november 2015
Quarterly Magazine, Volume VI Issue 3 Special Supplement
A rcheomatic A international Cultural Heritage Technologies
Virtual Reconstructions to E xperience the P ast
Regium Lepidi Research
at the
Neutron
investigation for
Pigment
MusĂŠe
de la
analysis for the
Musique
Archaeological Research
Karnak
Ar c heomat i c a
I SSN 2037- 2485
temples complex 9 772037 248007
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EDITORIAL
A
rcheomatica ha esordito nel 2009 con un contenuto scientifico-divulgativo particolarmente mirato alle tecnologie per i beni culturali con l’intento di uscire dal tradizionale sistema di pubblicazione di articoli scientifici e di ricerca mirati solo al discorso di interscambio tra scienziati e ricercatori. L’intenzione era quella di portare la conoscenza ad un livello di comprensione possibile per tutti gli operatori del settore, cercando di dare soluzioni e risposte ai classici problemi della conservazione, restauro, documentazione e fruizione del patrimonio culturale. Dopo 6 anni di attività possiamo provare a tirare le somme, abbiamo pubblicato a cadenza trimestrale dal 2010 più di 20 numeri con una media di 45 articoli all’anno di cui la metà verificata con sistema di peer review. Abbiamo proposto articoli di buon livello scientifico con quelli di divulgazione che possono essere proposti anche da ditte specializzate nel settore, portando così uno strumento di divulgazione che si è successivamente articolato sul web con migliaia di fans, contemporaneamente fornendo in Open Access la possibilità di leggere la rivista in modalità digitale a video. Il contributo dei lettori abbonati congiunto a quello delle aziende ci ha consentito di continuare a stampare su carta, lo strumento per eccellenza ancora più usato per la lettura. Ma veniamo al perché di Archeomatica International. Nel tempo abbiamo ricevuto molte proposte di pubblicazione in inglese che abbiamo riproposto nella rubrica Guest Paper, ed ora, dietro le numerose spinte ricevute abbiamo deciso di iniziare una nuova avventura al livello internazionale per diffondere la conoscenza e la cultura della conservazione del patrimonio culturale attraverso le nuove tecnologie, con il particolare impulso che l’Italia riserva a tale settore. Questo numero è un Manifesto per la promozione della nuova serie internazionale di Archeomatica che prenderà avvio dal 2016, continuando la stessa politica di divulgazione a tutti i livelli che fino ad oggi ci ha contraddistinto.
Archeomatica debuted in 2009 with a scientific content-targeted to popular technologies for cultural heritage with the intention to open the traditional system of scientific paper publishing targeted only to the speech interchange between scientists and researchers.The aim was to bring the knowledge to a level of understanding as possible for all kind of operators in this lovely field, trying to give answers and solutions to the classic issues of conservation, restoration, documentation and benefit/enjoyment of cultural heritage. After six years of activity we can try to draw results: we published quarterly, since 2010, more than 20 issues with an average of 45 articles per year, half of which peer reviewed. We proposed articles of good science together with reports by specialized companies, bringing social dissemination on the web, with thousands of fans, providing open access to read freely the magazine in any kind of media. The contribution of the readers subscribers joint with the interested businesses has allowed us to continue printing on paper, the instrument par excellence even more used for reading. But let's get to the why of Archeomatica International. Over time we have received many papers in English that we have published as Guest Paper, but now, after the many thrusts received we decided to start a new adventure at the international level to spread the knowledge and the culture of preservation of cultural heritage through new technologies, with the special impetus that Italy reserves in this area. This number is a Manifesto for the promotion of new international series of Archeomatica which will start in 2016, continuing the same policy of disclosure at all levels that until now has distinguished us.
Renzo Carlucci dir@archeomatica.it
SUMMARY DOCUMENTATION 6 Experiencing the tangible past through Virtual Reconstruction: Cultural Heritage of Building and their environmental boundaries
by
Mojtaba Navvab, Fabio Bisegna and Franco Gugliermetti
MUSEUMS
On the cover three images of the virtual reconstruction of the city of Regium Lepidi. The first one is a bird's eye view of the city, the second one rappresent the roman forum of the city, the third one shows the industrial area with its furnaces.
3DZ
49
3M ITALIA
2
CODEVINTEC
11
CULTOUR ACTIVE
50
ETT
52
FLYTOP
19
GEOGRĂ€
51
ICOM 2016
39
12 Regium@Lepidi 2200 Project by
Maurizio Forte and Nevio Danelon
REVELATIONS 20 Feasibility study for a neutron investigation in archaeological research on Tifernum Mataurense by Massimo Rogante and Emanuela Stortoni
I GIOVANI E IL RESTAURO 35 MADATEC
18
NOREAL
43
ArcheomaticA
CULTURAL HERITAGE Technologies Quarterly Magazine, Volume VI - Issue 3 Special Supplement November 2015 Archeomatica, quarterly published since 2009, is the first Italian magazine for dissemination, promotion and exchange of knowledge on technologies for the preservation, enhancement and enjoyment of cultural heritage. Publishing about technologies for survey and documentation, analysis and diagnosis, restoration and maintenance, museums and archaeological parks, social networking and "smart" peripherals. As a reference point in the field is the sharing media for the industry, the professionals, the institutions, the academia, including research institutions and government agencies.
Editor-in-Chief Renzo Carlucci dir@archeomatica.it Managing Editor Michele Fasolo michele.fasolo@archeomatica.it Editorial Board Maurizio Forte, Bernard Frischer Giovanni Ettore Gigante, Sandro Massa, Maura Medri, Mario Micheli, Francesco Prosperetti, Marco Ramazzotti, Antonino Saggio, Francesca Salvemini
Editors
redazione@archeomatica.it
Giovanna Castelli giovanna.castelli@archeomatica.it Elena Latini elena.latini@archeomatica.it Valerio Carlucci valerio.carlucci@archeomatica.it Daniele Pipitone daniele.pipitone@archeomatica.it Domenico Santarsiero domenico.santarsiero@archeomatica.it Luca Papi luca.papi@archeomatica.it
30 Linked Heritage: achievements and next steps by Antonella Fresa
26 COMPANIES AND
PRODUCTS
State-of-the-Art Solutions
36 AGORÀ
32 Complementary techniques for pigment analysis from the festival hall of Thutmosis III, the Karnak temples complex (Luxor, Egypt) by Hussein H. Marey Mahmoud
News from the world of Technologies for Cultural Heritage
38 OPINIONS
CULTURE IN THE TIME OF FYBORG by Michele Fasolo
50 EVENTS
LABORATORIES 40 Some aspects of the research in the Laboratory of the Musée del la Musique, Paris Cité de la Musique by
Stéphane Vaiedelich
44 Teleimmersive Archaeology by
Maurizio Forte
and
Gregorij Kurillo
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a publication
Science & Technology Communication
Science & Technology Communication
Marketing Alfonso Quaglione a.quaglione@archeomatica.it
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Publisher MediaGEO soc. coop. Archeomatica è una testata registrata al Tribunale di Roma con il numero 395/2009 del 19 novembre 2009 ISSN 2037-2485
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DOCUMENTATION
Experiencing the Tangible Past through Virtual Reconstruction: Cultural Heritage of Buildings and their Environmental Boundaries by Mojtaba Navvab, Fabio Bisegna and Franco Gugliermetti This paper present the latest techniques associated with reconstructing archaeological and heritage sites on computer. It is important to note that the degree of accuracy needs to meet not only the criteria on the technical aspect of their reconstructions but accurate historical and cultural heritage records as to how the past inhabitant used their living and working environment during that era.
H
ow to capture sound and light signature of the building or space that significantly represents the characteristics of all architectural elements with their contributions to the space within a period of history toward their architecture historical and cultural heritage [1] preservation?
The following sections are attempts to answer the above questions and to demonstrate the ability to visualize and auralize real and simulated conditions within selected cultural heritage sites or buildings. The results present new research approaches in virtual reconstruction utilizing auralization and visualization techiniques that are evolving continuously.
How to visualize the ancient lighting and auralize the audible sounds that show the impact of the architectural elements, and represent the past acoustic and lighting conditions within a virtual environment for their use by cultural heritage specialist [2] or to share their interpretation with general public to experience?
LIGHT Given the dynamic range that our eyes experience under realistic conditions, the human eyes tolerate wide range of intensities through their ability for adaptation and accommodation as required for luminance adaptation while being responsive to high dynamic range of illumination. The virtual immersive environment allows seeing in dark and light given the display high dynamic capabilities in simulating the range of luminous environment and colors. New method of eye adaptation based on physiological data that is integrated into the exiting rendering algorithms allows realistic simulation in tone mapping of ancient surface and texture under specific lighting conditions within a period of history using known spectral power distribution of the available light sources [6].
The simulation results should be presented from a given perspective and interpretation also through realistic perception of brightness and loudness of the human audio and visual system at the time. The results presented in this article are based on the number of projects involving cultural heritage reconstruction of selected buildings. The criteria for their selection are based on the unique evident in extreme lighting and acoustic conditions; such as light and dark lighting condition that are experienced in a very unique art museum (Saint Rocco Museum) and room acoustic condition in a small theater (Ostia Theater) relative to a large arena like Roman Coliseum for its crowd noise generated during an event [3, 4]. These new immersive virtual reconstruction techniques in sound and light provide a unique paradigm shift for archaeological interpretation given the accuracy that is available within the modeling algorithm for our audio and visual system as being presented through the latest display technology as being used in CAVEs (Computer Aided Virtual Environments) or latest head mounted display technology [5]. This is a new unique paradigm shift for archaeological interpretation [11-15].
6
VIRTUAL REALITY as VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES The VR is the simultaneous simulation and perception of physical attributes of reality in an interactive, virtual, computer-generated environment in real-time. VR applications in architecture, music, computation, mechanical engineering and medicine have proven to be most beneficial to designers and researchers. The focus of these applications is mostly on the visual and aural aspect of the simulated scenes. In the case of lighting as an example; the major spatial attributes such as surface colors and the lighting system spectral characteristic and its luminance distribution within a virtual environment are simulated and measured while the
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
Cultural heritage Technologies Cultural Heritage reconstruction must utilize an integrated approach in its execution of various functions toward preserving the past; yet sensitive and careful enough not to impact the fragile architectural elements that have lasted for centuries. The contemporary features of architectural resilience toward environment are known to professional builders for a long time. The oldest human structures demonstrate or present their resilience everywhere given the current recorded conditions of these historical buildings by archeologists; however their unique engineering solutions to a long lasting life are hidden in dynamics of cultural heritage characteristics as discovered during their recovery and or recent attempts using virtual reconstruction methods. There are serious challenges to our well-developed building design resilience with respect to architectural construction techniques as compared to our current real and or virtual reconstruction practices. There is a need to retool and examine our abilities and skills in recreation of the past and collective sense of resilience to scale our expectations toward preserving the tangible cultural heritage given the past decades of natural calamities such as earthquake, hurricane, tsunami and nuclear disasters. Cultural heritage in a given country is unique and irreplaceable. This places the responsibility of preservation on the current generation in that region. The availability of state of the art techniques and expertise in a given field of science is not uniform throughout the world [1]. As of 2012, there are 936 World Heritage Sites in 153 countries throughout the world: 725 cultural, 183 natural, and 28 mixed properties. Each of these sites is considered important to the international community. To transfer the responsibility to a new generation requires the provision of an innovative learning environment. The definitions which apply to cultural heritage are stated below in articles 1 and 2 established by the Venice Charter, 1964 1 [2]. Art. 1: The concept of an historic monument embraces not only the single architectural work but also the urban or rural setting in which is found the evidence of a particular civilization, a significant development or a historic event. This applies not only to great works of art but also to more modest works of the past which have acquired cultural significance with the passing of time. Art. 2: The conservation and restoration of monuments must have recourse to all the sciences and techniques which can contribute to the study and safeguarding of the architectural heritage. The scale of environmental impacts on earth life system, the compelling scientific evidence of dynamic changes in local climates and international directives as relates to sustainable developments and stringent local, state and national legislative or building code requirements (e.g. International Green Building Council (IGBC) and Leadership in Energy Efficiency Design (LEED) for commercial building rating system recognizes that much of a building's in general impact on the environment comes from where it is located and how it fits into its community, etc.) have all contributed to the acknowledgement that education at both pre and post professional levels has a significant role to play addressing these new challenges for Cultural Heritage institutions.
user is experiencing the space, and the perceived brightness of the light sources within the current limitation of the computing power within real time constraints. The post processed and analyzed lighting are displayed in various visualization modes for parametric studies. The data acquisition system allows for the simultaneous recording of the virtual environment and visual response of the users such as their pupil size change due to the lighting intensity and or spectral changes within a scene. The real time measuring capabilities using portable spectrometers allow one not only to record and analyze the conditions with users' reactions, but also to view the spectral characteristics of the light and associated colors reaching the users’ eyes. Virtual reality (VR) technique also serves as a tangible, sensible metaphor for structures and phenomena that normally evade the senses due to scale or abstraction. Here the emphasis is on symbolism, clarity, consistency, and strategy in allocating the dimensions of stimulus to the parameters of the structure and its surface or phenomenon [3-6]. The motivation is to develop a cognitive model as a basis for exploration and discovery. Whatever the motivation, the means is sensory stimulation. Progress in virtual reality is measured in terms of the system’s capabilities to produce content-rich multi-modal stimuli in real time in response to intuitive (or at least easily mastered) user actions.
7 The digital environment through computer simulation using on site measured data provides new opportunities and new processes for sustainability and virtual exploration of the building and exchange among researchers in each field. With these opportunities there are also challenges. The research outcome will provide an opportunity for the cultural heritage community to understand these new challenges and shape the future of heritage research. Current techniques on lighting simulation for building science are based on two decades of computer algorithm developments toward accurately representing common lighting simulation needs [7]. Some of these new techniques are making good progress to provide not only recreation of reality but also reproduction of stimuli within a virtual luminous environment [8- 10]. Simulating complex scenes demand high accuracy for its simulation of colors and spectral characteristics of materials for psychophysics applications. Typically the outcome of such simulations is used as stimuli or alternative to physical simulation with better accuracy when combining freely available and commonly used software by lighting designers. The interior lighting conditions of the Saint Rocco Museum were measured and photographed using a calibrated digital camera for conversion to RGB and spectral reflectance data. The measured spectral power distribution of the source and surface reflectance provided the path to obtain the RGB signal levels for each of the interior surface characteristic. The illuminance and luminance distribution in horizontal and vertical planes were measured using illuminance, luminance, chorma meters, spectrophotometer and spectroradiometers for both night and daytimes along with a digital camera as a luminance meter [3, 5, 6]. The jugular software was used to create the colors and light sources in a given scene [3, 8-10]. The daylight as a source within simulation software differed only in its atmospheric condition settings. To establish the color of the illuminants, the measured color signals of the WHITE scene for each source were used. All images were rendered with the default values of software except for the number of light bounces, which was set to one within Jugular. The objects or materials in the simulated scenes had lambertian surface properties; material type with specular surface to simulate reflective surfaces such as floor were also used for the complex illumination scenes though the application of Macbeth Color Checker sample because only one point in these scenes was measured at the site at the surface normal. The simulation of the simple Macbeth Color Checker allowed us to estimate and calibrate the RGB differences between measured and simulated scenes [3, 6]. The simulation results should be presented through the perception of brightness and loudness of the human audio and visual system at the time. For a consistent and accurate analysis, it is necessary to keep the input quantities within a realistic range of real conditions. It is imperative that the input to the rendering models is clearly defined given the limits for each software rending engine and their required input variable, and that the possible range of predicted illuminance and or luminance levels along with associated RGB for a given scene is identified. Simple surfaces with known RGB are simulated as part of the calibration of the VRL projected light or scene passing through the back screen projection using diffuse translucent surfaces. See Figure 1 Left. Some lighting applications require accurate levels of surface luminance to be simulated as the background in an image and not in the texture of the surface only. The images in Figure 2 show the real lighting conditions as viewed under the museum lighting condition and Figure 3 show the real time spectral reflection of the scenes as viewed by the viewers.
SOUND The art of room acoustic design is to control the sound propagation through absorption, reflection and transmittance.
Fig.1 - Real and schematic views of the CAVE's projectors, and output example.
An effective design solution requires the ability to localize the surfaces that create excessive reflection and the main ones that maintain reflected sound energy. Slopped seating reduces audience attenuation and provides good sight lines; which usually means good hearing conditions given that the sound level outdoors falls off only with distance.
Fig. 2 - Panoramic view of interior.
Fig. 3 - Simulated scenes as shown in a wide angle view of interior spaces created by the software using the average RGB combined with realistic textures and projected for measuring its SPD as viewed in the VR enclosure in real time.
In the real world, the human audio perception experience audio signals in a log scale, a method to visualize and localize the sound that is simulated within a virtual environment using beamforming is presented. The use of an acoustic camera along with noise image software as a short introduction to beamforming method is demonstrated. Furthermore, the transition from the three-dimensional sound recording to the three-dimensional virtual acoustic mapping, visualization and sound perception for its directionality by real subjects within the virtual environment is used to provide realist experience within the historical building such as Rome coliseum. Prerequisite for this is a 3D-model which can be created quickly within this computer aided virtual environment. Experimental results show that the subjects were able to navigate and locate a real and virtual sound source in a dynamic virtual acoustic environment [20]. The findings from these simulations, auditory navigation experiments via visualization technique within this virtual environment demonstrate the beamforming method combined with human subject data provide opportunities to study sound localization within cultural heritage selected sites and fine tune the current Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) for various room acoustic design applications. Figure 4 shows the path toward virtual reconstruction utilizing auralization techniques.
8
FIELD MEASUREMENT: ACOUSTIC CAMERA BASED ON BEAMFORMING The Acoustic Camera combined with the Noise Image software is an integrated data acquisition system with a unique ability to calculate the sound's position in space. The system provides visualization in 2D and or 3D graphic format of the time and frequency domain measured data utilizing Delay and Sum Beamforming in the time domain using the spherical wave concept. This ability provides an insight to examine and view the frequency and time domain data for Room Acoustic applications. These real time data computation, analysis and visualization capabilities allow the audio engineer and architectural acoustic designers to evaluate and explore the performances of their existing designs or newly constructed projects and or virtual reconstruction of the past [17-20]. Application of immersive Virtual Environment (VE) technology for sound perception is achieved through auditory stimuli based on the results of simulated, auralized, and reproduced sounds within computer-simulated spaces of the existing conditions within cultural heritage site. This immersion capability allows stimulation of all human sensory subsystems in a natural way within this immersive environment. The subject uses special viewing glass and headphones (for best realistic sensation utilizing Head Related Transfer Function (HRTF) with a head-tracking device to listen to the auditory event of a simulated space in real-time while accurate and realistic visual cue are stimulating the user audio and visual systems. COMPUTER SIMULATION The hybrid model is the method used in EASEaura, the main computer-simulation software in this research. Briefly, this model can be described as running a specular or reflected ray tracing process which finds a receiver hit by a ray of sound. As the result, the corresponding image source must be audible. The software capability allows historical architectural elements to be investigated for their room acoustic absorption; reflection and transmittance characteristic. See Figure 5 left. Measured results of crowd noise at the site are mapped over the surface seating areas of the Roman Coliseum and are shown in Figure 5 right. The measurement procedure universally adopted provides an analysis of the impulse response of the environment according to directives given by the reference standard. In this study, the International Team for Acoustics in Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, ITACA, offers an innovative approach that makes use of 3D beamforming for acoustic characterization of ancient theatrical outdoor environments [4, 16]. The use of systems that use this technology in metrology noise is greatly increased, and the computing power
Fig. 4 - shows the path toward virtual reconstruction utilizing auralization techniques.
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
Cultural heritage Technologies
Fig. 5 - Simulated and measured crowd noise propagated within the Roman Coliseum by the utilization of beamforming techniques within real and virtual environment. Red = high, Blue = low sound pressure levels in dBA.
available today allows the transition from acoustic mapping 2D to 3D complex acoustic models [13]. The experimental results concerning the characterization of the noise of the Roman theater of Ostia Antica demonstrate (see Figure 6). The effectiveness of this new experimental approach, which despite some weakness starts to be an alternative to more traditional methods. The amphitheater prototype bridges theater with learning and experiencing the environment in ancient times.
