The Western Wall (Kotel) Tunnels

Subterranean surveying within a piece of history


Did you know that walls can move? Tracking shifts and changes in walls hundreds and thousands of years old

Products Geometric analysis report, structural and geometric analysis, detection of minimum and maximum deviation points
Solutions , , ,
Technologies
מיפוי מבנים
All the scans are registered to one image and one file
3D Mesh model. The color represents deviations from the plane
Deviation from reference plane represented on the "Point Cloud"
"Point Cloud" inside the Kotel's tunnel

Since 2009, we have been accompanying the Western Wall Heritage Foundation in their excavation and exposure of the Western Wall Tunnels compound. Our work for the foundation includes mapping to assist in the engineering and architectural design and preservation of the Western Wall Tunnels compound, as well as tracking the shifts and geometric changes that have taken place over the years, in a comparative manner.

During the excavations, earth and material that supported the walls for hundreds of years were removed, and it became necessary to track the shifts that took place as a result. Shift tracking is performed over time and at varying frequencies according to the progression rate of the works. We execute 3D laser scanning at very high resolution and accuracy to ensure all elements are returned to the reference point. Wall shifting occurs at both the systemic level as well as at specific locations in the compound.

In the main gallery of the Western Wall Tunnels (the Model gallery), structure stability tests are conducted to this day, at varying frequencies. This procedure is performed as follows: After scanning the compound, we monitor specific sections of the point cloud by performing a cloud to cloud comparison. This method allows us to compare point clouds from different points in time; thus, the current (last) measurement is compared with the before-last measurement and with the initial measurement on the compound. Two meshes that are based on respective point clouds are superposed, and the current point is compared with the reference point.

arrow
Back to top

Accessibility Toolbar