Sandstone bust of a man (Amara West, Sudan).

3D Model

Amara West find number F4182. Height 29.2cm; width 23.2cm; thickness 11.2cm. Date: c. 1200 BC.

This statue was found in the back room of house E13.3-S, within the walled town at Amara West. This type of statue is often known as an “ancestor bust”, which allowed the living to commemorate, and interact with, deceased family members. This example is unusual in that it was found in its original position, perched on a pedestal inside the doorway of the back room of the house.

Unfortunately, the statue, discovered in 2010 by the British Museum research project, was stolen from the excavation house in 2012. The model was created by Susie Green, using Agisoft Photoscan, using only 17 photos. These were taken in 2010 as part of standard finds documentation, with no idea that they might one day be used to create an accurate 3D model. The matching control points had to be added by hand, allowing the program to successfully fill in the surface detail.