Fig. 6 - Ostia Theater site sound distribution and auralization in a virtual environment.
Acceptable sight lines toward the center of arena within the Roman Coliseum and the stage within the Ostia Theater are provided for viewers to experience the space in a VR environment. The symbolic frontal stage design and seating areas as part of the historical settings allow for the careful examination of the acoustic characteristics as auralized and recreated virtually within these sites for an audience. Various acoustic conditions can be listened to without the distraction of elaborate, full mock ups of architectural sets at the site which accommodate the comfort of tourists and casual viewers. The interactive possibilities within VR environment as reconstructed for various cultural heritage sites offers opportunity to experience objects and key historical and architectural elements (e.g.; digital rendering of physical objects surrounded with rich sets of contextual information that can inform, suggest analogies from other experiences, and stimulate thinking on related topics such as color of paintings, sound of crowd (see Figure 7) or a musical instrument or event). RESULTS The basic principles of acoustics of ancient theaters are well known but are not as easy to use them as part of an architectural and functional recovery, because of the different states of preservation and found changes that these structures may have suffered over the centuries. The evaluation of acoustic quality can be made with different methods [4]; physical Fig. 7 - Simulated sounds propagated within the Roman Coliseum, for representation of the historical records on shading system and their impact on crowd noise within the reconstructed virtual environment. Red = Original design without the crowd noise and Green = shows the impact of the shading system on reverberation and noise reuction. and auralization in a virtual environment.
9 acoustics, physical scale models, diagnostic tools and numerical models. The standard approach involves analysis of the impulse response of the environment, obtained experimentally or numerically. Richer educational experiences are possible with multisensory input (visual, auditory, avatar movement of curtain, daylight and an accurate change of colors due to inter-reflection and interaction with the object) to help foster a sense of place within a synthetic historical context. The onsite measured surface luminance, chromaticity and spectral data were used as input to an established real-time indirect illumination and a physically based algorithms to produce the best approximation for RGB to be used as an input to generate the image of the objects. Conversion of RGB to and from spectra has been a major undertaking in order to match the infinite number of spectra to create the same colors that were defined by RGB in the program [6]. See Figure 8. The Rector's Palace - Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik atrium space simulated space conveys an interior space with or without daylight, which suggests a disciplined perspective with the placement of room artifacts and attention to its building historical elements in detail.
Fig. 8 Dynamic movement of a red curtain simulated (left) while measuring SPD in real time (center) and luminance distribution changes due to interreflection of light on the wall is shown at right. The blue and red lines within SPD plot shows closed and open curtain setting with peak contribution in red part of the spectrum.
Fig. 9 - Reconstruction of the Rector's Palace - Sponza Palace in Dubrovnik atrium space as simulated within the CAVE and real time measured SPD and luminance distribution of blue reflected light within the animated scene with Curtin’s movement.
Fig. 10 - Reconstruction of the Sponza Palace room interior artifacts such as sculpture.
A higher information or stimuli load is considered with the current geometry of these elements and the incoming daylight through the atrium space. The space also suggests an environmental psychology principle of how viewers can be situated in a space for viewing the light and dark areas of artworks (e.g., hung fabric materials) under different lighting conditions while being considered for its preservation.
Figures 9-12 show that the banner surface reflects light in the blue regions of the spectrum as measured with spectrometers including the simulated color distortion due to reflected component impacting color of banners and their walls detail textures. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The use of computer generated images within CAVE could be an alternative to the use of real or full mocked up space during the design concept or historical building evaluation. In the Figures 8, a red curtain was illuminated by sunlight being simulated as a point source spotlights at 30 degree elevation or not perpendicular to the wall. The light bouncing off the red curtain while being animated within the VR scene created a red gradient on the white walls. The color signal of the bouncing red curtain was measured. This particular capability was also simulated in scenes (Figure 9-12) utilizing an algorithm for visualization, including realtime shadows and massive lighting, a rendering engine that implements algorithms published by Anton Kaplanyan [21] and others developed in-house, taking advantage of modern graphics hardware with GLSL shader programs [22]. VR is no longer being viewed as an entertainment system but now is being used in scientific investigation for its visualization capabilities. Although, there are unique applications in which the design objectives demand high accuracy in simulated results, this method may not require absolute accuracy, in order to accelerate the decision making process. The information provided by these results and analysis could outline a set of future guidelines or requirements for simulation requiring high accuracy within a given dynamic range of spectrum [8-10]. The viewing and exploring of cultural heritage buildings is examined through the application of an immersive virtual reality environment that is proving to be a well suited platform for scientific and educational experimentation, exploration, evaluation and propositional test and evaluation trials. The examples presented in this article describe the use of the 3D virtual reality laboratory. This highly innovative and interactive technology offers users across many disciplines opportunities to enhance traditional instructional methodologies. The technology provides a close fit between immersive virtual worlds. This takes advantage of how users prefer to learn and interact within and across areas of science associated to preservation of cultural heritage buildings. Immersive virtual reality learning environments can be designed to be experiential and intuitive. They provide learners with control over time, scale, and physics for a shared experience and information supporting interactive simulations, concept visualization, and observation from many perspectives. Examples of immersive virtual reality constructed for these selected sites are used for assessing their building environmental boundary conditions such as the impact of sound and light on the interiors of buildings and their sites [23-25]. CONCLUSIONS Application of virtual reality technology for sound and color perception is achieved through auralization and visualization of interior as well as exterior of historical buildings. The real time recording, monitoring and simulation procedures used for these spaces’ existing conditions could be applied to evaluate real or virtual settings of historical buildings. Results of 3D digital scanning devices combined with accurate measured color and spectral reflectance of real surface materials allow conversion of reality into digital form in a cost and effective way to be presented and used for public engagement and educating future generation of
10
Fig. 11 - Reconstruction of Sponza fabrics with specific interior fabric with texture.
Fig. 12 - Interior Sponza surfaces as simulated for color distortion due to reflected components http://www.dubrovnikcity.com/dubrovnik/attractions/rectors_palace.htm
preservationist as cultural heritage certified accredited professionals. This immersion capability allows stimulation of all human sensory subsystems in a natural way within this virtual environment. Representation of historical buildings in form of realistic computer reconstructions allows general public engagement and discussion with specialist regarding the true perception of the past environment and interpretations of theoretical issues associated with the use of spaces in a given historical period. Immersive virtual environments for audio and visual sensation provide much richer and perceptually realistic methods of exploration and investigation for cultural heritage building. The application of such methods allows various scenes in combination with wide-spread real-time rendering techniques for light and sound to be utilized for viewing and experiencing historical heritage types of buildings under investigation. The collected results are used as archival records and might be a promising research direction. Future wireless physiological/neurological monitoring in the CAVE offers a great opportunity for unobtrusively quantifying of human response and interactions (conscious or subconsciously) in a simulated environment to a precisely controlled and readily modulated virtual environment representation various interpretation of past living or working environments. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT These projects were made possible through the support from Digital Media, a service Michigan Library system for use of the UM 3D-LAB. Special thanks to the research team USA (Theodore W. Hall, Sean Petty, and Eric Maslowski) and PhD students from U of Sapienza DIAEE, Roma, Italy for their full support. Special thanks to Gfai, a company based in Berlin Germany for acoustic measurements in Italy. Thanks to Prof. F. Posocco, A. Baroncini, and, D. Sonaglioni for access to the museum. Thanks to Ministry official representative Rossella Rea for the access to the Rome Coliseum.
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
Cultural heritage Technologies Abstract
These paper present accurate reconstructions and virtual representations of buildings of cultural heritage, which have been developed techniques of visualization and auralization in virtual environment. Computer graphics allows to reconstruct and experience the visual and acoustic conditions of the past with a high degree of realism and to deepen the knowledge of cultural heritage.
Keywords
Archaeology; Global Illumination; Visual Perception; Beamforming; acoustic mapping; visualization; sound localization; Auditory Navigation; Virtual Acoustics; Spatial Hearing; Dynamic Auralization;
Authors
Mojtaba Navvab Tuabman College of Architecture and Urban Planning The University of Michigan, 2000 Bonisteel Blvd. Ann Arbor, MI, USA, 2000 Bonisteel Boulevard, , Ann Arbor MI, (USA) 48109-2069 Voice: (734)936-0228, Fax: (734)647-3212 moji@umich.edu Fabio Bisegna Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energetic Engineering, the University of Sapienza Via Eudossiana, 18 - 00184 Roma Italy Tel. ++39.06.44585432, Fax: ++39.06.4880120, fabio.bisegna@uniroma1.it Franco Gugliermetti Department of Astronautical, Electrical and Energetic Engineering, the University of Sapienza Via Eudossiana, 18 - 00184 Roma Italy Tel. ++39.06.44585432, Fax: ++39.06.4880120, Franco Gugliermetti@uniroma1.it
11 Bibliography [1] [2]
UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992-2013 United Nations, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list. Cevat Erder, “The Venice Charter under Review”, Ankara, 1977. http://www.icomos.org/ en/home/. [3] Navvab, M. Bisegna, F. Gugleirmetti, F., “Evaluation of Historical Museum Interior Lighting System Using Fully Immersive Virtual Luminous Environment”, SPIE Optical Metrology, 1316, Munich, Germany May. 2013 [4] Navvab, M., "Dynamic Variation of the Direct and Reflected Sound Pressure Levels Using Beamforming", Berlin, Beamforming Conference, Feb22-23, 2012. ISBN: 978-3-94270904-0. [5] Hall, T., W. Navvab, M., Maslowski, E. and Petty, S., Book - Chapter 11 "Virtual Reality as a Surrogate Sensory Environment", Title of the Book: "Advances in Robotics and Virtual Reality", by Springer's Intelligent Systems,(2011)http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007 %2F978-3-642-23363-0_11 [6] Navvab, M., "Measureable Domain for Color Differences within Virtual Environment", Jour. of Light and Engineering Vol.20, No. 3, pp. 71-81, 2012.http://um3d.dc.umich.edu/portfolio/virtual-reality-as-a-surrogate-sensory-environment/ [7] Ochoa Morales, C.E., Aries, M.B.C. and Hensen, J.L.M. (2010) “Current perspectives on lighting simulation for building science”, Proceedings IBPSA-NVL 2010 Event, pp. 9. Eindhoven [8] Alex I. Ruppertsberg and Mariana Bloj, “Rendering complex scenes for psychophysics using radiance: How accurate can you get?” Vol. 23, No. 4/ April 2006/ J. Opt. Soc. Am. A759. [9] Delahunt, P. B, Brainard, P. B. “Does human color constancy incorporate the statistical regularity of natural daylight?” J. Vision 4, 57–81 (2004). [10] Yang J. N. and Maloney, L. T. “Illuminant cues in surface color perception: tests of three candidate cues,” Vision Res. 41, 2581–2600 (2001). [11] Papadopoulos Kostantinos and kefalaki, Efi, “At the Computer’s Edge, the Value of Virtual Contructions to Interpretation of Cultural Heritage”, Archeomatica, No. 4 December 2010. [12] Cignoni, P. and Scopigno, R. 2008. Sampled 3D models for CH applications: a viable and enabling new medium or just a technological exercise? ACM J. Comput. Cultur. Heritage 1, 1, Article 2 (June 2008), 23 pages. DOI = 10.1145/ 1367080.1367082 http://doi.acm.org/ 10.1145/1367080.1367082. [13] Koller, D., Frischer, B., and Humphreys, G. 2009. Research challenges for digital archives of 3D cultural heritage models. ACM, J. Comput. Cult. Herit. 2, 3, Article 7 (December 2009), 17 pages. DOI = 10.1145/1658346.1658347 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1658346.1658347. [14] Gonc¸alves, A., Magalhaes, L., Moura J., and Chalmers, A. 2009. High dynamic range—a gateway for predictive ancient lighting. ACM J. Comput. Cult. Herit. 2, 1, Article 3 (July 2009), 20 pages. DOI = 10.1145/1551676.1551679 http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/1551676.1551679. [15] Remondino, F., Girardi, S., Rizzi, A., and Gonzo, L. 2009. 3D modeling of complex and detailed cultural heritage using multi-resolution data. ACM J. Comput. Cult. Herit. 2, 1, Article 2 (July 2009), 20 pages. DOI = 10.1145/1551676.1551678 http://doi.acm.org/ 10.1145/1551676.1551678. [16] Gugliermetti, F., F. Bisegna, A. Monaco (2008) “Acoustical Evolution of the Roman Theatre of Ostia” Building Acoustics, Vol. 15, pp. 153-168. [17] Deblauwe, F., Janssens, K., Robin, M., Extending the usability of near field acoustics holography and beamforming using focalization. ICSV14, 2007. [18] Andy Meyer, Dirk Döbler, Jan Hambrecht, Manuel Matern, “Acoustic Mapping on three-dimensional models”, Proceedings of the BeBeC 2010, Berlin, Germany, 2010. [19] Vorlander, M. (2008). Auralization Fundamentals of Acoustics, Modeling, Simulation, Algorithms and Acoustic Virtual Reality (Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg). [20] Navvab, M., “Simulation, visulization and perception of sound in a virtual environment using Beamforming" Berlin, Beamforming Conference, Feb22-23, 2012. ISBN: 978-3-94270904-0. [21] Kaplanyan, Carsten Dachsbacher, “Cascaded Light Propagation Volumes for Real-Time Indirect Illumination” Proceedings of the 2010 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games and ACM, 2010, [22] Shafer, S. “Using color to separate reflection components”, Color Research and Applications, 4(10), 210–218, (1985). [23] Bisegna, F., (co-author): “Preventive thermographic diagnosis of historical buildings for consolidation”, Journal of Cultural Heritage, 14(2), pag. 116-121, 2013. [24] Bisegna, Fete al. (2013), “A qualitative method for combining thermal imprints to emerging weak points of ancient wall structures by passive infrared thermography - A case study”, Journal of Cultural Heritage, xxx, pag. xxx-xxx, 2013 (corrected proof, in press). [25] Gugliermetti, F., Bisegna, F., Monti, L., “The “ID card” of ancient materials: spectral signature, color and thermal analysis. A tool for the monitoring and conservation of the archaeological heritage”, Journal of the International Color Association, 8, page. 68-75, 2012.
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MUSEUMS
Regium@Lepidi 2200 Project
Fig. 1 - Virtual Museum: the IT room.
by Maurizio Forte and Nevio Danelon
Regium@Lepidi 2200 is an international project designed with the aim of studying and virtually reconstruct the roman city of Regium Lepidi. The project has been developed by Duke University in collaboration with Dig@Lab.
R
egium@Lepidi 2200 is an international project designed by Duke University - Dig@Lab in collaboration with the Lions Club Host “Citta’ del Tricolore” which is the main co-sponsor. The project was born with the twofold scope to study and virtually reconstruct the Roman city of Regium Lepidi (now Reggio Emilia) and to support a junior research fellow for the entire period of research and production in USA. The happy end, beside the virtual museum, is that the fellow, Nevio Danelon, achieved a postdoc position at Duke University (Media+Art&Sciences program). More specifically, the final aim is the creation of a new virtual museum and IT room (fig. 1) designed within the archaeological museum of Reggio Emilia (Musei Civici, http://www.musei.re.it/). The contextualization of the virtual museum inside the real one is particularly challenging because it creates a strong connection between empirical data, the museum collection (tangible), their ancient invisible context (the city, intangible) and new immersive perception of artifacts (virtual and immersive). This new scenario should be able to generate a new narrative for museum visitors whereas the virtual can actually generate a special ranking for archaeological objects, a new cityscape and mindscape (the landscape interpreted by an-
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cient and modern minds). In other words, the Virtual draws from the taxonomic collections a new meaning which is based on the relations object-environment (what’s for? why? how?) and not on a inexplicable technical classification. The new digital narrative transforms the traditional archaeological taxonomy in affordances, showing potential relationships among objects, context and environment. In this way objects and sites are embodied in and out of the museum and they can tell stories. The methodological approach used for the digital reconstruction follows the main principles of cyber-archaeology (Forte 2008; 2010): reflexivity, potentiality, multivocality, real time immersive embodiment and interaction. The final goal is to open and choose multiple perspectives in the digital imagination of the city, rather than to choose a peremptory reconstruction. The case study is quite complex, because of the lack of archaeological empirical evidence in situ and of recent scientific archaeological excavations. The Roman city is almost completely hidden inside the modern city of Reggio Emilia. Citizens and visitors cannot easily get the sense of a Roman urban plan and of their own Roman past, because of the fragmentation of archaeological sites and finds, and the lack of extensive excavations.
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This situation is in fact quite different in comparison with other well documented Roman cities along the Via Emilia, such as Mutina and Bononia. More in detail, the interpretation and reconstruction of the Roman city has used the following methodological criteria: 4 Virtual recontextualization of museum objects and sites within the ancient Roman city. 4 Archaeological and historical markers. Unknown areas of the Roman city can be indirectly reconstructed by other “markers�, such as archaeological finds showing the power of imperial domus and/or the high rank of specific areas. Scattered finds, if correctly studied, can create patterns, clusters, otherwise not visible and understandable. 4 Shape and urban plan of the modern city. In two thousands years the development of the city of Reggio is deeply influenced by the original plan of the Roman one. It is a sort of architectural and urban DNA. 4 Archaeological excavations. High resolution and very accurate 3D models made by laser scanners 4 Paleo-environmental and geo-archaeological studies.
Fig. 2 - GIS: geodatabase.
The digital and virtual reconstruction, discussed below, show clearly the impressive visual impact of the interpretation of the two cities overlapped (the modern and the Roman one). DATA COLLECTION AND DIGITAL RECORDING The Regium@Lepidi 2200 Project aims to thoroughly investigate the archaeological record of Reggio Emilia and envisage what the ancient land- and cityscape would have looked like during the Roman imperial age. We followed an interdisciplinary approach, already outlined for analogous case studies (Pescarin et al. 2002), that entails the integration of different categories of data and methodologies, ranging from, archaeology, geology, topography to remote sensing. The research was based on published bibliographic material and archival records, but it also produced new data and interpretations through different instruments and software. As a result, several Virtual and Augmented Reality applications have been designed to be run with the state-of-the-art devices for stereoscopic visualization and fully immersive experience. In this way, we intend to raise awareness about the invisible Roman legacy of Reggio among the visitors of the local Musei Civici, as well as to promote a debate about possible reconstructive scenarios within the scholarly community. Reggio is renowned among the other Italian historical centers for the Roman mosaics, as Ravenna is for the Byzantine ones. Unfortunately, most of them were unearthed during the post-war reconstruction of the city in the early Fifties, without any proper archaeological record having taken place. Just a few pieces of information about the location and depth of findings were reported, along with some occasional photos relating to the excavation context. Therefore, any attempt to reframe the mosaic floors in their architectural context would be groundless. Nevertheless, this kind of information proved very useful in order to generate a digital model of the city ground level for the Roman period (see further). As a first step, we set up a GIS geodatabase with a cartographic base consisting of raster and vector data. For this purpose, we purchased a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) and a Digital Surface Model (DSM) of Reggio Emilia territory, generated from LiDAR data at a 1 m spatial resolution and provided in raster format. Then, we started collecting and digitizing the available archaeological maps, entering these pieces of information into the geodatabase (fig. 2).
Fig. 3 - SfM: photo acquisition and processing in PhotoScan.
In particular, a map of Reggio Emilia (Scagliarini & Venturi 1999) representing the location of each floor findspot, was georeferenced. For each point, a numeral value relating to the floor depth in respect to the present ground level was entered in the corresponding attribute table, together with other information such as the age of the artifact. The archaeological maps representing the main reconstructive hypotheses about the original Roman centuriation grid were also georeferenced, while the street axes were redrawn in a vector layer as linear features. We carried out a number of high-detailed 3D digital acquisition of several Roman artifacts, preserved in the local archaeological museum. The technique chosen was Structure from Motion (SfM), via PhotoScan software, that generates 3D models by processing a number of digital photos, taken all around the object (figs. 3, 4). In this way, it is possible to reuse some of the original architectural elements in 3D simulations, after virtually restoring the missing part of the fragments (fig. 5). Fig. 4 - Anaglyph of a fountain mask (PhotoScan).
