A group at Princeton, undoubtedly among others, is doing some work on this 
sort of technology. See 
http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S21/86/52G22/ . However, the 
Princeton system is intended only for flat objects, such as frescoes.

Dave Shonyo
Gunston Hall Plantation

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gary Vines" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, April 14, 2009 8:03 AM
Subject: Re: TV Software Question


Software (along with specialist hardware such as scanners and 
photogrammetric cameras), is available for piecing together fragments. A 
specialist system of 3d scanning and matching was used for the most recent 
reconstruction of the Parthenon, which managed to put back many of the 
fallen stones int he right places, despite some ofthe previously 
reconstrcuted stones having been recut to fit them in the wrong places. I 
have also hard that some of the shredded or torn up Stasi files have been 
reconstructed by scanning individual fragments and computer matching the 
shape of the tears.

Gary vines


-----Original Message-----
From: HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY on behalf of Lyle E. Browning
Sent: Tue 4/14/2009 1:32 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: TV Software Question

A couple of weeks ago I watched an episode of CSI NY. A memory stick
cover had been stomped and was in pieces. Each piece of it was scanned
and software manipulated it and put it back together.

Is this totally Hollywood or is this a potentially wonderful reality
for those of us who have excavated kilns for the edification of our
archaeological souls as a former mentor phrased it and have thousands
of potshards to mend?

Lyle Browning, RPA