Putting the Pieces back Together: Photogrammetry and International Diplomacy

4 min read

One defining characteristic of cultural preservation is collaboration. Ranging from registrars and conservators to curators and countless others, many departments and roles work together at Museum of the Bible to preserve, research, and exhibit objects. Crucially, Museum of the Bible not only collaborates within its own team, but also with external organizations such as the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

The IAA is an independent government authority that protects the rights and obligations regarding the discovery and ownership of ancient objects in Israel. Museum of the Bible hosts more than 700 objects on loan from Israel and works frequently with the IAA. In late October 2024, we received an exciting and important request from the IAA regarding one of the objects we currently have on display.

We were asked to provide photos of an ancient pottery sherd simply called, “Fragment of a Limestone Jar.”

Fragment of a limestone jar, onto which the name "Yosef" is etched.

While thousands of such fragments exist today, this sherd is unique due to the name “Yosef” being etched into the stone. The IAA requested photos so that they could create a 3D replica of the fragment using photogrammetry. Photogrammetry uses science and technology to measure, record, and interpret photographs in order to relay reliable information about a physical object. While this concept has existed since the mid-nineteenth century, it is currently used in enhanced cartography, archaeology, and 3D modeling. At cultural heritage institutions like museums, photogrammetry requires photographing a three-dimensional object from every angle, usually requiring hundreds of photos, and then processing these images to create a virtual model.

As the museum’s Digital Imaging Specialist, I gathered all the necessary photograph requirements from the IAA’s head of the field technologies branch, Alexander Wiegmann. With that information, my intern Yucheng Guan, conservator Elizabeth Hayslett, and I constructed a safe and efficient shooting space.

Shooting the fragment of a limestone jar.

Working with our Collections and Creative teams, we sourced equipment that is not yet in our Digital Imaging Lab, including a Nikon D850 and a light box, to take approximately 400 images and send them to our colleagues at the IAA.

These images were then used to generate a virtual 3D model, which was then processed in the IAA’s 3D printer to produce a stone replica.

Fragment of a limestone jar, onto which the name "Yosef" is etched.

Photos provided by the Israel Antiquities Authority.

This replica was provided to Israeli president Isaac Herzog to give as a diplomatic gift to former US president Joseph Biden. Biden hosted Herzog and received the replica at the White House on November 12, 2024 (see images of the moment here). As the two presidents engaged in respectful discussion of today’s geo-political landscape and antisemitism, Herzog presented the replica, pointing out the etched “Yosef,” meaning “Joseph,” and explained some of the object’s history.

Per our Chief Curatorial Officer Bobby Duke, “The partnership between Museum of the Bible and the IAA is enhanced by the many connections shared between the United States and Israel. The gift from President Herzog to President Joseph Biden highlights this collaboration in a tangible way using modern photographic technology.”

This project was only successful due to collaboration at many levels. Museum of the Bible’s partnerships with external organizations like the IAA allow the museum both to host objects with fascinating histories and to utilize new and innovative technologies to share them with an ever-broadening audience. This type of exchange between cultural institutions, in turn, creates new avenues for diplomacy and opportunities for discourse through which political bodies might enact change.

By Rebeccah Swerdlow, Digital Imaging Specialist