Fig. 5 - Virtual anastylosis integrating the original fragments (red lined).
In some respects, the sense of proportion in classical architecture is quite codified in Vitruvius’ rules, so that the possible structure of a building can be predicted on the basis of the foundation layout and the surviving architectural items. We experimentally applied SfM to some of the Roman mosaics on exhibit at the museum, trying to generate very dense 3D polygonal meshes in order to capture the minute geometric details of the tesserae (fig. 6). This approach led to interesting results, providing a first comprehensive 3D documentation for the corpus of the Roman mosaics in Reggio. The extensive excavations carried out between 1980 and 1983 in the basement of the Credito Emiliano headquarters (Credem) has proved to be one of the rare chances to investigate a large area – almost an entire block – of the Roman city center (Malnati 1988). Here, the massive foundations of two buildings, now lost, were unearthed in a complex stratigraphy. These remains have been identified with a Roman basilica and an undefined structure – possibly late defensive walls or a temple podium – whose archaeological interpretation, however, is still controversial (Lippolis 2000). Far from suggesting a de facto reconstruction, we ideally chose to simulate the hypothesis of a temple in order to verify its compatibility with the underlying archaeological layout. We found it reliable in terms of spatial constraints, it being understood that no archaeological evidence has been so far found, to support this hypothesis.
Fig. 6 - SfM: mosaics (PhotoScan).
Fig. 7 - Regium Lepidi: nadiral view.
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Fig. 8 -Regium Lepidi: bird's eye view.
For the digital recording of the Credem archaeological site, we used a terrestrial laser scanner (Faro Focus 3D) together with a large number of checkerboard and spherical targets in order to overcome the visual obstacles preventing the correct alignment of the scans. What currently remains visible in the Credem basement is the result of a final display that has concealed or removed most of the structures unearthed in the course of the excavation, leaving visible only some masonry samples of the foundation walls. Therefore, a total station survey proved necessary for the reunification of the different sections, as well as to provide a topographic base for the subsequent three-dimensional reconstructions. DATA PROCESSING AND APPLICATIONS Two Unity3D-developed applications were created for each typology of device: Regium@Lepidi is a macro-scale representation of the Regium landscape to be visualized through the main stereo projector, while Forum@Lepidi is a fully immersive scenario focusing on the forum area and developed for Oculus Rift. Below a short description of the main installations. REGIUM@LEPIDI gives the visitor a global glimpse inside the Regium country, back to the Roman times. Fig. 9 -
Generation of the Roman DTM.
This application contains a realistic macro-scale terrain model and a camera flying over the ground in a bird’s-eye view (figs. 7, 8). The observer can scroll the landscape, characterized by an almost uniform land subdivision (centuriation) that originates in the city center from the intersection of the main roads (Via Aemilia and the main cardo). One can swap to the present day in an attempt to notice the landscape changes occurred over the centuries. This is an important chance to understand the spatial relationships over time since many features are no longer recognizable. While Via Aemilia is still unmistakably identifiable by its straight path, the original regularly spaced street grid is difficult to find from the modern road layout. The ancient course of the Crostolo River is still identifiable along Corso Garibaldi that follows its original riverbed. The Roman terrain was reshaped on the basis of the present DTM. Assuming that the natural landscape underwent very little change, the major modifications are mainly anthropogenic. Thus, elevation data in correspondence with largest artifacts, such as embankments, highways and canals, were removed from the DTM grid, while the original ground level of the ancient city – up to 4 m lower than at present – was generated by interpolating both geological and archaeological elevation data relating to the Roman phases (fig. 9) (Pescarin 2001).
The ancient city layout was recreated after importing the archaeological maps to the GIS. The original street grid was hypothesized by scholars on the basis of the road fragments found during post-war rebuilding activity. GIS features (points, lines and polygons) as well as the modified DTM, were imported into procedural modeling software (CityEngine) in order to generate the city blocks (insulae) and the residential lots (domus) in an almost automated way (Pescarin et al. 2010).
Fig. 10 - Stereo-view inside the Oculus Rift headset.
Fig. 11 - Forum Lepidi: view inside the Roman forum.
These 3D models were created accordingly to some predefined rule set (shape grammars) and small objects (assets), so that repetitions are avoided yet the number of assets is limited. Procedural modeling also generates an almost neutral and homogeneous cityscape, preventing the observer from focusing on particular buildings. FORUM@LEPIDI Provides an insight into the Roman forum daily life, allowing the user to walk through some of the most monumental public buildings, originally located in the central area of Regium. Oculus Rift allows a real-scale perception so that the observer can appreciate the architectural details from a closer range than in the previous application (figs. 10, 11). Preserving graphic details in a real-time visualization is a major challenge that computer artists are facing, since polygonal models need to be very simple in order to minimize the workload on the Graphic Processing Unit. To overcome this issue, different techniques borrowed from computer game design were used to increase the efficiency of real-time rendering. Complex objects can be dynamically replaced by instances at different polygonal resolution – called Levels of Detail (LODs) – depending on camera range. Occlusion culling can further reduce the number of objects that lie outside of the view. Parallax normal mapping is by far the most effective way to preserve minute geometric details in very simple objects. The latter technique was extensively adopted for the architectural decorations featured in Forum@ Lepidi. Complex models, made of dense polygonal meshes, have been retopologized and decimated, while the lost geometric details were resumed from the original object to be mapped onto the surface of the simplified model, through render-to-texture procedures (figs 12 and 13). Virtual simulations of ancient sites are possible even in case of scarce archaeological clues, as long as the objective record of the archaeological evidence can be clearly distinguished from its interpretation (Forte et al. 2006; Bentkowska et al. 2012). The imposing buildings, whose foundations were unearthed in the basement of the Credem building, were stripped of their marbles since the Middle Ages and none of the architectural elements belonging to the original superstructure has been found in situ. On the other hand, some architectural fragments of outstanding elegance survived as reused material in later structures; eventually they were recovered and are now in exhibit at the local museum. We felt it significant to ideally reuse these decontextualized blocks for simulating the buildings in the forum area, not with the intention to give the visitors a precise idea of what the Regium forum was, but in order that they may understand their original architectural function as a part of a building.
Fig. 12 - Model simplification and texture baking workflow in Blender.
Z-SPACE IMMERSIVITY Z-space is an holographic virtual reality collaborative platform managed by a 3D stylus. Here the users will explore the potential of proprioception and eye-tracking in the virtual exploration of archaeological artifacts. This interaction is collaborative, since the interaction of the user with tracking glasses will be displayed in an external monitor by a video camera. This monitor will show in augmented reality real people and virtual objects in the same frame.
Fig. 13 - Parallax normal mapping: a) base map; b) normal map; c) height map.
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DREAMOC This case is a 3D holographic display with a remote access for uploading the virtual content. The system shows 3D models of museum artifacts and virtual reconstructions visualized in a three-dimensional case.
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Since it is able to host endless models and AR applications and it is remotely upgradable (for example from our lab in USA), it is the ideal platform for displaying objects not included in the public collections (for example archaeological finds in the museum storage) or not correctly contextualized. AUGMENTED REALITY A new app was developed in Metaio (software for augmented reality applications) for the museum visitors. QR codes will be labeled close to a selection of key objects of the Roman collection. Every user with a smartphone, after downloading the app, will be able to visualize 3D models and metadata in front of the museum objects. CONCLUSIONS Regium@Lepidi 2200 Project is a challenging case of 3D simulation. The major issue concerning a correct understanding of Regium Lepidi topography is that the Roman city lies beneath the modern settlement. Therefore, the city layout has emerged only unevenly, mostly during rescue archaeological investigations carried out within the boundaries of the modern construction sites. The topography of Regium during the imperial age is better known than the previous phases and more intelligible. The extent and the boundaries of the city could be inferred from the centuriation imprint that still characterizes the present urban street layout, as well as from other clues such as the discontinuity between paved and graveled road surface along the Via Aemilia (Pellegrini 1996). Between the end of the first century BC and the beginning of the second AD, Regium underwent a considerable urban development, coinciding with a period of economic prosperity. A substantial urban renewal occurred in the central area where private residential blocks on the north side of the forum were torn down to make room for a large basilica and possibly other public buildings. The earthenware (cocciopesto) paving technique that characterized the private houses during the Republican age was mostly replaced by fine mosaic floors. At this time, some of the wealthiest residences were provided with thermal baths facilities whose presence demonstrates the high standard of living of their owners. In order to make this visible in the virtual simulation, steam flows rising from the roofs were placed in correspondence with the archaeological finds of thermal infrastructures. Burial grounds were arranged along the main access roads to the city, as in the case of the Eastern necropolis (fig. 14) from where several items stored in the museum (sepulchral
Fig. 14 - Via Aemilia: the Eastern necropolis.
Fig. 15 - Industrial area: furnaces.
altars, tombstones and sarcophagi) come. Industrial areas were located in the immediate vicinity of the city, such as the furnaces for firing pottery found in the northern suburbs of Regium (fig. 15). No entertainment buildings have been found yet, even if they undoubtedly had to be present in Regium. Thus, we have envisioned a theater and an amphitheater relying on a recent study of topographic maps (Storchi 2009). The presence of city walls in Reggio is much more uncertain and controversial (Gelichi & Curina 2007) so we decided not to include them in the virtual simulation. Three-dimensional models and the major reconstructive scenarios underwent a careful validation process by a multidisciplinary research team of Italian and American scholars involved in the project and by an international scientific committee.
Fig. 16 - Data transparency: archaeological layout and hypothetical reconstructions.
Nevertheless, in order to provide transparency into the process of interpretation and simulation, the raw evidences (the ruins at the present state) have been incorporated in the Forum Lepidi scenario so that it is possible to overlay archaeological data and virtual hypothetical reconstructions (fig. 16). Ultimately, the Regium@Lepidi Project has produced a large amount of new spatial data (GIS, remote sensing, laser scanning, 3D modeling), which can be shared with a large community of scholars, archaeologists and historians, beside the public virtual installations. The virtual museum is designed mainly according to a bodily-kinesthetic approach: the users are stimulated to learn by interaction and in that way they should be able to produce new knowledge. We imagine the virtual museum like an experimental lab of digital-cognitive embodiment where mind and body are involved. The more users/visitors exchange information with the environment, the more they learn, share and transmit knowledge. At the same time the project tries to reconnect the Roman and modern towns and their environment in the cityscape, hopefully stimulating the local communities to rethink the space they inhabit and to imagine two thousands year of history and urban transformations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Regium@Lepidi 2200 is sponsored by Lions Club Reggio Emilia Host “Città del Tricolore” and Duke University (Dept. of Art, Art History and Visual Studies; Dept. of Classical Studies; Dig@Lab), in collaboration with Credito Emiliano S.p.a. Z-Space installations are sponsored by © zSpace, Inc. USA. Co-sponsors: Studio Alfa S.r.l. - Vimi Fasteners S.p.a. - Aerre Partners - Studio Legale Sutich-Barbieri-Sutich; Tecnograf S.r.l. Special thanks to Vito Alessandro Pellegrino, Sergio Vaiani and Alberto Cari Gallingani, Musei Civici, Reggio Emilia, CINECA, Bologna, City of Reggio Emilia, Soprintendenza Archeologica dell’Emilia Romagna
Abstract
Regium@Lepidi 2200 is an international project designed with the scope to study and virtually reconstruct the Roman city of Regium Lepidi (Reggio Emilia). The final aim is the creation of a new virtual museum and IT room designed within the archaeological museum of Reggio Emilia.
Author
Maurizio Forte maurizio.forte@duke.edu
Nevio Danelon nd74@duke.edu Duke University
Keywords
Virtual museum; digital reconstruction; data procession; data application; digital archaeology
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REVELATIONS
Feasibility
study for a neutron investigation in
archaeological research on
Tifernum Mataurense
by Massimo Rogante and Emanuela Stortoni
Feasibility study for a non-destructive investigation by non-invasive large-scale techniques of Roman metal archaeological objects from the Municipium Tifernum Mataurense area (S. Angelo in Vado, Italy).
TIFERNUM MATAURENSE: HISTORICAL AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL OUTLINE E.S. Over the last fifteen years the University of Macerata, working in synergy with the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of the Marche Region and other local authorities, has been carrying out continuous historical and archaeological research at Tifernum Mataurense with periodical area surveys and annual excavations (Sant’Angelo in Vado -PU-Marche, Italia. Coord. GPS: Lat. 43.666392; Long. 12.416167; IGM F. 115, I NE); these activities were decisive in the rediscovery of this Roman municipality, of Umbrian origin, belonging to the Augustan sexta regio, situated between the high Metauro valley and the central Italian Apennine range, near the via Flaminia (Stortoni 2004; Tornatore, 2006; Catani 2012; Catani, Monacchi 2010; Catani, Monacchi & Stortoni 2014; Catani-Stortoni 2009; Stortoni 2010; 2013; 2013-2014; 2014 a-b; c.d.s.c).. According to scholars, the ancient centre passed through a protohistorical phase and then took the status of municipium during the years of the Social War (90-89 B.C.); in the late Republican and Augustan age it saw the initial stages of urbanization, followed, in the period of Hadrian and the Antonines, by a phase of monumentalisation. The area appeared to have experienced a brief resurgence under the Constantinian empire, then to be abandoned by as soon as the middle of the VI century A.D. The municipium covers a wide area, mainly hilly and mountainous. Road access is concentrated in three different directions: in the East towards Pitinum Mergens and the Flaminia; in the South towards Tifernum Tiberinum; in the West towards Sestinum. In the urban area, spread out between the present Campo della Pieve and the locality of Colombaro (previously property of Monti and Graziani-Pinzauti, now State-owned: Land Register of the Municipality of Sant’Angelo in Vado, record 1295, Page 47, land parcels 106, 408, 410, 914), records exist of long stretches of road relating to cardines and decumani, efficient infrastructure systems and remains of important private residences also with sumptuous polychrome mosaic decoration, such as the so-called Nord-West domus and the so-called domus of the myth. Furthermore, large and detailed sections of the thermae have been conserved, unfortunately seriously damaged by modern interventions; of these, conspicuous traces have survived of a
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cold setting in polychrome mosaic showing a marine scene, part of the calidarium system with relative hypocaustum and praefurnium, remains of the natatio. Such well-finished monuments and works are testimony to a social and economic context, characterised by wealthy and cultivated clients, who were close to the heart of central power, who, particularly in the period of the middle Empire, employed master craftsmen, working on the two sides of central Italy (Paci 2004; de Marinis-Quiri 2005; 2006; Stortoni 2014 b). Its establishment along an important network of rivers and roads (Luni 2002), not far from strategic Apennine passes, forming an early contact with the Roman state to the North of the Esino already in the III century B.C., may have for some time contributed to the process of Romanisation and thus creating favourable conditions for lasting socio-cultural development with inevitable economic repercussions. Indeed, a dense exchange network must have been created right from the start between the Umbrian mountain area and the hills and coastline of Ager Gallicus. This appears to be confirmed by studies carried out of the epigraphical and archaeological materials sporadically discovered over time (Monacchi 1997, 24-62; Catani-Monacchi 2004; Paci 2004; Catani-Monacchi 2010) o in stratigraphic context (Palermo 2006; Monacchi-Stortoni 2000-2014). Of particular significance is the fine ceramic tableware, the study of which has shown how from the last centuries of the Republic to the end of the middle Empire the Municipium Tifernum along with its bordering centres, such as Sestinum, Urvinum Mataurense, Pitinum Pisaurense, Forum Sempronii and Suasa Senonum, entered intense trade relations with workshops in the central Apennine region, in the central-northern Adriatic coast and on the Tyrrhenian coast (Monacchi 1995, 50-51; Mazzeo Saracino 1991; Monacchi 1997; Ermeti 2002; Gori 2003; Monacchi 2004 b; 2010 b; Palermo 2006). The hypothesis that Tifernum Mataurense occupied what was by no means a marginal status among the central Apennine communities especially in the middle Empire age is also demonstrated by the existence of local figlinae for the production of fine tableware. The centrality of the municipium Tifernum in the central Apennine region, compared to the great trading routes that mainly ran from east to west, seems, furthermore, to be supported by the analysis of other categories of materials; indeed, it is almost certain that the same trans-Apennine
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Fig. 1 - Scalprum (n. inv. 1061; data sheet 1) (W. Monacchi).
trade lines of fine tableware, passing through Tifernum Mataurense, were also used for the transport of various types of craft products, such as those made in metal, especially in bronze (Monacchi 2004 b, 60; Paci 2004, 22). Even though they reached us often in a fragmentary and decontextualized way, the bronze products from Tifernum can in fact offer further significant elements for the study of relations between the town and central power, of economic systems and flows, of trading and craft circuits. At Tifernum Mataurense discoveries have been made of notable bronze sculptures, sometimes large in size, prestigious and elevated political and celebrative value, numerous small bronzes, miscellaneous tools for various uses and a crucible used for small bronze work. Also in the other parts of the high and middle Metauro Valley and more in general of Adriatic Umbria and of the Picenum, there was a capillary spread of fine sculpture and groups of bronze statues, of which those of Cartoceto represented the maximum expression. Of further note is the discovery of a crucible from the nearby Forum Sempronii, identical to the one in Tifernum; a few metalworking tools were found in Sentinum; smelting slag and bronze work scraps were signalled at Ariminum; lead ingots were unearthed at Forum Sempronii (Monacchi 1997, 42-51; Luni 2001; 2003; Luni-Gori 2001; Fabrini 2002; 2007; et al. 2007; Monacchi 2004 a, 181-183; 2010 a; Palermo 2006). These strongly meaningful discoveries presuppose, also for Tifernum Mataurense and for the other towns bordering the central Apennine area, the existence of local and/or regional foundries for the autonomous production of metal goods, in parallel with what was already observed for pottery.
Fig. 2 - Scalprum: detail (n. inv. 1061; data sheet 1) (W. Monacchi).
21 The IRATMA Project E.S. A decisive contribution towards an improved understanding of these issues could come from archaeometric research, based on the application of sophisticated scientific technology archaeological investigation (Rogante 2011; Olcese 2009). It was in this context and upon these assumptions that the IRATMA (nips, tof-nd and pixe Investigation of Roman metal Archaeological objects from the municipium Tifernum Mataurense Area, italy) Project was created, and this paper sets out to illustrate its content and feasibility. The Project plans to carry out an investigation on a small group of bronze items from Tifernum by applying neutron techniques - Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis, PGAA (Glascock-Spalding-Biers-Cornman 1984, 96-103; Rogante 2006). The method, which is non-destructive and non-invasive, and which was recognised in the eighties as a powerful research tool for cultural heritage, has only been actively and systematically applied during the last fifteen years; on several occasions this technique has been used for the archaeological heritage of the Marche Region by the Rogante Engineering Office, of which Dr. M. Rogante is the Italian Member of the International Scientific Advisory Council of the Budapest Neutron Centre and co-author of this project. Investigations were successfully carried out in the past on a number of Picenan and Roman bronzes from Matelica, Fabriano and Treia (Rogante 2006; Rogante et al. 2007; Rogante et al. 2010a; Rogante 2011; Manni 2008). The IRATMA Project, created in the ambit of the CHARISMA EU FP7 programme and thus of international value, was authorised by the General Directorate for Antiquities of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities. As explained later, different non-invasive large-scale techniques have been considered in this study, including neutron induced gamma spectroscopy, neutron diffraction and proton induced X-ray emission. The crafted items, selected with the help of our colleague Monacchi, who collected them and has already published them (1997, nos. 50 c, 56, 57, 59, 76, 86), were discovered outside stratigraphic context and are now kept in the local deposit of S. Maria extra muros. There are six numismatic and toreutic items in total, archaeologically datable between the early and late Empire: a scalpel, a capsella, a fragment of gilded statue, a decorative metal sheet, the toe of a statue and a small coin. The expected results could provide useful information on the structure and composition of the metal cast in the creation of the items, namely bronze and iron. Bronze can include a wide variety of alloys with different internal proportions of copper, lead, tin and zinc; the varying combination of elements was influenced by the greater or lesser availability of the individual components and/or by the particular characteristics required by the specific use of the item. Iron, however, was generally chosen for its lower cost and for its versatility in relation to the use of the tool. Easily obtainable and very tough, iron could be tempered using a process of carburisation in order to produce extremely solid and/or sharp instruments; always hand cast and never smelted, it also enabled the production of unique and personalized objects (Cigada-Pastore 2012; Giardino 1998; Luni 2001, 69, 74-77; Jackson 2009, 74). Knowledge of the nature and state of the metals could be of assistance in gaining information about the relative mineral deposits, the conservation setting, the production and function technology and about the authenticity of each individual item. The data obtained, put alongside the archaeological study of the objects, could prove to be useful in shedding new light on the trade and craft circuits and on possible workshops for on-site production. Figures 1-7 show the analysed archaeological object.
