Advance notice: Bath Abbey closed Mon 8 – Thu 11 March
Bath Abbey will be closed for four days next week so that an archaeological survey can take place.
From Monday 8 March to Thursday 11 March (inclusive), the Abbey will be closed. However it will reopen on Friday 12 March, 12-2pm for private prayer and individual reflection.
The Abbey’s historic ledgerstones have now been successfully restored and its floor, saved from collapse. The Abbey is now having to close for a few days so that the floor can be completely cleared, in order to enable Wessex Archaeology to complete a detailed survey of the completed Abbey floor.
The team of archaeologists will be accurately recording the condition and lay out of the thousands of floor stones using a process called photogrammetry, which involves taking a series of photos all the way around the object, as well as some RTI (Reflectance Transformation Imaging) of key ledgerstones. They will also carry out an aerial photogrammetric survey which involves using a drone inside the Abbey. The 360 imagery and video captured will then be used to create a digital 3-D model for an exciting display in the new Discovery Centre and will provide content for our education and learning programmes, including a virtual reality tour.
Nathan Ward, Footprint Project Director, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Wessex Archaeology whose work is essential in helping us to develop exciting visuals for our interpretation and learning programme for our visitors, local community groups and schools. We are grateful to the team of archaeologists for carrying out this detailed, methodical and highly technical piece of work, and are happy to support them by ensuring there will be no interruptions, in terms of timing and in the space.”
Damien Campbell-Bell, Geomatics & BIM Manager, from Wessex Archaeology said: “We are very excited to be working with the Abbey on this project. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity to record the Abbey without any obstructions. We can’t wait to get the results of this survey and our ongoing work with data from the Footprint Project into the hands of the public so that everyone can experience the history of the Abbey firsthand.”
