A 3-D model of The Bear Trap: A unique stone structure on the northwest tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, Greenland

This dataset consists of five files. The .obj, .jpg., and .mtl files can be used to view a high-resolution 3D mesh model of ‘The Bear Trap’, a unique Norse ruin at the western end of the Nuussuaq Peninsula in NW Greenland (also called ‘Bjørnefælden’ in Danish, and ‘Putdlagssuaq’ or ‘The Great Trap’ Greenlandic Kalaallisut). The .laz file contains the dense cloud. The .avi shows a flyover video of the 3D model. The 3D model was created from 1686 photographs that were processed using Structure from Motion Multiview Stereo photogrammetry software (in this case Agisoft Metashape Pro v1.7; Linux Ubuntu). A 24.3 megapixel Sony a5100 APS-C mirrorless camera fitted with a 24 mm lens was used to acquire ground-level imagery of the structure. The image alignment or bundle adjustment was performed using ‘High’ accuracy, a key point limit of 60000 and no tie point limit. The sparse point cloud was scaled using three markers with known dimensions that were placed in the area of interest, and which remained stationary throughout the entire photo survey. The dense point cloud was computed using the ‘High’ setting. The dense point cloud was then used to compute the mesh model using the ‘High’ setting. Instructions are provided in the readme file that accompanies this dataset. 

The image survey of the Bear Trap was conducted as part of the Vaigat Iceberg-Microbial Oil Degradation and Archaeological Heritage Investigation (VIMOA) project, which was funded by the Danish Centre for Marine Research and supported by the Arctic Research Centre at Aarhus University, the National Museum of Denmark, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, and The Greenland National Museum and Archives in Nuuk. Permits for the survey were obtained in advance from the Greenland National Museum and Archives in Nuuk. Walsh et al. (2020) provides an overview of the archaeological surveys conducted during the VIMOA project and Walsh et al. (submitted) provides further details specific to The Bear Trap and surrounding archaeological contexts. 

Walsh et al. (2020) The VIMOA project and archaeological heritage in the Nuussuaq Peninsula of north-west Greenland. Antiquity 94:e6 doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.230

Walsh, Matthew J., Daniel F. Carlson, Pelle Tejsner, and Steffen Thomsen. The Bear Trap: Reinvestigating a unique stone structure on the northwest tip of the Nuussuaq Peninsula, Greenland. Manuscript submitted to Arctic Anthropology