The field-specific online portal archeologia.com.pl has published a list of 10 most important foreign discoveries made by Polish archaeologists in 2018. The list includes architectural research and comprehensive documentation of the Samaipata site in Bolivia

The works conducted at Fuerte de Samaipata, which is included in the World Heritage List, were made possible thanks to a grant from the National Centre for Science (Opus programme, project 8 2014/15/B/HS2/01108). It was carried out by the Laboratory of Scanning and 3D Modelling, headed by  Jacek Kościuk, PhD, DSc, a professor at the university, who was also the project leader. Significant support was also provided by the local authorities of Samaipata.

The main part of the Fuerte de Samaipata site is a 240x60x18 metre rock, which is completely covered by carvings, the oldest of which date back to the pre-Inca times. Its present form was given to it by the Incas, who not only transformed it according to their own needs but also erected a monumental administrative and ceremonial centre at the foot of its southern slope.

Atmospheric and climatic factors are today causing rapid erosion of the rock. As a result, petroglyphs (rock carvings) are being gradually worn away, which is why it became so important to inventory what still remained preserved, using the latest techniques. - For this purpose, we performed 3D laser scanning of the whole site and scanned the most valuable petroglyphs with a structural light scanner - explains  Jacek Kościuk, PhD, DSc. - We also made photogrammetric documentation in visible light as well as using a multispectral camera and infrared recorder.

Two seasons of fieldwork were carried out in the period 2016-17, and a full-day scientific session was held in Samaipata in October 2018 to discuss the initial results.

The outcomes were also presented at the exhibition entitled "Against the Sands of Time" held at the UNESCO centre in Paris.

The results were prepared by a multidisciplinary team of specialists from Italy, Germany, and Poland, including from the University of Wrocław, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, the Cracow University of Technology, and the Centre for Pre-Columbian Research of the University of Warsaw, whose head - Professor Mariusz Ziółkowski - also acts as fieldwork coordinator and manager.

According to the current plan of works, the entire project will be completed in September 2019, and its results, apart from their documentary value, will also have a significant impact on the development of a strategy for the protection and maintenance of this unique place on a global scale.