small building with a floor area of less than 4 x 4 m (Fig. 1b). It was uncovered around twenty years ago during investigations by the Italian Archaeological School of Athens and is characterized by a unique architectural design: a square exterior floor plan with a round interior.
Due to later superstructures built by Byzantine residential buildings, the building can only be partially reconstructed. Accordingly, it remains unclear what its original form might have looked like. In particular, the design of the rising architecture—such as the presence of windows or the construction of the roof—cannot yet be determined. The function of the building, its dating and history of use, and its integration into the sanctuary have also been largely unexplored to date.
The finds from the building itself and from test excavations in its immediate vicinity form a central basis for further investigation. They enable a more differentiated analysis of the building structure and open up new perspectives for its functional and historical interpretation.
• Head, contact person: Dr. Anna Bertelli (Ruhr University Bochum)
• Scientific cooperation: University of Padua (Prof. Dr. Jacopo Bonetto) 2023–2025; 2026–2028.
• Partners: Italian Archaeological School of Athens, Ephorate of Antiquities of Heraklion.
• Focus: Documentation, analysis, and digital recording of Edificio C and the associated finds.
Of particular importance is an extensive collection of Roman oil lamps with discus depictions, which was recovered from inside the building in 2007 during research conducted by the Università degli Studi di Siena. After the excavation, the finds were taken to the depot, where they have not yet been systematically evaluated.
The lamp collection includes numerous reconstructable fragments as well as several completely preserved specimens. Due to its exceptionally good state of preservation and the fact that it was found in one location, the material has great scientific potential and is therefore a central focus of the present research project.
A central goal of the project is to comprehensively document all oil lamps found in Edificio C. This includes documenting the objects through manual drawings and photographs, photogrammetric recording to create 3D models, and the production of digital redrawings and reconstructions. In addition, a comparative analysis of the entire find complex will be carried out.
In addition to local comparisons on Crete, this analysis step will also draw on supraregional parallels in order to establish a well-founded dating of the material and enable conclusions to be drawn about the geographical distribution of the image lamps.
In the long term, the project aims to reconstruct the history of use of Edificio C, analyze its integration into the Apollo Pythios sanctuary, discuss its function, and finally present an architectural reconstruction of the building.
The research project thus sees itself as a contribution to the exploration of a hitherto little-known architectural element of the sanctuary and provides an important building block for a deeper understanding of the complex as a whole.
The course focuses on the question of suitable documentation methods. Drawing ancient oil lamps—especially the curved image mirror—is extremely challenging when done by hand and poses a major challenge even for experienced drafters. Precise and comparable documentation therefore requires a high degree of technical skill and experience.
Against this background, the project offered an opportunity to examine the extent to which digital processes such as 3D modeling and digital redrawing can usefully complement manual processing or even replace it in certain work steps. Funding from the Research-Based Learning program at Ruhr University Bochum enabled the implementation of this approach in the project “A light bulb moment! From the dusty depot to the digital spotlight – new insights into the recording of ancient lamps.”
As part of the exercise, students acquired basic knowledge of ancient lychnology and analyzed comparable lamp contexts with a large number of specimens in order to understand their functions in different contexts (including production, trade, storage, cult, sacred deposition, and disposal). In addition, they learned how to create initial 3D models based on photographic images of the objects using the Metashape program (Fig. 4a). In addition, the hand drawings of the lamps made on site were digitized and further processed using Vectorworks (Fig. 4b).
The aim of the exercise was to learn how to document the finds professionally and at the same time to develop a documentation method that was as reproducible as possible. While individual oil lamps could be adequately photographed due to their well-preserved figurative representations, most of the images proved to be heavily washed out or difficult to read. In particular, the depiction of the motifs on the curved discus poses a methodological challenge for Roman picture lamps, as precise manual tracing is only possible to a limited extent due to the curvature of the surface.
Against this background, classic hand drawings were systematically combined with digital processes – in particular 3D modeling and orthophoto-based redrawing. The aim was to bring together the respective strengths of analog and digital forms of documentation in a targeted manner.
