ABSTRACT Avdalaz Castle, carved by the Phrygians around the 2nd–3rd century bc in Afyonkarahisar, western Türkiye, and later reused during the Roman and Byzantine periods, represents one of the earliest known multi‐storey rock‐cut settlements in Anatolia. Beyond its architectural uniqueness, the site holds exceptional cultural and historical importance for understanding early urban dwelling patterns in central Anatolia. However, its irregular geometries, multilevel interior chambers and limited accessibility pose significant challenges for accurate digital recording and long‐term preservation. To address these challenges, this study undertakes a comparative assessment of UAV photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and iPad LiDAR scanning (iLS). UAV photogrammetry enabled rapid coverage of extensive exterior surfaces, TLS provided high‐accuracy modelling of complex geometries and iLS facilitated data capture within narrow and inaccessible interior chambers. The integration of these complementary datasets was achieved through the Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm and evaluated with cloud‐to‐cloud (C2C) comparisons, which showed a mean distance of less than 2 cm between UAV photogrammetry and TLS for external surfaces. While the study identifies certain limitations (such as the lower precision of iLS compared to TLS and the time‐consuming setup of TLS), it demonstrates the broader intellectual and technological benefits of combining multisensor methods. The adopted approach not only offers a systematic framework for addressing the challenges of documenting sites with complex geometries but also advances the potential of digital tools in cultural heritage preservation. Finally, the integrated 3D point cloud was visualized on a web‐based virtual reality (VR) platform powered by Potree. This interactive environment enabled browser‐based inspection and basic geometric analyses, including profile and volume measurements. By improving accessibility for both researchers and the public, the study demonstrates the practical potential of multisensor integration for cultural heritage documentation.
Hamal et al. (Sun,) studied this question.