3D Scanning and recreating the Tomb of Leo V¶
Recreating the Tomb of King Leon V of Armenia¶
Created by FabLab Sorbonne and Fab Lab Armenia Education Foundation.
Leon V (Levon V, 1342–1393), of the House of Lusignan, was the last king of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. After the fall of the kingdom in 1375, he was taken captive by the Mamluks and later released through European support. He spent his remaining years in exile in France, where he died in 1393. His tomb is located in the Basilica of Saint-Denis in Paris, among the French monarchy.
To bring the legacy of this significant Armenian historical figure closer to the public, Fab Lab Armenia launched a unique cultural heritage initiative to digitally recreate King Leon V’s tomb. The idea was initiated by Babken Chugaszyan, CEO of Fab Lab Armenia, and I, Elen Grigoryan, the lab’s product designer and 3D sculpting expert, led the project. The very special part of the work is done thanks to Fab Network - 3D scanning the tomb is done by Fablab Sorbonne, which is the closest located lab to the basilique.
Incredible cooperation of Fab Network¶
Initial research showed that online imagery of the tomb was limited and inadequate for detailed modeling. To address this, the team sought support through the international Fab Lab network. We contacted Stéphane Muller, Fablab Manager and Fab Academy instructor at Fab Lab Sorbonne in Paris, who agreed to assist to 3D scan the tomb and later obtained an official permission to scan the tomb at the Basilica of Saint-Denis.
Before the scanning took place, I provided Stéphane with detailed technical guidelines to ensure the data would be suitable for accurate 3D modeling.
- A video for AI(video-to-3D)
I recommended recording a horizontal video at 24–30 fps while walking steadily around the tomb to capture it from as many angles as possible. To increase coverage, I suggested she include high and low perspectives, and, if possible, use a selfie stick or tripod to reach overhead and inaccessible side views.
- Photos
In addition to the video, I asked for close-up photographs of key features—such as the face, crown, and hands—to preserve fine sculptural details for later referencing during the modeling phase.
- LiDAR scanning
For a more precise scan, I suggested using the LiDAR sensor on an iPad/iPhone Pro along with the Scaniverse app, which guides the user during the scanning process and allows for efficient post-processing directly on the device. This would help generate a clean and accurate 3D mesh, minimizing errors and reducing the amount of manual cleanup needed later in Blender.
These instructions were designed to maximize the quality of the reference material, whether for photogrammetry or LiDAR-based 3D reconstruction.
Once Stéphane visited the Basilica and completed the scans, he shared with me a set of videos, photos, and initial 3D models.
I then uploaded the videos to platforms like Luma AI and 3Dpresso to generate AI-generated 3D models from the videos.
- Luma AI result:
- 3Dpresso result:
After evaluating the results, I imported all 3D models into Blender for post-processing. Comparing all results, the most useful mesh came up the 3D scanned one, by Scaniverse.
Editing the Mesh¶
The raw mesh required significant cleanup—so I closed open geometry, removed irrelevant or distorted parts, and remeshed the topology for better uniformity and sculpting.
I fixed holes in mesh using fill selection in Edit Mode. Once the mesh has holes in it it will not calculate the remesh correctly.
While the scan lacked fine surface detail, the high-resolution photos provided by Stéphane were extremely helpful. I used them to generate depth maps and enhance the sculpted model by adding missing details such as clothing folds, facial contours, and ornamentation.
For that I used Displacement modifier in Blender.
The Displacement modifier is basically inflating the light areas of the texture image on the mesh and pressing down the dark areas, it works like depth map and it’s modifying the mesh. For the maximum details it’s needed more subdivided mesh, so I remeshed and applied some Subdivision Surface modifier.
Before and after applying Displacement modifier. (Left - without, Right - modified)
A lot of details appeared after this process. We can see now pattern of the tiles on the floor, more facial details, hair and clothing.
For remeshing the topology I used external program. It’s Instant meshes, which makes good quality mesh, easy to use and fast.
The final result is a fully reconstructed digital model of the tomb, ready for 3D printing.
3D printing¶
I am 3D printing a miniature model on Elegoo Neptune Max, to save the printing time I separated the tomb into two parts. 3D printing in this position made layers not much visible and avoid of top surface topographical appearance.
And the result we painted.
Conclusion¶
This project to digitally recreate the tomb of King Leo V of Lusignan showcases the unique strengths of the global Fab Lab network. Thanks to the close collaboration between labs across countries—combining local access, specialized expertise, and cutting-edge digital fabrication tools—we were able to overcome geographical and technical challenges to bring this historic monument into the digital realm.
The open sharing of knowledge, resources, and support within the Fab community made it possible to coordinate scanning efforts in Paris, perform advanced 3D processing remotely, and ultimately produce a detailed 3D printed model back in Armenia. This interconnected ecosystem empowers Fab Labs and makers worldwide to preserve cultural heritage, prototype innovative designs, and push the boundaries of what small-scale labs can achieve.
We look forward to continuing to leverage this vibrant network for future projects that celebrate history, technology, and collaboration