N.
Inventory N.
Object
Sizes (mm)
1
1061
Scalprum (surgical instrument) with octagonal rod, having a spatula with a lance and two curls-shaped elements on the other extremity
9.2×1×0.3
2
1867
Capsella with two small hinge-rings on an extremity
3.3×2.3×0.2
3
1567
Fragment of gilded statue
4.1×3.9×1.1
4
1870
Fragment of small sheet of engraved bronze
4.8×10.8×0.3
5
1570
Fragment of bronze statue: toe
1.6×5.6×2.6
6
1594
Small coin of late antiquity
diameter ≈12 thickness ≈1
Tab. 1 - Summarizing description of the analysed archaeological object.
Table 1 reports the summarizing description of these object. Chemical analysis of archaeological artefacts has become an important tool for source identification, provenance analysis based on the determination of major- and trace elements. The most usual analytical methods (e.g., X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy) require partial or total destruction of the samples, which often is impossible in case of valuable whole or fragmental artefacts. Neutron investigations have become an increasingly significant probe for materials across a wide range of disciplines, and they are becoming ever more useful in the non-destructive characterisation of materials and components of industrial interest or belonging to the Cultural Heritage (Rogante 2008). This feasibility study aims to propose a non-destructive investigation of the considered objects by non-invasive large-scale methods, including neutron techniques. EXPERIMENTAL METHODS AND EXPECTED RESULTS M.R. Composition of an artefact is constantly associated with its function, and the key step in planning a conservation action or preservation measures is also to identify the component materials. Suitable analyses methods to get accurate information on composition, thus, are essential to archaeological research, since they identify the constitutive metals gives a substantial help in identify the object (Horváth et al.). In the present feasibility study, a possible multistage process at macroscopic, microscopic and large-scale analytical levels has been considered, by linking the following complementary non-destructive and non-invasive large-scale investigation techniques: PIXE, PGAA, NIPS and TOF-ND. PIXE is a powerful non-destructive analysis technique adopted to assess the elemental composition of a material or object. This method was initially proposed in 1970 by S. Johansson, who developed it successively together with his colleagues R. Akselsson and T.B. Johansson (Johansson et al. 1970). Atomic interactions occur, when a material is exposed
Fig. 3 - Capsella (n. inv. 1867; data sheet 2) (W. Monacchi).
22
Fig. 4 - Fragment of gilded statue (n. inv. 1567; data sheet 3) (W. Monacchi).
to an ion beam, giving off electromagnetic (EM) radiation of wavelengths in the Xray part of the EM spectrum specific to an element. The object investigated by PIXE is excited by a proton beam with typical 1 - 3 MeV energy. The atoms in the sample, in Fig. 5 - Fragment of small sheet of engraved bronze (n. inv. 1870; collisions with the data sheet 4 (W. Monacchi). protons, become ionized and excited. The inner electron holes, subsequently, are relaxed by the emission of X-rays whose energy is characteristic of a given atom. PIXE is based mainly on the detection of K-shell transitions in lighter and L-shell transitions in the heavier atoms. The characteristic energies of these transitions are well adequately separated, to discern contributions of different atoms in the spectra, which are recorded by a typical semiconductor X-ray detector - e.g., a Si(Li) semiconductor counter (Rogante et al. 2010 b). The analytical quality of the PIXE technique depends somewhat on the precision of the deconvolution of the X-ray spectra. Nearly all of the deconvolution programs adopted for this scope rely on awareness about the response function of the measuring detector (Maxwell et al. 1995). After measuring the PIXE spectrum, photon yield has to be normalized to the total proton dose, received by the investigated object during the measurement. The number of photons under the specific line in the spectrum is then proportional to the hole creation cross section, of the experimental geometry and, naturally, to the concentration of a given element in the specimen. The sensitivity of the PIXE technique varies with Z and amounts to 1 ppm (µg/g) for light elements (from Na to Cl) below 0.1 ppm for transition metals and close to 10 ppm for heavier elements. A PIXE experiment can produce three types of spectra, i.e. X-ray emission, Rutherford backscattering and proton transmission. Only elements heavier than F can be detected. The lower detection limit, for this technique, depends on the capability of the X-rays to pass across the window between the chamber and the X-ray detector. The upper limit, on the other hand, depends on the ionisation cross section, the probability of the K electron shell ionisation: this is highest as the proton velocity equals the electron velocity (10% of the light’s speed), consequently 3 MeV proton beams are ideal. PIXE is adoptable in the archaeology, art conservation and geology, to support answer questions of authenticity, dating and provenance, as well as in various other fields such as life sciences (Szőkefalvi-Nagy 1994).
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
Cultural heritage Technologies
23 If it is supposed that the we have a small, thin and homogeneous sample, and that the detector efficiency is independent of the sample position (it is in a fixed position), then the thermal equivalent flux (φ0) is defined so as to have the same reaction rate, as below: (3)
Fig. 6 - Fragment of bronze statue: toe (n. inv. 1570; data sheet 5) (W. Monacchi).
For a detailed treatment of the theoretical bases, see (MaenhautMalmqvist 2002; MandòPrzybyłowicz 2009; Puc et al. 2002). PIXE would be used for quantitative analysis and it would allow identifying and quantifying trace elements on non-corroded parts of the objects, determining their distribution Fig. 7 - Small coin of late antiquity (n. inv. and supplying data com1594; data sheet 6) (W. Monacchi). plementary to the other techniques considered. Neutron analytical methods have been considered to explore the compositional or microstructural characteristics of the investigated artefact. The bulk elemental concentrations of the alloying components can be identified by using the neutron capture g-ray facilities PGAA and NIPS. PGAA is based on the detection of characteristic prompt gamma photons that originate in (n,g) nuclear reactions, and it allows the analysis of elemental composition by observing neutron-capture prompt g-rays. For the analysis, a selected part of an object is irradiated with a collimated beam of cold neutrons, and the emitted characteristic gamma photons are detected simultaneously. The quantitative analysis is based on the following considerations. The detected gamma ray intensity AE is directly proportional to the mass m of a given element, the analytical sensitivity S and the measurement time t, such that The detected count rate in a given gamma peak is proportional to the number of nuclei emitting the gamma photons of a given energy. It can be calculated, as in the following equation: (1) where NP is the peak area, μ(r) is the density of the element of interest in the point r, NAv is the Avogadro number, M is the atomic mass of the element, is the local neutron flux and is the detector efficiency. A few simplifications, in practice, can be introduced. For example, σγ is the partial gamma ray production cross section, and can be defined as: (2) where σ0 is the thermal neutron absorption cross section, Iγ is the probability of gamma ray emission and θ is the isotopic abundance.
Such that the peak area may be calculated from the equation:
(4)
And hence the sensitivity may be given by: (5) The analytical sensitivity S is expressed in units of counts×s1×g-1, as seen in eq. (5), and is proportional to the neutron capture cross-section of the following nuclear constants, the nucleus σ0, the isotopic abundance θ , and the gamma yield Iγ, as well as to the neutron flux Φ0 and the detector efficiency ε(Eγ), which are characteristics of the measuring system. According to eq. (3), lower energy (cold) neutrons mean higher thermal equivalent flux, which according to eq. (5) means better sensitivities. Other symbols in eq. (5) are Avogadro’s number NA, and the atomic mass M of any given element. The mass ratios, or equivalently the weight-percentage ratios of arbitrary elements “X” and “Y” are independent of both the actual amount of each sample and of the exact neutron flux, and can be calculated from peak area ratios and sensitivity ratios as follows: (6) all the chemical elements can be determined by internalstandardisation measurements. At the Budapest Neutron Centre (BNC), e.g., they are collected in a new gamma-ray spectrum catalogue for PGAA (Révay et al. 2001). For a detailed treatment of the theoretical bases, see (Révay 2009; Révay et al. 2004; Molnár et al. 1997; Molnár et al. 1998; Révay 2006; Révay- Molnár 2003; Rogante 2006). The NIPS instrument serves for different nuclear spectroscopic measurements analysing the prompt gamma radiation of material activated in neutron beam. The NIPS-NORMA station of the Budapest Neutron Centre, e.g., has been designed for investigation of objects of dimensions up to 20×20×20 cm3 and for a wide variety of experiments involving neutron capture induced prompt and delayed gamma radiation, including γ-γ-coincidences; γ-rays as low as 14 keV can be also observed. NIPS technique would allow determining the bulk composition, even if the surface of the investigated objects is corroded. Furthermore, it would be possible to analyse different parts of the considered bronze objects. The most important chemical elements to be measured by NIPS in these objects are Cu, Sn and Pb alloying components. The main purpose is to compare the obtained data related to these elements with those achieved in the PGAA investigation carried out by the Rogante Engineering
Office on the Picenan bronzes from Matelica and Fabriano necropolis (Rogante et al. 2007; Rogante et al. 2010) and also on other (e.g., Aenean) objects. Additionally to the bulk composition measurements, the set-up can make possible to perform NR of selected parts, and to combine imaging methods with elemental analysis based on (n,γ) reaction (Belgya et al. 2008). Materials and technological traits have been already studied by using the TOF-ND (Rogante 2008; Káli et al. 2007). The penetration depth of neutrons in copper can be in the order of 1 cm, consequently real bulk average results could be obtained. The TOF-ND analysis would aim the quantitative bulk characterisation of the phase composition and the structural properties of the metallic constituents of the alloy. Also possible traces of the past treatment (mechanical or thermal) can be observed in the eventual crystallographic texture. To eliminate the effect of the possible preferred orientation and the background from the corrosion and crust, the positions of the valuable peaks can be determined by multiple peak fit and the lattice parameters of the hcp system (a and c) can be fitted for the set of peak data, taking into account the uncertainties in the weighting. The investigation by the TOF-ND technique would consent a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the sample phase composition and the structural properties of the constituents as averaged in finite macroscopic volumes of the bulk. Multiple data points would be collected across the investigated objects. The TOF-ND technique, in addition, would permit studying by means of atomic scale the dynamic behaviour of the material and eventual texture or grain orientation, helping to indicate possible manufacturing techniques. TOF-ND is completely non-invasive and would not mark, heat, or alter the investigated object. Moreover, there isn’t any long-term activation as a result of the investigation. All the considered methods need no sample preparation. The expected results would supply helpful information in order to verify composition, possible manufacture technologies, origin of the metals used and other problems, as well as considerable scientific contributions to understand the origin context of the investigated objects. These results compared with archaeolo-
Abstract
External milli-beam particle induced X-ray emission spectroscopy (PIXE), Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis, Neutron Induced Prompt Gamma Spectrometry (NIPS) and high resolution Time-Of-Flight Neutron Diffraction (TOF-ND) have been considered as non-destructive techniques to plan the investigation of 6 metallic archaeological artefacts sporadically discovered over time at the Tifernum Mataurense area (S. Angelo in Vado, Marche Region, Italy). The primary goal of this feasibility study is to create indications to advance the correct technological and material description of the objects providing scientific data for further and more comprehensive comparative analyses also covering the find material from the close archaeological sites. PIXE would provide quantitative analyses of major and trace elements (e.g., Fe, Pb and As) in order to recognize the constitutive alloys and to supply information on the near-surface elemental composition complementary to the data characteristic for the bulk. The neutron investigations would allow determining the bulk composition, also providing either a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the phase composition and the structural properties of the constituents, or radiographic images, finally to identify possible manufacturing techniques. The expected results would allow also achieving important information on the possible provenance, being useful also to set up a classification according to the chemical composition.
24
gical and contextual data could supply useful knowledge also of a more precise dating of the life phases of this interesting - but still little well-known - mountain centre of the Roman Italy. Contextually, it would be enhanced the modest regional database currently available, which is based essentially on the investigations in recent times performed, e.g., by PGAA on comparable Picenan objects coming in particular from Matelica and Fabriano necropolis. These works remarkably sustained the local source of the manufactured objects (Rogante et al 2010; Rogante et al. 2007; Parrini 2008). These data are very useful to better interpret the possible geographical origins. The mentioned techniques, moreover, will allow obtaining possible indications to create replicas of the major element compositions and in accordance with the supposed manufacturing process, and also to analyse that as a standard to compare with the original objects. The progress of research and the formation of a rich and more reliable database would allow to the researchers, finally, gathering interesting and original features, with potential inestimable scientific effects. CONCLUSIONS (M. R. AND E.S.) The application of a possible multistage process at macroscopic, microscopic and large-scale analytical levels has been considered to develop the study of the archaeological heritage of Marche Region, Italy. The traditional archaeological research would be helped, in this way, to find answers to the historical-archaeological questions that the usual sources do not succeed by now to get ahead into focus. The expected results could give also a contribution in obtaining indications to create replicas of the major element compositions and in accordance with the supposed manufacturing process, as well as to analyse that as a standard to compare with the original objects. The progress of this research and the formation of an increasingly rich and reliable database would allow researchers gathering more and more interesting and original features, with potential precious scientific effects.
Keywords
Tifernum Mataurense; Sant’Angelo in Vado; Neutron Techniques; PIXE; PGAA; NIPS; TOF-ND; Spectrometry; Archaeometry
Authors
Massimo Rogante main@roganteengineering.it
Rogante Engineering Office, Contrada San Michele n. 61, 62012 Civitanova Marche, Italy Emanuela Stortoni emanuela.stortoni@unimc.it
University of Macerata, Department of Educational Sciences, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, Polo didattico "L.Bertelli", P.le Bertelli n. 1, 62100 Macerata, Italy
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
Cultural heritage Technologies
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(2002), Detector response function for fitting PIXE spectra, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B, 189, pp. 123-130. Révay Zs. (2006), Calculation of uncertainties in prompt gamma activation analysis, Nucl. Instrum. Meth., A 564, pp. 688-697. Révay Zs. (2009), Determining Elemental Composition Using Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis, Anal. Chem., 81/16, pp. 6851–6859. Révay Zs., Molnar G.L., Belgya T., Kasztovszky Zs., Firestone R.B. (2001), A new γ-ray spectrum catalog and library for PGAA, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem., 248, 395. Révay Zs., Molnár G.L. (2003), Standardisation of the prompt gamma activation analysis method, Radiochim. Acta, 91, pp. 361-369. Révay Zs., Belgya T., Kasztovszky Zs., Weil J.L., Molnár G.L. (2004), Cold neutron PGAA facility at Budapest, Nucl. Instrum. Meth. B, 213, pp. 385388. Rogante M. (2006), Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis (PGAA) per l’investigazione di reperti archeologici. Archeopiceno, 43/44, XIV, 27-31. Rogante M. (2008), Applicazioni Industriali delle Tecniche Neutroniche, Proc. 1st Italian Workshop for Industry “Industrial Applications of Neutron Techniques”, Civitanova Marche, Italy, 12-14 June 2008, Rogante Engineering, Ed., pp. 40-120. Rogante M. (2011), Neutron techniques for materials study in Engineering and Archaeology. Presentation at the Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France, Amphithéâtre Bernard Palissy C2RMF, Palace of Louvre, Paris, France, 06 October 2011. Rogante M. & de Marinis G. & Kasztovszky Zs. & Milazzo F. (2007), Comparative analysis of Iron Age bronze archaeological objects from a Picenum necropolis of Centre Italy with Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis. Nuovo Cimento C, 30/1, 113-122. Rogante M. & Kasztovszky Zs. & Manni A. (2010a), Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis of bronze fragments from archaeological artefacts, Matelica (Picenum) necropolis, Italy. Notiziario - Neutroni e Luce di Sincrotrone, 15/1, 12-23. Rogante M., Pallottini L., Petricci E. (2010b), X-ray detection by Si(Li) semiconductor counter for materials investigation, Advances and Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Technology, 1/2, pp. 167-181. Stortoni E. (2004), Recenti indagini archeologiche a Tifernum Mataurense (Sant’Angelo in Vado - PU): relazione preliminare, in Destro M., Giorgi E. (a cura di) (2004), 119-128. Stortoni E. (2010), “Indagini archeologiche a Tifernum Mataurense (Sant’Angelo in Vado - PU). VII Campagna di scavo (3-29 luglio 2006)”, Fasti on line. Documents & Research, vol. 181, 1-5, http://www.fastionline.org/ docs/FOLDER-it-2010-181.pdf. Stortoni E. (2013), “Indagini archeologiche dell’Università degli Studi di Macerata a Tifernum Mataurense (Sant’Angelo in Vado - PU). VI Campagna di scavo (27 giugno – 16 luglio 2005)”, Fasti on line. Documents & Research, vol. 294, 1-12, http://www.fastionline.org/docs/FOLDER-it-2013-294.pdf. Stortoni E. (2013-14), Scheda sugli scavi presso ex Campo della Pieve e Area ex Graziani-Pinzauti, Fasti Online (Database su scavi archeologici). Stortoni E. (c.d.s.) a, VIII campagna di scavo archeologico nell’area di Tifernum Mataurense (Sant’Angelo in Vado – PU): note preliminari. Picus, XXXIV. Stortoni E. (c.d.s.) b, Presentazione del mosaico con thiasos marino delle terme romane di Tifernum Mataurense (Sant’Angelo in Vado – PU). Picus, XXXIV. Stortoni E. (c.d.s.) c, Tifernum Mataurense: antico municipio romano. Museo e Parco archeologico: un progetto di tutela e valorizzazione dell’area archeologica di Sant’Angelo in Vado (PU), in Baldelli G. & Lo Schiavo F. (a cura di) (c.d.s.), Amore per l’Antico dal Tirreno all’Adriatico, dalla Preistoria al Medioevo ed oltre. Studi di Antichità in onore di Giuliano de Marinis. Szőkefalvi-Nagy Z. (1994), Applications of PIXE in the Life Sciences, Biological Trace Element Research, 43-45/1, pp. 73-78. Tornatore M. (a cura di) (2006), Una domus con mosaici a Tifernum Mataurense, Urbania: Arti grafiche Stibu.
COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS bit of wire, some paint and an awful lot of skill, the team constructed the full skeleton in record time. Said Druckenmiller, “This is a very cool and real example of how 3D digital scanning and printing is revolutionizing what we do in our profession – not just for display but for research overall. As a result, we are able to make a 3D reconstruction a new species of dinosaur for the exhibit – faster than we ever could before”. Source: 3DZ www.3dz.it
DINOSAUR NEW SPECIES: FIRST 3D RECONSTRUCTION THANKS TO 3D SCANNING AND PRINTING The 3D scanning and printing technology helped the completion, with 3D reconstruction, of partial skeleton of newly discovered species of dinosaur Ugrunaaluk Kuukpikensis – adapted for Arctic living 69m years ago. It was discovered at Alaska’s Liscomb Bonebed, a three-foot deep layer of prehistoric bones, the richest such bed for dinosaur bones in either polar region. Museum curator of Earth Science and Associate Professor of Geology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Druckenmiller has spent months every year during his 8-year tenure wading, sifting and sorting through the site. The complexity involved in sorting and categorizing specimens, however, presents an enormous stumbling block for researchers. As Druckenmiller says: “There are thousands of bones in the Liscomb Bonebed, here on the North Slope. Most seem to be from the same species but many of the dinosaur bones are mixed up and disarticulated, which means getting an exact matching left and right bone, for a leg or the skull, is virtually impossible.” To face the challenge of assembling a dinosaur skull, Druckenmiller turned to Michael Holland, principal at Michael Holland Productions in Bozeman MT, which specializes in creating and building natural history exhibit features. For many years, Michael has used 3D scanning to 3D printing to create accurate exhibits for museums. He instantly saw the potential to take a similar approach with this project. “We could have estimated or been creative about what the skull looked like, but we would have had serious asymmetry and distortion if we did,” said Holland. “The scientific approach was to take complete fossils in a 3D scan and be able to mirror and accurately replicate them. We could only do that with 3D scanning and 3D printing.” With the assistance of Peak Solutions, a 3D scanning and printing service bureau, the team took the best sample fossils and created plaster casts and then scanned them using the Geomagic Capture 3D scanner and processed the scan data within Geomagic Wrap. “We use the Geomagic Capture a lot, and this system just sits and works – capturing even the finest details of the dinosaur fossils,” said Sayers. “In a project like this, when a surface texture is critical, this a perfect solution.” It took a few minutes to scan each fossil and less than 5 minutes to create a fully working 3D model of each bone. “Geomagic Wrap is just great!” said Sayers. “It has the best set of tools and the interface is easy. The software just works and creates the STL files pretty much at the push of a button.” Within one day, the STL data of the mirrored replicas was prepared and ready to print on the ProJet 660 full color 3D printer. “The ProJet 660 produces hardened gypsum parts and this is an ideal surface to paint on. We usually use the full-color features of these printers but this time we went for monochrome prints so we could add realistic finishes. The ProJet 660 parts are rigid and bone-like and also work well with the glue, pins and nails that we use for constructing skeletons, so it was a perfect choice.” – Holland Using both the matched plaster cast and 3D printed bone parts, Holland went to work immediately in building the entire dinosaur skeleton with the 3D reconstruction. With some nails, a
3M™ NOVEC™ 1230 FLUID PROTECTS TREASURES OF THE WORLD Archives and museums are repositories for some of our most precious, delicate and usually irreplaceable documents and artifacts Protecting these objects is a high priority and, for this reason, most institutions have sophisticated fire protection systems. However, fire is not the only risk to these precious objects. Another major enemy is moisture. It’s very surprising that many museums and archives still rely on sprinklers or water mist for fire protection. In many instances, it’s possible that water suppression could do more damage than the fire itself, and the situation is especially unfortunate if the discharge is triggered in error. It’s clear that water-based systems are not the optimal solution for use in museums and archives, but what are the alternatives? A few decades ago, the answer would have been the gaseous extinguishing agent, Halon. But due to its poor environmental characteristics, Halon was banned from new production in 1993, and even existing Halon installations are being removed to use more environmentally sound products. Another possibility is carbon dioxide (CO2). This is an effective agent, but it has one major drawback – in the concentrations needed to extinguish fires, it is lethal. Thus, it is not an acceptable choice for the protection of any areas where people may be present when a system discharges. This leaves two final options – hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the widely used first-generation of Halon replacements, and 3M™ Novec™ 1230 Fire Protection Fluid, an innovative next-generation agent. When the virtues of Novec 1230 fluid were discussed at a recent NARA (United States’ National Archives and Records Administration) conference, attended by many key U.S. conservators and archivists, it received an exceptionally enthusiastic reception, with some delegates even going so far as to describe it as a “magic fluid.” Let’s see why: First, Novec 1230 fluid is a clean agent. It is safe for humans, and leaves no residues. It is an ideal choice for use in the protection of the most delicate and valuable artefacts. Secondly, the environmental characteristics of Novec 1230 fluid, a vital issue for all those working in the museum and archive sector, are even more impressive. Like the widely used HFCs, Novec 1230 fluid has an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of zero, but when it comes to a consideration of global warming potentials, the contrast between HFCs and Novec 1230 fluid is more striking. The global warming potential (GWP) of the HFC most widely
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used in fire protection is 3,220 times than that of the most common greenhouse gas, which is CO2 (2007 IPCC assessment for HFC-227ea). In contrast, Novec 1230 fluid has a GWP of just one. The stark difference in GWP enables a 99.9% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when employing systems using Novec 1230 fluid as compared to systems using HFCs. Further, the Novec 1230 fluid has an atmospheric lifetime (ALT) of only five days, compared with over 30 years for HFCs. The environmental impact of HFCs is clearly significant, and is therefore unacceptable in the environmentally conscious museum industry. Measures addressing the use of HFCs are also being drafted in the USA. An early action item identified under the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 includes a consideration that, from 2012, all new systems in California must use an agent with a global warming potential below a minimum threshold level. Novec 1230 fluid also has a very wide margin of safety for use in occupied areas, which makes it suitable for areas frequented by staff. “Margin of safety” reflects the difference between the design concentrations necessary to put out a fire and the threshold concentration recognized by approval bodies as suitable for use in occupied spaces. In a typical application, it is used at a concentration of 4.2%, but it is acceptable for use up to 10%. Therefore, its safety margin is 138% – the largest margin of safety for any chemical Halon replacement. It is very apparent to see the appeal of Novec 1230 fluid for museums and archives – it has a wide margin of safety, it won’t damage artefacts and it has an excellent environmental profile. Source: 3M Italia www.3m.com
MARINE RENTALS, BY CODEVINTEC Codevintec focused more than 40 years of experience in marine instruments in the new MaRS department: Rentals of Instruments for Marine Geophysics and Oceanography. MaRS – Marine Rentals and Solutions – is an internal division of Codevintec, developed to offer worldwide rentals of equipment and technical solutions for geophysical surveys, navigation and positioning, oceanographic systems and video inspection. The division is well equipped and organized:
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(Teledyne Reson Seabat 7125, Seabat 8125, Coda Octopus Bathyswath 468 kHz…) 3D Imaging Multibeam, laser scanner and Inertial Positioning System for very high resolution of emerged and submerged objects. (Teledyne Reson Multibeam Systems, Applanix PosMV, Optech Ilris 3D…) Side Scan Sonar Edgetech 4125, the portable Side Scan Sonar system designed for shallow water surveys, Port Security and for Search & Recovery (SAR). Sub Bottom Profiler Edgetech 3100 is the Sub Bottom Profiler suited for use in rivers, lakes, ponds and shallow water ocean applications up to 300m max depth. Precise Positioning and Navigation Full set of equipment and software for navigation and surface and submerged position. Source: Codevintec Italiana srl -MaRS division (www.codevintec.it)
CULTOUR ACTIVE: MULTIMEDIALITY, ARCHAEOLOGY AND TERRITORY
› Rental of complete sets of first choices instruments Multibeam, SSS, SBP, ADCP, IMU, USBL, magnetometers, seismographs… of the very best producers in the world. Geometrics, Edgetech, Teledyne Reson, Teledyne BlueView, Sontek, Applanix are some of the market leaders whose instruments are in the Codevint’s pool. The technical department is ready to integrate different systems according to special needs. › Skilled operators offer specialized technical support: Instrument installation, vessel’s outfitting, training and on site assistance, data processing and 24/7 remote assistance. Equipments are checked before any shipment through an accurate internal procedure, to guarantee a fully functioning system on arrival. The technical support assists end user during all phases of the work, equipment installation, acquisition and processing data. The most common applications are: High-resolution bathymetry Beamformer and interferometric system to meet all operational condition.
Cultour Active crafts, achieves, communicates and promotes cultural projects in innovative contexts through state-of-the-art forms and cutting-edge technologies. Cultour Active integrates the exhibition and museum set-ups with state-of-the-art tools and advanced applications to create multimedia and interactive paths. From creation/definition to final production, we monitor projects development and coordination step by step, and think about communication, highlights and promotion.
COMPANIES AND PRODUCTS Our mission is to enable the innumerable treasures forming part of the cultural heritage to live in harmony and balance, while making them known to the general public. From archaeology to art, from literature to history, from ancient to current times, from local to international contexts, the topics featured by our exhibitions go beyond space and time borders, and the related set-ups integrate the classical tools with stateof-the-art technological systems. So every path meant for a museum and exhibition designed by Cultour Active plays a unique role, which is further enhanced by side events, such as conferences with experts, guided tours, educational and recreational activities, film reviews and ad-hoc merchandising. CEMA – MULTIMEDIA ARCHAEOLOGY EXHIBITION CENTER – MCARTHURGLEN DESIGNER OUTLET (NOVENTA DI PIAVE - VENICE) CEMA results from the convergence of culture and shopping, real and virtual, past and future. The link between archaeology and multimedia gave rise to avanguard virtual museum in non- stop progress: state-of-the-art technologies, innovative and multilanguage set-ups, scientific contents provided by the Veneto Archaeological Soprintendenza, together with information and promotional updated materials, turn CEMA into a unique multimedia context.
ing a clause for a 2015 Magna Carta, addressing issues of global relevance such as cyber security, mass surveillance and privacy, big data, human rights and climate change. ETT is a Digital and Creative Industry, specialising in innovative, multidisciplinary, technological and cultural knowledge-integration, software development and consulting. Founded in 2000, the company plays a prominent role on the Italian market in various application areas, notably New Media, Smart Government and Scientific Research. In the international New Media field, the company offers high-tech solutions, enhancing and disseminating cultural heritage using mobile, touch and multi-touch devices, as well as virtual and augmented reality, and beacon technology. With more than 350 installations in operation, it is a leading producer of interactive and immersive multimedia fit outs. Source: ETT www.ettsolutions.com
TASTE THE PAST® is a cultural product powered by Cultour Active to “savor the past”: archaeology meets taste, past history gets blended to contemporary flavours, local cultural excellences join their eno-gastronomic counterparts, and people will live unique experiences involving senses and knowledge. Thanks to a cycle of meetings, Taste the Past has been the special event of many exhibitions across Italy. Every meeting comprise a guided tour on the food and manufacturing techniques used by our ancestors, and afterwards a tasting of Veneto contemporary excellences, with the participation of renowned and important manufacturers. Source: Cultour Active (www.cultouractive.com)
ETT, AN ITALIAN NEW MEDIA DIGITAL AND CREATIVE COMPANY, EXHIBITS MAGNA CARTA IN ENGLAND. Eight hundred years after the sealing of the document that limited absolute power for the first time, “MAGNA CARTA Rediscovered”, featuring the 1300 A.D. Faversham issue, has been travelling in England since 23rd May of this year, and by December will have visited Faversham, Canterbury, Maidstone, Dover, Sandwich and Rochester. Commissioned by Visit Kent in collaboration with Faversham Town Council, the exhibition, celebrating the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta, was made possible thanks to the expertise and innovative multimedia contribution of ETT S.p.A., from Genoa, Italy. ETT followed each phase of the entire project: graphics, design, travelling fit out and merchandising, helping to raise awareness of all aspects of Magna Carta. The exhibition, divided into four theme areas and enhanced by interactive stations, not only tells the story but also presents the main figures involved in the negotiations on 15th June 1215, during which King John was forced to cede powers to the barons of his kingdom. The technical challenge was not so much how to display a historic mediaeval Latin parchment, but how to engage visitors and get them to understand what they are witnessing, showing them both its history and contemporary importance. This multimedia exhibition reconstruction immerses visitors in the mediaeval world that produced the document, showing the various forces at play at the time when King John’s great seal was affixed. Visitors also see where other copies of the document are, how it was written, and the overall impact it has subsequently had over the centuries. At the same time, visitors interact by writ-
POETRY INFINITY: THE NEW SUPERFAST 3D PRINTER BY IRA3D It is called Poetry Infinity and it is the newborn of Ira3D, the multimaterial 3D printer with outstanding features. Poetry Infinity is the big sister of the previous model Poetry2, of which maintains the characteristics of accuracy, reliability and huge building volume (250x250x300 mm), but with significant improvements in its performance, especially in speed and acceleration. Using the new FLD technology (Fast Layer Deposition) the new model effectively reaches 400 mm/s of printing speed, more than twice the previous version (which can print up to 180 mm/s). The secret of Poetry Infinity is in the redesign of the electronic board that, thanks to the extremely powerful computing capacity, can handle really high accelerations (9000 mm/s2), allowing the machine to use the full potential of its speed, while maintaining very good printing precision. Speaking of precision, with the new model Ira3D managed to increase the printing resolution, too: Poetry Infinity can reach a resolution of even 15 microns (0,015 mm) on the Z axis, providing maximum accuracy of the finished object. Another novelty that distinguishes the new printer is the dual extruder, renovated and entirely made of metal, able to reach a higher temperature (280 °C), therefore also suitable for printing particular materials, such as polycarbonate and graphene. Other innovations introduced with Poetry Infinity are the Sidekick system, which allows you to keep printing in case of no power, and the Phoenix System, which allows you to resume your print after a forced interruption of the process, for example during an electrical black- out that lasts for several hours. “With Poetry Infinity”, says Alessandro Padrin, Ira3D CEO, “we wanted to push hard on two key elements for those who use these machines: speed and printing accuracy. Thanks to our strong commitment we managed to combine these two aspects, adding to Poetry Infinity a variety of technical expedients that make the printer unique in this market portion, unique for performance and a really affordable price “. Poetry Infinity effectively costs 2389€, more information on the website www.ira3d.com Source: Ira3D
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FARO TECHNOLOGIES, INC. ANNOUNCES THE RELEASE OF THE NEW FARO FREESTYLE3D X Handheld Laser Scanner, a 3D Laser Scanner designed to transform the way the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC), Law Enforcement, and other industries document3D data through easy to use, intuitive data acquisition. With the release of the Freestyle3D X, FARO´s portfolio now contains two handheld scanners designed to help customers increase productivity, save time and make effective, data-driven decisions. The new FARO Freestyle3D X incorporates state-of-the-art scanning technology that delivers enhanced scanning accuracy of 1 millimeter at a 1-meter range. The Freestyle3D X is available with a U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable calibration accessory to provide users with verifiable data accuracy, which is critical for forensic scanning and other highly regulated industries. On-site calibration data is exportable in PDF format, allowing information to be easily shared with other team members. The Freestyle3D X also incorporates an automatic flash mode enabling users to scan objects in a variety of lighting conditions. New software tools deliver an intensely detailed visualization of the created 3D point cloud, and an integrated best-point filter enhances the quality of the scan data by reducing noise up to 35%. Finally, post-processing functions have also been improved, offering up to 5x faster data writing speed to further improve productivity on the job site. The Freestyle3D X can be employed as a standalone device or used in concert with FARO Focus3D X Series Laser Scanners. Point cloud data from all devices can be integrated seamlessly – even in grey scale. “The Freestyle3D X sets the industry standard for ease-of-use and verifiable accuracy among professional, portable scanning devices,” stated Joe Arezone, Senior Vice President and Managing Director FARO Asia and EMEA. “The new features such as automatic flash mode, best point filter and new algorithms decisively enhance the overall scanning experience and enable users to carry out more projects with better quality at the same time. Moreover, the new Freestyle3D X will allow the most demanding users to achieve better accuracy in their projects.” With the introduction of the Freestyle3D X to its portfolio, FARO continues its role as a technology innovator for customers – helping them work faster, more effectively and save money in the process. FARO is dedicated to offering a full range of innovative and user-friendly handheld scanners to allow customers to implement and leverage 3D scanning to their business advantage.
Scan in a Box uses the revolutionary Structured Light technology and top-notch components. Accurately designed in every detail, Scan in a Box offers the greatest professionalism at a competitive price. Scan in a Box allows you to acquire sequential scans of an object in just a few easy steps, while IDEA the software combines the images to create a perfect 3D reproduction of the model so that, potentially, it has unlimited applications. You can go as far as your imagination stretches!
Source: FARO www.faro.com
COLOUR ACQUISITION Scan in a Box technology allows to acquire, with excellent results, information about the colour of the object and the smallest details of the surface.
SCAN IN A BOX, A NEW MOBILE SCANNER BASED ON STRUCTURED LIGHT TECHNOLOGY Scan in a Box is a new Structured Light 3D Scanner made by Open Technologies Srl, Italian company founded in 2001. Open Technologies Srl decided to create a device, affordable to any consumer, that would inherit the distinctive features of efficiency and originality of all its products. It has a mobile, adaptable structure and a simple configuration, useful to obtain quick high resolution scans. The combination of these scans recreates the chosen 3D model, visible from a 360° view. Scan in a Box unites practicality and efficiency in a completely made in Italy product. The set can be easily moved and set with the suggested or customized parameters. Easy to mount and calibrate, allows to create in just a few seconds 3D scans of any object, from the biggest to the smaller.
STARTER / PRO Scan in a Box is the ideal starting point to satisfy a wide range of 3D Scanning market needs. It’s the perfect tool for those who want to take their first steps into the 3D world, with particular attention to educational and academic applications. Moreover, it represents an efficient solution for expert users looking for professional results. COSTOMIZABLE SET UP Scan in a Box is the first scanner of its category in the 3D sector with a customizable set up of the work field and based on the Structured Light Stereo technology. These features give the possibility to choose from different dimensions of the framed area in order to enhance its effectiveness. DEDICATED SOFTWARE Scan in a Box set includes IDEA the Software, a program especially developed for this specific hardware. Thanks to the combination of hardware and software, the 3D scanning experience can start with just a click! HIGH PERFORMANCE Scan in a Box acquires the 3D images in less than 4 seconds, assuring a smooth and quick workflow. With its high-level precision and resolution, it generates a digital model that can be used for all the final user’s purposes. EASY AND COMPLETE With Scan in a Box it’s very easy to carry out a complete workflow: acquisition, alignment and mesh generation. IDEA the Software has all the necessary tools for the post-processing, useful to export a file ready for 3D Printing or 3D Sculpting.
Scan in a Box is a modular and versatile product. It’s composed by an aluminum bar, in which are carved the pre- established positions for the cameras, that holds the three stands: the one in the middle is for the projector and has to be stiffly fixed, the two on the sides are for the cameras, which width can be set to establish the scanning area. All these components are mounted on a adjustable tripod that has an ergonomic joystick head. The cable connections are located on the rear of the device and are kept together with a band that comes with the kit. Moreover, are also included all the tools necessary for correctly mounting the device and the instruction manual. Source: Scan in a Box (www.scaninabox.com)
REVELATIONS
Linked Heritage: achievements and next steps by Antonella Fresa Linked Heritage is a Best Practice Network which includes ministries, responsible government agencies, content providers and aggregators, leading research centres, publishers and SMEs from 20 EU countries, together with Israel and Russia. The activities are delivered through the work of 7 Work Packages, led by different partners, with the support of 4 European Thematic Working Groups as well as a number of Interdisciplinary National Working Groups.
L
inked Heritage www.linkedheritage.eu is a Best Practice Network which includes ministries, responsible government agencies, content providers and aggregators, leading research centres, publishers and SMEs from 20 EU countries, together with Israel and Russia. Its main focus is on the one hand the provision of large quantities of new content (3 million) to Europeana www.europeana.eu, from both the public and private sectors, and on the other hand the enhancement of the quality of both new and existing Europeana content, in terms of its metadata richness, its re-use potential and its uniqueness. The activities are delivered through the work of 7 Work Packages, led by different partners, with the support of 4 European Thematic Working Groups as well as a number of Interdisciplinary National Working Groups, which address the following issues: 1. The use of linked data to support more expressive semantic processing within Europeana, as well as making Europeana information available to third parties. 2. Persistent identifiers and their use for preventing duplicate records and broken links 3. Metadata and standards to improve the richness of content and the alignment with the Europeana data models (particularly from non-library sources) 4. Multilingual and cross-domain combination of terminologies to improve semantic-web-based-access and retrieval of cultural objects within Europeana. 5. Engagement with the private sector (especially publishers) and remediation of their metadata via Europeana. During the first half of the project, which ended with a very successful review by the European Commission, the following main results were achieved.