1 / 4
2 / 4
3 / 4
4 / 4
The evaluation showed that neither analog nor digital methods alone provide sufficient documentation. Manual drawing remains indispensable, as it can capture fine reliefs and subtle surface details that are not always clearly visible in photographs. Digital redrawings and 3D models, on the other hand, allow for a distortion-free representation of the image mirror and are particularly suitable for the precise analysis of manufacturing characteristics and the identification of matrix differences. On this basis, a hybrid documentation approach was developed that combines the respective strengths of both methods and enables significantly higher accuracy. The mutual control and complementarity of analog and digital methods proved to be particularly beneficial from both a scientific and didactic perspective.
Based on these findings, a standardized procedure was formulated, according to which the work is currently being continued. In the 2025 summer campaign, a further 143 oil lamp fragments were inventoried, photographed, and drawn, followed by detailed manual and digital 3D documentation.
The redrawings and 3D models created were integrated into digital archaeological teaching and are now permanently available in the e-learning program offered by Archaeological Sciences (RUBeA – eLearning) (Fig. 5a).
In addition, an experimental archaeological approach was tested: Cretan picture lamps were recreated and pottered in the teaching workshop of the Bochum Institute in order to gain a practical understanding of the manufacturing processes and technical features of the forms (Fig. 5b and c).
The research project and initial findings of Dr. Anna Bertelli were presented together with the participating students at the Institute of Archaeological Sciences during the Classical Archaeology colloquium in the winter semester of 2023/2024. The public presentation also gave students the opportunity to gain practical experience in scientific communication and to critically reflect on their methodological approach.
In April 2024, the results were also presented in a lecture at the Thomas Morus Academy in Bensberg, making them accessible to a wider audience. In addition, the project was presented in December 2025 in the event series New Approaches to Old Subjects: Teaching in the Ancient Sciences with a lecture entitled “New Teaching Approaches with Ancient Lamps.” The presentation placed the project in the context of current discussions on teaching practices in classical studies and focused in particular on the potential of research-based learning, digital documentation methods, and object-based teaching in the tension between subject tradition and innovative teaching formats.
The successfully completed teaching and research experiment was followed in the summer semester of 2024 by another exercise on the unique architecture and possible roofing of Edificio C: “Everything starts with a plan! Squaring the circle in archaeology.”
The building was re-measured on site, analyzed, and documented photogrammetrically; and a 3D model was calculated on this basis (Fig. 6). As part of the exercise, the students intensively studied ancient building forms with comparable floor plans and created digital plans of the building and the comparative structures used. These made it possible to identify both typological and functional parallels.
For future teaching, a further exercise is planned in which the 3D models of the oil lamps will be digitally merged with the reconstructions of the building. The aim is to make it possible to directly experience the sensory effect of possible lighting situations within the building, especially under low light conditions.
Dr. Anna Bertelli
Akademische Rätin
Klassische Archäologie
Institut für Archäologische Wissenschaften
Ruhr-Universität Bochum
Am Bergbaumuseum 31, 44791 Bochum
Raum: 0.3.7
Tel.: (0234) 32-19232
Mail: Anna.Bertelli@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Lilly Johanna Eckhoff, Cara Klein-Raufhake, Simon Oskar Wehrle
Lilly Johanna Eckhoff, Cara Klein-Raufhake, Ozan-Eren Erçetin, Melike Kazan, Leonie Langer, Paul Rieckhof, Kalista Sajnovic, Noah Schmid, Simon Oskar Wehrle
Damaris Axmann, Antonia Becker, Stella Becker, Lilly Johanna Eckhoff, Ozan-Eren Ercetin, Marco Harig, Nils Koenen, Lina Kuche, Hanna Merk, Eric Neuhofen, Noah Schmid, Stefan Walter
Lilly Johanna Eckhoff, Era Garattini (Erasmus+ Traineeship), Nils Koenen, Lina Kuche, Lara Töreki M.A.
Copyright © ArchWiss 2026
Last update: Feb 25, 2026
