Laser scanning for the documentation and management of heritage sites within the Emirate of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates

The Emirate of Fujairah in the UAE has many important cultural and archaeological sites. These include the Fujairah and Al-Bithnah forts and the Al-Bidyah Mosque. With increasing tourism patronage and development of major infrastructure projects in and around Fujairah, these sites are increasingly under threat. Their present condition requires careful mapping for proper management and future preservation efforts. This paper presents a research project that is developing a method for surveying and recording important archaeological sites. Using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), a number of surveys were undertaken in and around the emirate. These surveys enabled a documentation of their present condition and will form an ongoing baseline study to monitor the impact of increased tourist patronage and climate change at these sites. We also investigate and make basic comparisons between our approach and the Structure from Motion (SfM) technique