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The state of the art in linked data, its applications and potential was explored through the publication of a Best practice report on cultural heritage linked data and metadata standards, that identifies the most appropriate models, processes and technologies for the deployment of cultural heritage information repositories as linked data; this work constitutes the basis for the experimentation on open data in the Europeana context that can be performed through a demonstrator that has been developed in the scope of the project. The identification of the most appropriate approach to persistent identification of digital resources that has been analysed too, and the results of this analysis have been published in a State of the art report on persistent identifier standards and management tools. A Terminology Management Platform has been developed to demonstrate how it is possible to create and update a net-
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31 bal scale, make digitalmeetsculture.net both a valuable information tool and an advertising showcase with a uniquely sharp focus on a very selected and high-profile audience. This showcase aims at supporting the dissemination activities of the project and enhances the web traffic towards the official Linked Heritage website. The portal is becoming quite known among the community of digital cultural heritage: the visibility that the portal offers to Linked Heritage towards a selected and interested audience is an added value in terms of dissemination and advertising.
work of multilingual cross-domain thesauri and controlled vocabularies in a collaborative way. It hereby aims to reduce the large gap between the actual state of terminology management in cultural institutions, and the skills and means necessary to deliver these vocabularies in a standardised format. The results of the work on Terminologies & Multilingualism have been published in a Booklet which contains recommendations for the design and management of terminologies to help people working in European museums, experts or nonexperts in Information Engineering and/or Linguistics, to improve the future retrievability of their digital collections online. The work carried out by the Working Group on Public Private Partnerships (PPP) focused on the exploration of metadata management practices in the private sector, including the analysis of the metadata models in use across multiple media sectors (books, music, photography, film), identity management, controlled vocabularies and IPR related issues. The results have been published in a Best Practice Report on PPP. All these topics and even more are part of the comprehensive training programme designed and implemented by the University of Padua. The learning objects are tailored for an entry-level target audience and are made available through a Virtual Library Environment which was recently presented at the Linked Heritage Training and Dissemination Event (held in Padova on March 6th-8th, 2013). Final important appointment of the project is the conference in Dublin, on 17th June 2013 under the aegis of the Irish Presidency of the European Union. To enhance dissemination and web-presence, Linked Heritage has a dedicated showcase inside the communication and cooperation platform www.digitalmeetsculture.net. The showcase presents the project with general information, link to each partner’s website, contacts, useful links and files to download, auto-refreshing news via RSS that rebound the news appeared in the Linked Heritage website, and related articles with focus on the project’s progress and achievements. Digitalmeetsculture.net is an interactive online magazine where digital technology and culture collide. Articles, information and events about the projects and initiatives in the field of digital cultural heritage, on a truly glo-
Abstract
Linked Heritage is a network which includes ministries, government agencies, content providers and aggregators, leading publishers and research centers from 20 countries of the European Union, Israel and Russia. Its main purpose is on the one hand the supply a large amounts of new content to Europeana by the public and private sector, and on the other improving the quality of existing content to Europeana, in terms of richness of metadata, its potential reuse and its uniqueness.
Keywords
LINKED DATA; METADATA; EUROPEANA; LINKED HERITAGE
References
Progetto Linked Heritage MiBAC, ICCU Project Coordinator: Rossella Caffo
Authors
Antonella Fresa fresa@promoter.it PROMOTER S.R.L.
REVELATIONS
Complementary
techniques for pigment
Thutmosis III, (Luxor, Egypt)
analysis from the festival hall of the
Karnak
temples complex
by Hussein H. Marey Mahmoud The present paper aims at analyzing some ancient pigments from the festival hall of Thutmosis III, the Karnak temples complex (Luxor, Egypt). The analytical techniques utilized in this study were optical microscopy (OM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray analysis system (EDX), μ-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and colorimetry.
Tuthmosis III (c.1504–1450 BC, the 18th Dynasty) was the creator of a vast Egyptian empire and one of the great Pharaohs of ancient Egypt, and his festival temple (hall) is located beyond the central court of the Karnak Temples complex, a complete temple built at the eastern end of Karnak, wholly enclosed by its own girdle walls [1]. Iit is a spacious and elegant temple, 44 meters wide and 10 deep. The roof is supported by 20 columns in two rows and 32 square pillars on the sides [2]. Karnak temples complex is considered to be among the greatest of ancient Egyptian monuments, it is located about 2.5 km in the north of Luxor (about 670 km south of Cairo). Figure 1 illustrates some painted reliefs from the festival hall of Thutmosis III. Even though the Karnak temples complex enjoys an archaeological and touristic value, few published data are available for the wall decorations at Karnak. For this, the present research was devoted to study pigment samples collected from the festival hall of Thutmosis III, the Karnak temples complex (Luxor, Egypt). Different analytical techniques were used in this work such as optical microscopy (OM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray analysis system (EDX), μ-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and colorimetry. The results of this study supplied information on the constituent materials and execution techniques of the wall decoration in the Karnak temples complex. Fig. 1 - Painted reliefs of the festival hall of Thutmosis III, the Karnak temples complex (Luxor, Egypt).
EXPERIMENTAL Sampling Tiny pigmented samples (a few milligrams) were carefully scraped off the painted walls with a metallic scalpel. Optical Investigation Preliminary observations on the samples were performed using an Olympus SZ-40 stereomicroscope (10 and 20x objectives) equipped with an Olympus DP10 digital camera. ESEM and X-ray microanalysis Samples were directly analyzed without any preparation by environmental scanning electron microscope model Quanta FEG 250 (FEI, Netherlands). The FEI Quanta 250 is equipped with an energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) (an Oxford Aztec system) for elemental analysis on a microscopic scale. The accelerating voltage was 20 kV and pressure of 2.0 Torr. μ-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (μ-XRF) The μ-XRF spectra were recorded by μ-XRF spectrometer (SPECTRO, COPRA model) which includes a side-window X-ray tube with Mo anode (Oxford Instruments, Series 5011 XTF), potential acceleration 35 kV, lamp stream 0.9mA, and analysis time 300s. A long-distance optical microscope located on the detector and X-ray tube plane is used in order to select the points of interest over the surface of the sample. Colorimetry The chromatic characteristics of the different samples were obtained by a Miniscan® XE Plus spectrophotometer (HunterLab). The reflectance spectra were registered in the visible range over several points for each one of the different sample colours. Chromatic values are expressed as colour coordinates in the CIE L*a*b* colour system (1976) and illuminant D65/10º. We then obtained the diffuse reflectance factor of the paint according to the visible wavelengths domain (from 400 to 700 nm). RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Visual observations In Figure 2, a microscopic image obtained on the blue pigmented surface is presented. Microscopically, the sample showed an heterogeneous texture, both coarse and fine, showing dark and light blue colours. Diluted blue is used to describe the colour of fine-textured Egyptian blue that has
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33 Fig. 3 - 3D graphic chart of the chromatic parameters measured for the studied pigment samples in the L* a* b* (CIE 1976) colour system.
Fig. 2 - Optical photomicrograph of the blue pigment sample (microscope objective 10x)
a large amount of glass formed in its composition, which masks the blue colour and gives it a diluted appearance. Chromatic characterization Figure 3 represents a 3D scatter chart of the chromatic parameters measured for the studied pigment samples in the L*a* b* (CIE 1976) colour system. One of the most common numeric systems for expressing colour or colour difference is CIELAB notation which utilizes the principle of opposing colours. Lightness is defined as L*(L* = 0 indicates black and L* = 100 indicates white), and hue is expressed in terms of a* and b*., as well as its position between red and green (negative values of a* indicate green, and positive ones indicates red) and between yellow and blue (negative values of b* correspond to blue, and positive ones to yellow). The studied samples exhibit four main colours including blue, green, yellow and red hues. The composition of the pigments can be hypothesized on the base of the shapes and of the peak positions in the reflectance spectra , here the peaks including both the characteristic reflectance and first derivative peaks [6, 7]. The blue samples gave average values of L* = 65.06, a* = 5. 76 and b* = –7.65. The reflectance spectra picked on the sample showed a slope at wavelength higher than 650 nm. The green samples gave average values of L* = 66.54, a* = –4.76 and b* =3.43. The green pigments tend to give a sharp slope at wavelength higher than 630 nm and return to increase after this wavelength. For dark pigments such as haematite, which naturally have low reflectance, the presence of a sub layer has a different impact; in general, dark pigments usually consist of bigger grains and are much denser than other pigments [8]. The red pigments gave average values of L* = 48.34, a* = 5.22 and b* =21.76 and the yellow pigments gave average values of L* = 66.12, a* = 9.47 and b* =15.25. The spectra of the ochre show the characteristic features, especially the sharp positive slope at wavelengths higher than 600 nm for the haematite and red ochre, and lower than 600 nm for the goethite and the yellow ochre. ESEM–EDX results Figure 4 shows ESEM image and EDX spectrum on polished cross-section of the blue paint layer. The ESEM image shows that the small crystals of the Egyptian blue are embedded in the plaster matrix. The EDX spot microanalysis on individual crystals in the sample allows to reveal the peaks of Si, Ca and Cu, giving the chemical formula of cuprorivaite (CaCuSi4O10). Other elements, such as S, Al,
and Cl were also detected. This synthetic pigment was produced by mixing a calcium salt (carbonate, sulphate or hydroxide), a copper compound (oxide or malachite), sand (silica) and an alkali flux (sources of alkali flux could either have been natron from areas such as Wadi Natrun and El-Kab, or soda-rich plant ashes) [9]. The analysis on the green pigment sample showed chemical composition similar to that of the blue sample with an higher content of Si. This results suggests that the green pigment was the widely used Egyptian green, a multi-component pigment consisting of green wollastonite as major phase, a blue copper-compound, sodium-and chlorine-bearing glass phase, sporadic cuprorivaite, silica minerals and the tin compounds cassiterite and malayaite [10]. The investigation on the red pictorial layer shows the presence of fine granular aggregate particles made of red ochre with large
Fig. 4 - ESEM image (1300x, bar 100µm) and EDX spectrum obtained on polished cross-section of the blue paint layer.
grains of calcium sulphate phases. The EDX microanalysis of the sample showed high concentration of Fe, suggesting the presence of iron oxide (haematite, α-Fe2O3) as possible colouring material. The other detected elements, S and Ca, are probably present in the underlying ground layer (gypsum, CaSO4∙2H2O). The strong contribution of Al and Si indicates a possible existence of an aluminosilicate material [11]. The investigation on the yellow pigment sample shows the slightly small grains of the yellow ochre scattered on the surface. The EDX microanalysis of the sample showed the presence of the peak of Fe indicating the possible use of goethite (α-FeOOH), while the strong contribution of Al and Si suggests the presence of an aluminosilicate material (probably clay minerals); this gives indication that yellow ochre was used to obtain the colour. Ochre is typically composed of two common forms of iron oxide (Fe2O3 and FeO), mixed with clays, silicates, and other minerals and they range in colour from deep purple to light yellow [12]. μ-XRF analysis The μ-XRF spectrum obtained on a dark blue sample is shown in Fig. 5. Significant ratios of Pb, P, Ni, Cl, Mn and Cr were measured by μ-XRF in the blue pigment sample which are highly correlated to Cu. The presence of Ni and Cr suggests an ultrabasic geochemical origin for the copper ore. Such origin also rules out the use of malachite, which is highly depleted in the weakly mobile Cr, whereas Ni preferentially forms hydrous silicates on its own in ophiolites, such as garnierite. Such outcrops suggest that some hydrothermally remobilized ophiolites must have been the geochemical settings of this association [13].
Fig. 5 - µ-XRF spectrum recorded on the blue pigment sample.
CONCLUDING REMARKS A multi-analytical approach was applied to study the microstructure, morphology and chemical composition of some pigment samples collected from the festival hall of Thutmosis III, the Karnak temples complex (Luxor, Egypt). The analytical techniques used in this work were optical microscopy (OM), ESEM−EDX, μ-XRF and colorimetry. The chromatic palette used in the temple was identified as Egyptian blue (cuprorivaite, CaCuSi4O10) for the blue colour, Egyptian green (Cu-wollastonite) for green, red ochre (haematite, α-Fe2O3) for the red and yellow ochre (goethite, α-FeOOH) for the yellow hue. In conclusion, this paper illustrates preliminary results of the first group of samples collected from the wall decorations of the temple. An integrated study aimed to a complete description of the chromatic palette used to decorate the whole temple, is currently in progress.
References 1. E. Blyth, KARNAK: Evolution of a temple (Routledge, New York, 2006). 2. J. Kamil, LUXOR: A Guide to Ancient Thebes, 2nd ed. (Longman group Ltd, London, 1976). 3. J.R. Barnett, S. Miller, E. Pearce, Optic. Laser. Tech. 38, 445 (2006). 4. D. Hradil, T. Grygar, J. Hradilova, Appl. Clay Sci. 22, 223 (2003). 5. V. Simova, P. Bezdicka, J. Hradilova, D. Hradil, T. Grygar, Powder Diffr. 20 (3), 224 (2005). 6. J. Torrent, V. Barròn, Marcel Dekker, 1438 (2002). 7. L. Wang, G. Liang, G. Dang, Spectrochim. Acta Part A 61, 1021 (2005). 8. M. Kartsonaki, M. Koui, P. Callet, E. Cheilakou, Proceedings of The 4th international conference on (NDT), Hellenic Society for NDT, Chania, Crete, 2007. (Crete, Greece, 2007). 9. G.H. Hatton, A.J. Shortland, M.S. Tite, J. Archaeo. Sci. 35 (6), 1591 (2008). 10.A. El Goresy, Proceedings of the First International Symposium: "The Wall Paintings of Thera" edited by S. Sherratt, Vol. I (Petros M. Nomikos and Thera Foundation, Piraeus, Athens, Hellas, 2000). 11.T. Zorba, K.S. Andrikopoulos, K.M. Paraskevopoulos, E. Pavlidou, K. Popkonstantinov, R. Kostova, V. Platnyov, Sr. Danillia, Annali di Chimica 97, 491 (2007). 12.R.S. Popelka-Filcoff, J.D. Robertson, M.D. Glascock, Ch. Descantes, J. Radioanal. Nucl. Chem. 272 (1), 17 (2007). 13.F. Farges, M-P.Etcheverry, Geophys. Res. Abstr., 7, 08448 (2005).
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Abstract
The present paper aims at analyzing some ancient pigments from the festival hall of Thutmosis III, the Karnak temples complex (Luxor, Egypt). The wall decorations of the festival hall are carved with raised and sunken reliefs and painted with religious scenes and hieroglyphs texts. The analytical techniques utilized in this study were optical microscopy (OM), environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) coupled with an energy dispersive X-ray analysis system (EDX), μ-X-ray fluorescence spectrometry and colorimetry. Based on the results of these analyses, the microscopic features, microstructure and the chemical composition of the studied pigments were identified. The results revealed the blue pigment as Egyptian blue (cuprorivaite, CaCuSi4O10), the green pigment as Egyptian green (Cu-wollastonite), the yellow pigment as yellow ochre, and the red pigment as red ochre.
Keywords
Pigments; the Karnak temples complex; Egyptian blue; ESEM−EDX; μ-XRF
Authors
Hussein H. Marey Mahmoud Lecturer (PhD), Department of Conservation, Faculty University, 12613 Giza, Egypt. marai79@hotmail.com
of
Archaeology, Cairo
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
ROME On the 9/10/11 december 2015 Conference room at CNR headquarter-Marrucini St. The conference will be a platform to present the best thesis works developed in the field of Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage, particularly addressed to the professional conservators and conservation scientists. The presented project abstracts will be selected by a committee for conference participation and they will be published in the proceedings. Some deserving theses will be awarded with scholarships.
INFOMATION:
lumen.istruzione.onlus@gmail.com www.igiovanieilrestauro.org The event is promoted by the Superintendence for the Colosseum, the Roman National Museum and the archaeological area of Rome, with the Lumen Association.
SPONSOR:
The event has been organized in collaboration with other prestigious institutions and associations:
SUPPORTERS:
MAGAZINES:
AGORÀ Scan Pyramids: new technologies to reveal secrts of the Ancient Pyramids in Egypt -“Just because a mystery is 4500 years old doesn’t mean it can’t be solved...” This could be the motto of the exceptional scientific mission launched October 25, 2015, under the authority of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, initiated, designed and coordinated by the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo and the French HIP Institute (Heritage, Innovation and Preservation). Radiographic muons, aka cosmic particles, infrared thermography, photogrammetry, scanner and 3D reconstruction: the most innovative technologies will be used by researchers of international renown and three major universities: the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University, Université Laval of Quebec and Nagoya University of Japan. Their goal: to probe the heart of the largest pyramids of Egypt, without drilling the slightest opening. Four millennia after their construction, these ancient giants are far from having yielded their secrets. The first mystery concerns their construction, especially Khufu, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still existing: it is still impossible to describe with certainty how this stone monument, the largest ever built by humans, was erected. With a base of more than 5 hectares, its original height of almost 150 meters and a mass of 5 million tons, how was it possible to construct such a wonder in only 25 years? Another mystery: the internal structure of the pyramids. When comparing the plans of different pyramids, we encounter inexplicable anomalies. Being the last home of the pharaohs in the Old Kingdom (2575 - 2134 BC), they had to be inviolable. Builders have therefore multiplied tricks and obstacles to protect the remains of their sovereigns. Thus various explorations conducted in the past, with less sophisticated means than today, have caught strange images that could correspond to hidden chambers. The scientific mission “Scan Pyramids” is an unprecedented, large-scale project and will begin early November. It will focus on four masterpieces of the Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465 BC): on the site of Dahshur, about fifteen kilometers south of Saqqara, the mission will study the South pyramid, called the Bent, and the North pyramid, called the Red, both built by Snefru (2575 2551 BC). On the Giza plateau at about twenty kilometers from Cairo (see map), it will study the pyramids of Khufu and Khafre, built by the son and grand-son of Snefru. Non-destructive high technologies will be implemented. Two infrared thermography missions will establish a thermal map of the pyramids to reveal differences in density: one brief conducted by the expert Jean-Claude Barré from LedLiquid, whereas the other, running for at least a year, will be led by Université Laval of Quebec. Their goal is to identify if there are any voids behind the faces of the pyramids. Two missions using muons radiography also aim to verify and accurately visualize the presence of unknown structures within the monuments. These techniques are being developed in Japan by the teams of KEK (High Energy Accelerator research Organization) and Nagoya University. “Many theories have been proposed, either explaining their construction or their structural anomalies, but we are physicists and engineers, not archaeologists”, insists Hany Helal, Professor at Cairo University and former Minister of Research and the higher education and Coordinator of the project, head of mission for the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo. “Our goal is to use techniques to get concrete results. Then the Egyptologists will interpret them.” In parallel to the exploration missions, the company Iconem will realize a photogrammetry campaign using drones, to rebuild the Giza plateau and the site of Dahshur with all their monuments in 3D, with a unique centimeter precision. These models will be made available to researchers and the public in open data by the HIP Institute, a non-profit structure of general interest. his campaign, supported by the Egyptian authorities, is entirely dedicated to the advancement of knowledge. Sharing and transfer are the key words. “Our desire is to form a team of international experts, says Mehdi Tayoubi, HIP Institute president and co-director of the mission, then discuss and confront the theoretical and technological approaches to the archaeological ground reality.” The laboratory of the Japanese team, dedicated to the development and analysis of the images captured by muons radiography, has already been installed in Cairo. “In the longer term, given the archaeological wealth of Egypt, we imagine applying these techniques to other monuments, Hany Helal concludes. Either to restore or to discover them. If these technologies are effective, they can even be implemented in other countries.” The mission should last at least until the end of 2016. Will the millennium mystery that intrigues archaeologists and Egyptology lovers then be solved? “The key is to move forward by implementing new approaches, says Mehdi Tayoubi. Many previous missions have attempted to unravel the mysteries of the pyramids and even if they were unsuccessful, they were helping advance knowledge. For example that was the case 30 years ago, when EDF foundation detected a density anomaly in the form of a spiral in Khufu. Our goal is to make our contribution and to prepare, in humility, the path for future scientific research missions.”
