Zhengzhou, Jan. 14 (BNA): When it comes to archeology, many people might still think of a shovel and a brush as the go-to tools. But modern archeology has evolved far beyond that.

According to archaeologist Li Shiwei, nowadays, it's all about buzzing drones hovering in the sky for exploration and archaeological shelters equipped with monitoring and early warning systems, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Li added that they utilized the cutting-edge field archaeological excavation management system throughout the excavation process. All archaeological data, including photos and videos, is digitised for permanent preservation and subsequent analysis and research.

"In the past, all unearthed artifacts and information had to be manually drawn and recorded by technicians, piece by piece, which was very inconvenient for marking, archiving and studying," Li recalled.

In the city of Luoyang, Henan, stands the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site which also represents the pinnacle of Chinese stone carving art. The Longmen Grottoes are over 1,500 years old, with over 2,300 existing niches and over 100,000 stone statues.

In recent years, by using high-definition 3D scanning technology, local researchers have established a high-precision, scientific and comprehensive database, which covers the grottoes, existing cultural relics and those scattered around the world.

So far, three overseas-returning cultural relics and four digitally returned cultural relics have been restored and displayed through 3D printing, according to Gao.

M.f.m.a, H.K, Z.H, s.a