Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 21
Cultural Heritage Testbed
Background
The concept of cultural heritage has a wide range of applications: museums,
books and libraries, paintings, etc. It also includes monuments, archaeological
sites, etc. The CASPAR project we used the definition of Cultural Heritage given
in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (UNESCO,
1972
):
“monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting,
elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings
and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the
point of view of history, art or science;
groups of buildings: groups of separate or connected buildings which, because
of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of
outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science;
sites: works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas
including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from
the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view.”
The conservation community has a long tradition of documenting cultural her-
itage sites. However, the use of digital technology to document such sites is
relatively new. Over the last 15 years the techniques used have advanced sig-
nificantly, particular with the evolution of digital photogrammetry. Today, using
relatively simple to use laser scanners, 3D scanning technology has become an
outstanding medium for rapidly generating reliable inventory documentation in
civil and structural engineering as well as for architectural recordings, especially
in the heritage field.
By deploying mid-range and close-range scanners, depending on the complexity
of the object, we can ensure a high-resolution 3D recording even when dealing
with intricate facade sculptures or ornaments.
These new technologies have enormously increased the amount of digital infor-
mation being handled in the cultural heritage domain. However, the digital
preservation of all this data is still an extremely new concept.