DISH - conference about Digital Strategies for Heritage -Digital Strategies for Heritage (DISH) is the biennial international conference on digital heritage and strategies for heritage institutions. DISH2015 will be held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The main theme for DISH2015 is Money and Power. As in previous years the DISH conference focuses on digital strategies for heritage institutions. Triggered by changes in society, heritage organisations face many challenges and need to make strategic decisions about their activities and services. The key aims of the DISH conference are inspiration, knowledge, skills, innovation and networking. As well as keynote speeches and workshops, DISH2015 will introduce several ‘Chefs’ tables’; round table discussions on various topics related to the four conference themes. The Chefs’ tables offer a platform for an active sharing of ideas in which processes, collaboration, successes, problems, failures and learning points are openly discussed. This format encourages increased sharing of ideas, networking and collaboration. Triggered by changes in society, heritage organisations face many challenges and need to make strategic decisions about their activities and services. The preliminary programme for DISH2015 is online. Go to the programme schedule, read more about our keynote speakers. DISH2015 will take place on December 7 and 8 2015 in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The location will be De Doelen, a conference venue (www.dedoelen.nl) close to Rotterdam Central Station.
Source: Scan Pyramids (www.scanpyramids.org)
(Source: DISH 2015)
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16 RESEARCH PROJECTS SELECTED FOR JPICH HERITAGE PLUS FUNDING - Heritage Plus supports the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage (JPICH) by proposing concrete solutions for pooling national expertise and resources and establishing closer and robust collaboration among participating States in the field of cultural heritage. The main objective of the Heritage Plus proposal is to pool the necessary financial resources from the participating national programmes and the European Community and to launch a single Joint Call for Proposals for research projects in the cultural heritage field that will be evaluated and managed jointly by the participating programmes. The Heritage Plus project is in line with the JPICH as part of the implementation of the Strategic Research Agenda and of the Action Programme. Consequently the Heritage Plus call is focused on topics relating to tangible cultural heritage, developing new methodologies, technologies and products for the assessment, protection and management of historical and modern artefacts, buildings and sites, while not excluding interlinked aspects of digital and intangible heritage, following the interdisciplinary basic criteria on which the JPICH SRA developed. Sixteen transnational collaborative research projects in the field of cultural heritage have been recommended for funding. At the end of a long selection process following the final evaluation of the received full proposals by an international panel, the consortia recommended for funding are: Projects funded are the following: Changes: Changes in cultural Heritage Activities: New Goals and benefits for Economy and Society (Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden) Chime: Cultural Heritage and Improvised Music in European Festivals (Uk, Sweden, Netherlands) CHT2: Cultural Heritage Through Time (Italy, Uk, Spain, Poland) Clima: Cultural Landscape risk Identification, Management and Assessment (Italy, Uk, Cyprus, Denmark) Cmop: Cleaning Modern Oil Paintings (Netherlands, Uk, Italy) Euro Magic: A Million Pictures: Magic Lantern Slide Heritage as Artefacts in the Common European History of Learning (Netherlands, Uk, Belgium, Spain) Euwather: European Waterways Heritage: Re-evaluating European Minor Rivers and Canals as Cultural Landscapes (Italy, Uk, Netherlands, Spain) Endow: Enhancing access to 20th Century cultural heritage through Distributed Orphan Work (UK, Natherlands, Italy) Heat: Heritage and Threat (Denmark, Romania, Poland, Italy) Heritamus: (In)Tangible: a research on the relationship between tangible and intangible heritage (Portugal, Spain, France) Heuright: The Right to Cultural Heritage - Its Protection and Enforcement through Cooperation in the European Union (Poland, Uk, Italy) Himanis: HIstorical MANuscript Indexing for user-controlled Search (France, Spain, Netherlands) Gastrocert: Gastronomy and Creative Entrepreneurship in Rural Tourism (Sweden, Italy, Uk, Spain) Pich: The impact of urban planning and governance reform on the historic built environment and intangible cultural heritage (Netherland, Uk, Italy, Norway) Prothego: PROTection of European Cultural HEritage from GeO - hazards (Italy, Uk, Cyprus, Spain) REFIT: Resituating Europe's first towns: A case study in enhancing knowledge transfer and developing sustainable management of cultural landscapes (Uk, France, Spain) Participating funding agencies: Italy, Ministero dei beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo, MIBACT; Belgium, Service public federal de programmation politique Scientifique, BELSPO; Cyprus, Research Promotion Foundation, RPF; Denmark, Styrelsen for forskning og innovation, FKK; France, Ministere de la culture et de la communication, MCC; Agence Nationale de la Recherche, ANR; Italy, Ministero dell'istruzione, dell'universita' e della Ricerca, MIUR; The Netherlands, Nederlandse organisatie voor wetenschappelijkonderzoek, NWO; Ministerie van onderwijs, cultuur en wetenschap RCE; Norway, Norges forskningsrad, RCN; Poland, Ministerstwo kultury i dziedzictwa narodowego, MKiDN; Romania, Ministerul Educatiei Nationale, MEN; Portugal, Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, FCT; Spain, Ministerio de economia y competitividad, MINECO; Sweden, Riksantikvarieambetet, SNHB; United Kingdom, The Arts and Humanities Research Council. Source: www.heritageportal.eu 24TH ICOM (INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF MUSEUMS) GENERAL CONFERENCE MILAN, ITALY, JULY 3 - 9 2016 - Every three years, ICOM’s General Conference gathers the international museum community around a theme chosen by museum professionals. The theme of the ICOM Milano 2016 will be “Museums and cultural landscapes”, which raises a number of interesting issues, as museums around the world strive to redefine their roles and positions in relation to their communities and with respect to the cultural heritage that lies beyond their walls. Packed with stimulating sessions, worldwide known keynote speakers, networking opportunities and committee meetings, the week-long ICOM General Conference is key in allowing ICOM’s 35,000 members from 136 countries, alongside other museum professionals from an array of cultural and linguistic horizons, to maintain and expand their expertise and leadership on cultural heritage issues. Many professions are represented at the General Conferences: museum and heritage professionals, curators, conservators, archaeologists, historians, architects, urban planners, exhibition designers, project managers, archivists, registrars, inventory coordinators, document and knowledge managers, librarians, government officials, cultural policy makers, cultural officers, tourism experts, researchers, academics, lecturers, artists, suppliers, consultants… Participants can also be culture enthusiasts, senior members and students of the above fields and, of course, ambitious newcomers. The International Council of Museums (ICOM), created in 1946, is a worldwide organisation of museums and museum professionals. ICOM is committed to promoting and protecting natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible. ICOM promotes standards of excellence in the museum field, in particular through its ICOM Code of Ethics for Museums, a standard-setting tool for museums, which includes basic principles for museum governance, the acquisition and disposal of collections, and rules for professional conduct. ICOM’s other activities include fighting illicit traffic in cultural goods and promoting risk management and emergency preparedness to protect world cultural heritage in the event of natural or man-made disasters. The Italian National Committee of ICOM is the leading professional association of the museum sector in Italy. It takes care of all the problems closely related to the development and the defense of the profession. ICOM Italy promotes and also coordinates the activities of the Permanent Conference for the Italian Museum Associations. Register now! www.milan2016.icom.museum Fonte: ICOM 2016
OPINIONS CULTURE IN THE TIME OF FYBORG by Michele Fasolo Bio-hypermedia or the peculiar environment we create everyday by interacting with machines, networks, algorithms, data, real and artificial territories through bodies in time and space. This new environment becomes increasingly pervasive, and more intense across its interfaces, its mechanical and electronic extensions, which infiltrate deeper into bodies day by day. Bio-hypermedia has been expanding and developing common human possibilities or needs to such an extent that consciousness itself will be modified. The latest news is that Google, after marketing glasses, has already registered several patents of hi-tech contact lenses, equipped with a camera, that may be controlled eye movements and wirelessly connected to other devices. By coining the term “Bio-hypermedia”, Giorgio Griziotti certainly detected its basic structural components, such as bio-politics and hypermediality. At the same time, with an article published in the “Alfabeta2” journal, he introduced an effective conceptual scheme into the debate on digital culture, such new dimensions may be explored. Contradictions and more sophisticated risks of exploitation and submission come out in real time. Of course there is a definitive interruption of any spatial and temporal boundary between social time and working time, as well as unprecedented opportunities to share. So Bio-hypermedia certainly is a source of conflict with those who want to impose new enclosures to exploit common domains. As a result of technologies and industry, Bio-hypermedia is quickly redefining world, production dynamics, personal relationships and knowledge. The invention of the iPhone in 2007 put the whole world of network at your fingertips thanks to a mobile, pocket-size device, equipped with a user-friendly interface; all this goes together with the development of the mobile Internet and the spread of highly integrated, accessible and hybrid new devices ”always connected everywhere”. Such an invention made it appear Bio-hypermedia as a new and powerful step through the history of automation, two centuries after its appearance during the first industrial processes of capitalist production. Bio-hypermedia constitutes a significant ontological discontinuity, despite having only been in existence for a few decades: It has been re-shaping the same digital automation, which derives from that thermo-mechanic automation of assembly lines, by overcoming its recent architectures based on desktops, laptops and fixed Internet. This can be considered a development comparable with that implemented by Marconi with wireless transmission of information. Its three keywords are simultaneousness, ubiquity, universality. In this case, the exchange of information is 'emancipated' from the risk of being more controlled and subjected to power, as is the case for the PC-fixed Internet environment, which is delimited and fixed in time and place. It is a matter of fact that a PC, operating through a CPU, has a hierarchical organizing function, specialised in sequential processes. When compared to the latter and to the client-server technological architecture, the developments offered by mobile devices appear different. Such devices try to imitate the reorganization and reinterpretation processes of information typical of human thought, although still approximate. Mobile devices in fact manage such processes in a net-like way, they contemporaneously surround and go through information in a multi-sequential way, according to a non-linear perception system. On one hand this new stage shares some aspects, with the digital automation level of a PC and of the fixed Internet, such as virtuality, simulation, abstraction, and feedback. On the other hand, it moves away from opportunities of developing autonomous processing, only possible thanks to new technologies. The net-like infrastructures help to bring together autonomous energies, in order to create information, exchange and build meaning, to disseminate and to spread through co-operation processes Without any escape into easy techno-enthousiasms or network fetishism, it may be said that new autonomous energies independent ideas free from the risk of manipulation and control, may come out from such net-like infrastructures, proliferate and spread in synergistic processes. New practices in social, cultural, and economic production are now possible. In the latest years there have been so many extraordinary developments; one among them, the DIYbio or do-it-yourself biology, a global science network created by citizens beyond any control of the traditional academic institutions in scientific research, in addition to many new forms of community- based peer production (Yochai Benkler). It is not merely a question of simultaneous collection and network processing of manifold units, nor of distribution and sharing in real time of all information according to the dictates of any net-centric, military or marketing theory. The human sensory connections perform in this new scenario some relationships in a more advanced and powerful way than any current computing skill of a “machina”. The same users of the new devices become “connections” inside networks, by physically putting together electronic connections with those of their own biological tissues, suitable to receive, to transmit and to process body’s internal and external stimuli. This allows the manifestation of unprecedented and powerful techno-sensorial synapses, by giving a different shape to our brain, and by triggering in our mind relationships increasingly far-away from the Euclidean geometry and therefore allowing improved chances of creative actions. Time and space widely expand, whereas unbounded and ubiquitous perception extends just likeas well as the wealth of information, with which it interacts, becomes “collective” and yet collectively concentrates through devices. Definitively, perception makesPerception exposes the world show up to us as it actually is. The obligation to give a univocal interpretation of reality definitively collapses. Consequences of such new co-operation aspects may be immediately remarked within the scope of the geographical representation, where the relationship between the geographical learning and the exercise of the political power have been always clear (Claude Raffestin). Thus, we have to think that the same may happen in the field of cultural heritage, with a proliferation of viewpoints, languages, themes, experiments, creative practices otherwise impossible, perhaps new forms of art, and therefore shared governance of cultural heritage, which will be made available by cognitive co-operation through devices, their integration into bodies, and the increased potential they offer to interpretative ability.
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MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL LANDSCAPES 3 - 9 July 2016
www.milano2016.icom.museum Credit: Roberto Mascaroni
LABORATORIES
Some aspects of the research in the Laboratory of the Musée de la Musique, Paris Cité de la musique by Stéphane Vaiedelich Art and technology meet at the Musée de la Musique à Paris. The paper covers some aspects of the research carried out in the laboratory of the museum and focuses on the work of the science team for the study and conservation of musical instruments, both in terms of preventive and curative conservation of the collection museum.
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he Musée de la Musique houses a collection of close to 5000 instruments covering a time period stretching over about four centuries and coming from all continents. It has a research and restoration laboratory that combines applied research dedicated to the study and conservation of musical instruments while also providing services linked to the collection. The activity of the laboratory falls within the scope of the study of the material and cultural object represented by the musical instrument and the values its legacy is leaving. The research conducted there has a concrete application in the conception and implementation of the conservation choices regarding the Musée’s collection: pre-emptive or curative conservation, presentation of works of art as part of different exhibitions, and obviously the maintenance of their working order. A material commodity as much as a sonorous object, the musical instrument is both a piece of art and an everyday object, a complex compound of several materials, which has a musical functionality. This immaterial dimension of past and present music conveyed by the actual objects is what makes them singular works of art and inspires research directly connected to the study or conservation of their functionality. The scientific team of the Musée consists of 9 people, some of whom work part time. Three of them carry out the responsibilities of curators. The laboratory’s team includes a doctor of chemistry, a doctor of physics, a scientific and technical expert, and three curator-restorers, one of whom is exclusively assigned to maintaining keyboard instruments in working order. The team possesses investigation and analytical equipment that allows it to conduct in situ exams in terms of observation (microscope, ultraviolet) as well as elementary analysis (X-ray fluorescence) or mechanical characterisation (modal analysis in real time). Today, this team is part of networks made up of national and international partners with which it carries out numerous research projects. The collection generates daily tasks related to its legacy and intended to ensure the conservation to satisfactory standards of the works of art exhibited in the museum as items in reserve: monitoring the climate, providing technical loan management and pro-active involvement in campaigns for the semi-annual temporary exhibitions. The monitoring of the exhibition condition conducted by the laboratory particularly focuses on controlling the cli-
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mate and dust level of the work of arts, which is favoured by the urban environment in which the Cité de la Musique was built. A large part of the collection of keyboard instruments and harps, some of which are maintained in working condition, is on public display. This calls for particular attention as monitoring the hygrometric conditions is of utmost importance.
Fig. 1 - Permanent collection, 18th century space, Musée de la musique. The J. Couchet E.2003.6.1 harpsichord from the permanent collection of the Musée de la musique is not displayed in a glass case. This attractive presentation is appreciated by the public, though it requires great care in climate and dust control. Photo : A. Borel, © Cité de la Musique
The laboratory also provides for control of the collection’s sanitary state. If the presence of mushrooms and mould is not really a concern considering the general condition of conservation, the presence of wood-boring insects is a permanent threat particularly in the exhibition areas. As soon as a suspicion of infestation is detected by the presence of insects in the traps throughout the museum, active anoxic debugging campaigns ensue. In order to use these treatments wisely, the laboratory has recently developed a technique using ultrasonic methods of identification of insects
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Cultural heritage Technologies inside the wood, which is in the process of being patented. Efficient and suited for these objects of national value because it is completely non-invasive, this new technique allows us to detect the actual presence of larvae from all wood-boring insect species inside the material.
Fig. 2 - In situ detection of an infestation The ATAX System (Analyse des Traces Acoustiques de Xylophages – analyses of acoustical traces of xylophage) can easily be adapted to several types of wooden objects. The micro sensor is fixed by a completely reversible interface. Signal processing can be performed post-acquisition. The data analysis can be performed in the laboratory, easing the intervention on the object. Photo : S. Leconte© Cité de la Musique
In addition to its pre-emptive conservation action, the laboratory is responsible for the interventions performed on the works of art. It thus conducts numerous restorations on the entire corpus each year. These interventions are founded on a deontology that is now widely accepted and relayed on the international level through the setting up of CIMCIM, a committee of ICOM (International Council of Museums) that includes the majority of the most prestigious museums of musical instruments worldwide. These restoration campaigns are often correlated to temporary exhibitions or the renewing of permanent ones. When creating a display is their goal, their main features
Fig. 3 - Stratigraphy of a varnish Stratigraphy of a varnish and top wood cells from the soundboard of A.Stradivarys’ “Proviginy” violin, 1716, Cremona E.1730.1 collection of the Musée de la musique, Paris. From bottom to top: cellular structure of the wood, typical of conifers; first (white) oil-based layer impregnated in the wood; upper layer (yellow-orange), a mixture of oil and pine resin containing red pigments. Photo : J.-P. Echard © Cité de la Musique
41 are connected to the composite character represented by the musical instruments. Indeed, it is not rare to see, within the same instrument, animal matters (glue, ivory, gelatine, viscera, horn, etc), vegetal matters (wood, liana, resin and natural rubber) or mineral matters such as stones or metals combined. This complex assembling often provides favourable conditions for the rapid deterioration of some materials. This is particularly true of some metals, as soon as they are in contact with wood. This is what happens to the weights added to the keys of keyboard instruments in order to tune them. Confined in an environment with an acid pH, it decomposes rapidly while creating sulphates in the process. Occupying a greater volume than the metal from which they come from, they cause irreversible cracks in the parts that require a conservation intervention. Beyond these tasks related to the conservation of this cultural heritage, the laboratory also conducts several research projects seeking a better understanding of the musical instruments in a systemic approach that associates matters, structures, and historical contexts. STUDYING VARNISHES AND COATING The question of the coating of musical instruments is a vast issue because almost all instruments’ bodies are covered with protective coatings. Considering the stakes and myths attached to them, the quartet instruments and especially the violin family take on a singular character. Until the end of the 18th century, there is no known historical source, whether from stringed-instrument makers or observers who had direct access to their craftsmanship, that precisely describe the materials, tools and processes used to varnish instruments. However, a sketch of the technical context of the coating practices in Europe during that era, particularly the coating composition, can be drawn from indirect bibliographic sources. From a general point of view, it seems that the development of alcohol- and petrol-based coating and the abandonment of oil-based coating constituted a technical rupture in the middle of the 18th century. From the early 19th century onwards, many stringed-instrument makers and research workers are forced to speculate regarding the coating technique of ancient Italian stringed-instrument makers, whose instruments are perceived as far better than the contemporary production at the time. Faced with the stakes of the conservation and restoration of these bodies, the laboratory makes it a point to define a methodology of physical-chemical analysis dedicated to the most comprehensive characterisation of ancient varnish of musical instruments1. We have offered a sequence of analytical techniques that maximises the quantity of data obtained (both on the stratigraphic structure and the organic and inorganic composition) and that appropriately matches the thickness scale of the varnishes and the quantities of matter available for this analysis. We were able to apply this methodology to a wide corpus rather than to one instrument at a time. Directed by the Musée de la Musique2, a multi-disciplinary team was brought together to work on this issue. Minuscule fragments of varnish have been taken from these instruments in order to be analysed with infrared microspectrometry at the LC2RMF (Laboratoire du Centre de Recherche et de Restauration des Musées de France) and on the SMIS beamline of the Synchrotron SOLEIL, with Raman microspectrometry at the LADIR (Laboratoire de Dynamique, Interactions et Réactivité, sous la tutelle de l'Université Pierre et Marie Curie et du CNRS), with scanning electron microscopy at the Institute for Analytical Sciences in Dortmund, and with gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry at the CRCC (Centre de Recherche sur la Conservation des Collections).
Beyond the concomitant results and recent development in progress at the museum, this research has shown that the varnish of five of Stradivarius’s instruments all have two similar layers of organic composition. The lower layer features drying oil. The upper layer is an oil-based varnish, a mix of drying oil and Pinaceae resin. A common practice in Europe, adding resin to oil is the basis of numerous varnish recipes used during the period of the instruments under study. Such a varnish is sometimes referred to as “amber varnish.” Moreover, red pigments (iron oxides, vermillion, Cochineal lacquer), also used in easel paints, have been found in the upper layer of the varnish of four instruments. According to their composition and pigment concentration, these varnishes are to be connected to the transparent layer of paint in easel paints. They attest to Antonio Stradivarius’s intention to colour his instruments during the varnishing phase and thus to bestow it with a decisive role in the visual appearance of the instrument. In addition to these works, a systematic analysis of numerous recipes and treaties has been carried out. This documented information is precious for the entire scientific community as well as for contemporary instrument makers, and it has been centralised in a public database hosted on the Cité de la Musique’s website. This “VERNIX” database presently includes over four hundred varnish recipes stretching over 2 centuries. FUNCTIONAL MODALITIES, GESTURES, STRUCTURES Musical instruments hold a function and the Musée de la Musique when it is both technically feasible and ethically acceptable, maintains the collection’s instruments in working order. This conservation choice does not apply to all corpuses. Thus, woodwind instruments, clarinets, oboes and snake flutes for example, will not be affected. Indeed, the breath of the musician, whose average temperature is 30° C and which is loaded with nearly 100% relative humidity, causes an internal constraint that is incompatible with sustainable conservation. Indeed, wood, a mechanical sorbent material, if there ever was one, strongly expands under the effect of a hot and humid breath. The inside hygroscopic gradient causes irreparable cracks in the tube, permanently ruining the instrument and preventing us from any subsequent interpretation and analysis of its functional qualities. To overcome this difficulty and offer the best possible approach to the instrument’s functional and musical qualities, the laboratory has recently developed non-destructive and non-invasive, acoustic impedance experiments providing understanding of and documentation on a large part of these corpuses’ acoustic properties without having to play them. Offering large quantity of information, these experiments al-
Fig. 4 - Acoustic impedance experimental setup Measure of the acoustic impedance of a serpent. The impedance head is placed on the upper extremity of the instrument (on the left of the figure). The acoustic impedance characterizes the “resistance” of the material to the passage of sound. It is defined as the ratio of sound to particle velocity and is frequency dependent.
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low us to discover the playing modes, instrument tuning, compatible fingerings, and they also provide information regarding the instrument’s state of conservation such as the presence of leaks in the air column for example. In some cases, it is possible to reconstruct the diameters of the instruments’ axial canals from the results of these measurements without resorting to direct metrology measurement, which can sometimes be tricky. Essential information that is all at once relevant for musicologists, researchers and makers. In the case of corpuses of struck, rubbed or plucked string instruments, the main problematic lies in the mechanical constraint that the strings apply on the structure. Indeed, amounting to 30Kg force for a violin whose mass does not exceed 300 grams, this constraint may amount to several hundred kilos or even several tons in the case of pianos. In this case, the laboratory implements several tools and methods of investigation. Of course, prior to applying any pressure to these instruments, a preliminary study is initiated. Among other things, it is based on an external and internal examination of the structure. To do this, the museum uses radiography as a routine examination, which provides invaluable help. However, visual examination and observation are not sufficient to guarantee the stability of a structure under constraint and the contribution of physics and especially mechanics is essential. This expertise is properly mastered by the museum and it has multiple applications related to the collection. It provides valuable support in the restoration process. Today, thanks to their high-standard multi-disciplinary training, restorers are attentive to controlling the consequences of their actions on the works from a conservation point of view as much as from their public perception. This essential approach is complex when it comes to measuring the impact of a restoring intervention on the value of this cultural heritage regarding the musical functionality of an instrument. Thus, stabilising fractures in no way guarantees that the structure, the soundboard of a piano or a violin for example, will regain its original vibratory properties. As with any intervention, this one, and particularly its effects on the instrument’s vibratory properties, must be documented. Since 2005, the museum has been developing research projects related to this issue and uses calculation and finite element modelling on a regular basis. Accompanying the restoration of Joannes Couchet’s harpsichord, made in Antwerp in 1652, is the first experiment conducted by the museum on this topic. A classified National Treasure acquired in 2001, this harpsichord is in an exceptional organologic state. Originally fitted with a single set of 8 feet, a set of 4 feet and a second keyboard were added in 1701. Interestingly enough, this is the only significant change it Fig. 5 – Radiography Radiograph of a “Selmer” has thus far undergone. jazz guitar. All the internal This operation, called "restoration components are perfectly implementation," exclusively oper- distinguishable, in parated on the instrument’s exterior. ticular the double resonator system, patented by Therefore, all the structural parts, Mario Maccaferri who was bars, reinforcements, and the thick- responsible for the guitar ness of the soundboard are still well fabrication in the company. A weakness, detached preserved original parts from the adhesives, or a fracture 17th century Antwerp workshop. would be immediately disThis structural authenticity is one cernible. : S. Vaidelich© Cité of the reasons why the instrument is Photo de la Musique
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Cultural heritage Technologies still played and recorded today. However, it is also at the origin of the instrument’s fragility, and structural reinforcements had to be installed within the harpsichord to enable it to withstand 750 kilograms of pressure applied by the strings. By combining mechanical calculations with the measurements of the vibratory properties through the use of acoustic holographic techniques, it was possible to optimise the number and position of these reinforcements. Thus, the restoration process in respect of deontology is fully reversible. The reinforcements installed in the structure are not glued together and they maintain the same position simply because of the tension applied by the strings. Stabilising the instrument,
43 the calculation has made it possible to only place three reinforcements in the locations providing the essential mechanical efficiency needed to minimize changes to the vibratory behaviour of the soundboard. Today, it is thus possible to say that the sound produced by the harpsichord is only slightly modified by our intervention. CONCLUSION The scientific team of the Musée de la Musique conducts applied research projects that are directly relevant to the field of conservation, knowledge and restoration of musical instruments. The implemented multi-disciplinary perspective applied to musical instruments makes them a unique research focus. Directly applied to the collection of which the museum is responsible, the results and publications of this research are all available online, on the Cité de la Musique’s website. Bearing broader issues, this research is often conducted in partnership with other institutions interested in research in the cultural heritage. Abstract
Fig. 6 - Acoustic holograph of the J. Couchet harpsichord The microphone grid is placed over the instrument at a precisely known distance. The experimental setup avoids any contact with the instrument and the experimental conditions are easily reproducible. Measures are performed yearly. A difference in the measurements would indicate an evolution of the vibrating structure and would result in a reassessment of the conservation conditions. Photo: S. Leconte © Cité de la Musique
Notes
1 A list of publication related to this topic can be found at www.cite-musique.fr. 2 Under the scientific supervision of Jean-Philippe Echard, Research Engineer at the Musée de la Musique.
Experience The Musée de la Musique has a research and restoration laboratory that combines applied research dedicated to the study and conservation of musical instruments while also providing services linked to the collection. The activity of the laboratory falls within the scope of the study of the material and cultural object represented by the musical instrument and the values its legacy is leaving. The research conducted there has a concrete application in the conception and implementation of the conservation choices regarding the Musée’s collection: pre-emptive or curative conservation, presentation of works of art as part of different exhibitions, and obviously the maintenance of their working order.
Keywords
CULTURAL HERITAGE; RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION; X-RAY FLUORESCENCE; RADIOGRAPHY; THE ATAX SYSTEM.
Authors
Stéphane Vaiedelich Responsable du laboratoire Musée de la musique 221 avenue Jean –Jaurès 75019 Paris tel 01 44 84 46 70 svaiedelich@cite-musique.fr
This paper has been published in Archeomatica Issue Volume III Issue IV. In The Cité de la Musique in Paris became Philarmonie.
LABORATORIES
Teleimmersive Archaeology by Maurizio Forte and Gregorij Kurillo
Teleimmersive archaeology is still in embryonic stage of development but this system is the first one of this kind created worldwide and opens very challenging perspectives in archaeology. The project was supported by the University of California, Merced (School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts), and the University of California, Berkeley, CITRIS (Center for Information Technology and Society), where we have started the development of a collaborative system for archaeology, based on Teleimmersive Technology.
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yberarchaeology represents a new branch of research aimed at the digital simulation and investigation of the past interpreted as “potential past”, whereas the ecological-cybernetic relations organism-environment and their informative-communicative feedback constitute the core (Forte, 2010). Therefore cyber-archaeology studies the digital codes produced by the simulation processes in virtual environments. Because it depends on interrelationships, by its very nature information cannot be neutral with respect to how it is processed and perceived. It follows that the process of knowledge and communication has to be unified and represented by a consistent digital workflow. 3D information is regarded as the core of the knowledge process, because it creates feedback, then cybernetic difference, among the scientist and the ecosystem. It is argued that Virtual Reality (both offline and online) represents a possible ecosystem, which is able to host top-down and bottom-up processes of knowledge and communication. In these terms, the past is generated and coded by “a simulation process”. The University of California, Merced (School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts), and the University of California, Berkeley, thanks to a grant from CITRIS (Center for Information Technology and Society), have started the development of a collaborative system for archaeology, based on Teleimmersive Technology. The collaborative framework is built upon Vrui VR Toolkit, developed by Kreylos (Kreylos, 2008) at University of California, Davis, implemented and further developed by our project. The Vrui VR Tookit aims to support fully scalable and portable applications that run on a wide range of virtual reality systems using different display technologies and various input devices for interaction. The applications built with Vrui can thus run on various clients, from laptops to desktop servers, and support different display technologies, such as 2D displays, stereo displays or fully immersive 3D displays (e.g. CAVE). The framework supports several input devices and trackers with the potential to add custom devices without modifying the developed application. The input device abstraction allows users to attach a virtual tool to each device and assign it with different functionality inside the application.
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This prototype collaborative application for cyberarcheology, built upon an open source virtual reality framework, is aimed at demonstrating real time collaborative interaction with 3D archeological models in connection with video streaming technologies (including light-weight 3D teleimmersion using stereo cameras). The study and analysis of the interpretation process in archaeology will help the virtual community to re-contextualize and reassemble spatial archaeological data sets, from the first draft version (data not yet interpreted) to the final communicative level. The activity of learning will involve a bottom-up approach - the analyses of the archaeological remains and finds - and a top-down approach - the reconstruction of for example architectural features, artefacts, frescos, styles, materials, shapes, and so on. As all the aspects of this project will pertain to 3D, users will be able to take advantage of the emerging 3D display technologies (e.g. 3D TV) to provide them with a fully immersive experience. At the same time users will be able to continue using more established technologies (e.g. laptops and webcams) to achieve the same level of participation in this environment.
Fig. 1 - Teleimmersive System at Berkeley, Hearst Mining Memorial Building.
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Fig. 2 - Scheme of the Teleimmersive System.
TELEIMMERSIVE AND COLLABORATIVE SYSTEM The primary goal of our collaborative framework is to facilitate immersive real-time interaction among distributed users. Collaborative application must provide a communication channel to allow users to verbally communicate and interact with the data (figs 1-2). In case of video conferencing systems, the visual communication is established; however majority of the systems cannot adequately capture gestures, eye contact and other forms of non-verbal communication, which have been shown to increase trust, collaboration and productivity (Fry, Smith, 1975)(Doherty, 1997). When using traditional video conferencing techniques, users are disconnected from the data as the latter is usually presented in a separate window on the screen, resulting in a very low level of immersion or presence. The immersion in a three-dimensional environment can increase the spatial awareness with respect to the data and provide a context for collaboration. Traditional immersive virtual reality systems often use avatars, to represent the human user inside the computer generated environments. The drawback of avatars is that their control is usually unnatural unless users are willing to wear cumbersome motion capture technology. In our work we move further from the synthetic avatars and apply stereo reconstruction to capture 3D representation of users in real time (Vasudevan et al., 2011) to facilitate visual experience similar to reality (e.g. face-to-face meetings). This real-time 3D avatar faithfully represents user’s appearance, gestures and actions. By sending the data to all the remote locations, a virtual presence of each user is established in the collaborative virtual environment. Through this virtual embodiment, the user can now gesture to other users, point at different features, or otherwise communicate via his/her body language. In connection with a 3D display and input device tracking, users can observe their collaborator’s real-time 3D avatar interact with the environment while being able to explore the data in the first person perspective. REAL-TIME 3D AVATARS To generate 3D avatar of a user in real time, we employ multi-camera image-based stereo reconstruction. The stereo framework is extensively presented in [Vasudevan11]. The general idea of the algorithm is to perform accurate and efficient stereo computation of the scene with the user by employing fast stereo matching through an adaptive meshing scheme. The algorithm eliminates the background of the scene, creating a 3D textured mesh from each stereo camera view. By combining several calibrated stereo
45 cameras, larger area can be covered, providing even a fullbody 360 degree reconstruction of the user in real time. The achievable frame-rate is about 25 FPS on images with the resolution of 320x240 pixels or about 15 FPS with the image resolution of 640x480 pixels. The novel meshing scheme also provides high compression ratio when transmitting 3D data of the user to remote locations. A minimum setup for generating 3D video using this framework requires at least one stereo camera which can be mounted above the display. Depending on the camera properties and positioning, the camera may only reconstruct parts of the user’s body, for example the face and upper extremities, while still providing adequate feedback to enhance the communication channel between remote users. For example, user is able to see what part of the scene the remote collaborator is pointing at with his/her hand. Since the algorithm does not assume a human model, user can bring real objects into the scene to showcase them to other users. COLLABORATIVE FRAMEWORK The proposed collaborative system for teleimmersive archaeology has been developed upon OpenGL-based open source Vrui VR Toolkit, developed by Kreylos (Kreylos, 2008) at University of California, Davis. The Vrui Tookit provides abstraction of input devices and display technologies, allowing developed applications to scale from laptop computers to large scale immersive 3D display systems, such as lifesize display walls and CAVE systems. The framework also supports large number of input devices for interaction with ability to add new devices without having to change the applications developed with Vrui. The input device abstraction allows users to attach a virtual tool to each device and assign it with different functionality inside the application. The collaborative extension of Vrui allows linking two or more spatially distributed virtual environments. The clients in the network are connected via three different data streams. The collaboration data stream transmits location of input devices and virtual cameras to all the other clients. The conversation data stream provides communication via audio, video or 3D video conferencing. Finally, the application data stream can be customized to update application states between remote clients and the server (e.g. transmitting object location). In our framework we implemented a centralized scene graph to distribute and synchronize the type and location of spatial data. The scene graph consists of a collection of hierarchically organized, inter-connected nodes with parameterized spatial representation. Each node has one parent and it can have many or no children. The scene graph is managed off the central server which sends clients scene graph changes, 3D position of all users, and video and audio data for communication. This server-based model allows for synchronized interaction in the virtual environment. Any changes made to the scene graph are transmitted to the server in real time while the server sends update of the changes to the connected clients. The clients then render the updated scene. The centralized server model can resolve simultaneous access to the same object node where otherwise inconsistencies in the scene across remote clients could emerge. The scene graph at this point supports the following lowlevel nodes: (a) general node implementing the relationships within the scene graph (i.e. parent class incorporating node organization), (b) data nodes representing the drawable geometries (e.g. triangle mesh, points, polygons, lines), (c) transformation node defining the geometric relationship between connected nodes (i.e. transformation matrix), (d) grid node used for representation of environmental surfaces
through grids or height maps, and (d) the root node. Data nodes are currently organized into three data types which allow additional functionality through user interfaces and interactive tools: (1) Wavefront 3D object (OBJ), (2) MeshLab layer files (ALN) and (3) shapefiles with database support (SHP & DBF). In the following sections we describe in more details the individual data nodes. 3D OBJECT NODE Current implementation of the framework supports loading of 3D models in OBJ/Wavefront 3D file format with several texture formats; however, it could be extended to other geometry file formats by adding a new file reading functions. The 3D object node is created from a set of vertices defining the triangles (quads and polygons are automatically converted to triangles for efficiency), the vertex normals and optionally the texture coordinates. For each material, the corresponding vertex buffer objects (VBO) is created. VBOs allow vertex array data to be stored in highperformance graphics memory while allowing subsequent modification of the vertices or their properties. Our current implementation allows for rendering of 1 million triangles with the frame rate of 60 FPS (frames per second) on NVidia GeForce GTX 8800. Due to rather large size of 3D models (in the range of 50-100MB), it is more convenient for the models (i.e. geometry files and textures) to be preloaded to each client instead of downloaded from the server on demand. In the future we plan to incorporate links to models with different levels of detail that could be loaded into the environment by streaming the data from the server or a cloud computing center. This would allow for efficient rendering of complex scenes with ability to examine highly detailed models up-close. Our current prototype application allows users to load, delete, scale, and move 3D objects in the virtual space or attaches them to different parent nodes. When objects in the scene are manipulated (e.g. moving an object, changing scale), a request message linked to the action on the node is sent from the client to the server. If the node is not locked by another client, the parameters of the node get updated and the updates are broadcast from the server to all the clients. 3D LAYER NODE 3D layer nodes are used to combine several 3D objects that share geometrically and contextual properties but are used as a single entity in the environment (e.g. 3D scans of stratigraphic layers of excavation). The framework supports Meshlab (meshlab.sourceforge.net) project format which defines object filenames and their relative geometric relationship. The 3D layer node allows for objects in each layer to be grouped, assigned with different material and color properties, set transparency and visibility levels. Using a slider in the properties dialog, one can easily uncover different stratigraphic layers associated with the corresponding units. GIS DATA NODE The geospatial data is integrated into the framework via shapefiles. The shapefile is a geospatial vector data format for geographic information systems software (e.g. QGIS) with associated attribute database. Our framework currently supports three different vector elements, points, lines and polygons which can be rendered as 2D objects in a geospatial plane or as 3D objects, if depth information is stored in any of the object attributes. In the case of the points, the 3D mode will renderer spheres at different depth locations, while for the polygons, the 3D mode will generate polygonal prisms with depth and thickness pa-
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rameters. Each element consists of geospatial coordinates and is associated with several attributes which may include the stratigraphic unit number, size information, location, depth, material etc. GIS data property dialog allows user to organize the GIS elements by different attributes. For example, a user can mark all the findings of animal bones with a single color to identify their spatial relationship with respect to other findings or even other models in the scene. Numerical attributes can be further clustered using k-means algorithm to group elements with similar properties by their values. For example, a user can group findings based on the area of the shape and quickly identify large and small clusters of the artifacts. Each group of objects can be assigned with different color, transparency level and visibility parameters. User can work on the GIS data locally (although the same dataset will be loaded for all clients) and once the layout is defined, it can be stored for later use or shared remotely with other collaborators to discuss the findings. NAVIGATION AND TOOLS The proposed framework features a collaborative virtual environment that allows geographically distributed users to navigate in the environment and interact with objects and other users. To provide immersive experience, each user interacts with the application in the first person perspective while being able to observe location of other users through their virtual participation. If the user has the 3D capturing system available, their real-time 3D avatar will appear at their current virtual location. As the remote user moves through the space, his/her 3D avatar travels accordingly through the 3D scene as a part of the model space. If the user has only a webcam, 2D video will appear at their location as a billboard (flat) object to allow some level of visual interaction with other users. The users who have no video acquisition system can still connect and interact in the shared environment while their virtual location is represented by a generic 3D object/avatar. Users can interact with the data independently, although two users cannot move the same object at the same time to prevent inconsistencies in scene. At any time, individual users can also switch to the other user’s point of view or select face-toface mode for direct conversation. The framework features various tools for navigation and interaction which can be linked to wide range of input devices. Inside the environment, user can dynamically assign the tools to different buttons of the mouse or other input device. The Vrui VR toolkit itself provides several virtual tools for navigation and interaction with menus, dialogs and objects: • navigation tools: for navigation through 3D space • graphic user interface tools: for interaction with menus and other on-screen objects • measurement tools: for acquiring object geometry (e.g. dimensional and angular measurements) • annotation and pointing tools: for marking and communicating important features to other remote users In addition to already available tools in Vrui, several custom tools were developed to provide interaction with the virtual objects and data: • draggers: for picking up, moving and rotating objects • screen locators: for rendering mode manipulation (e.g. mesh, texture, point cloud) • object selectors: for selecting objects to obtain metadata
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Fig. 3 - A Neolithic house of the archaeological site of Catalhuyuk (Turkey) in the Teleimmersive System. All the archaeological layers are linked with the 3D model and visualized in transparency. In this way it is possible to reproduce virtually the entire archaeological excavation.
HARDWARE PLATFORM The proposed framework for the teleimmersive 3D collaborative cyber-archaeology is aimed to be used on various platforms to offer different levels of immersion and interaction. The minimum hardware consist of a laptop with a graphics accelerator, mouse input, microphone and speakers, webcam and wired or wireless connection to establish a 2D video stream from the user into the virtual environment. Such a setup is appropriate also for fieldwork where other technologies are not available. The results presented in this paper were obtained on the teleimmersion platform at University of California, Berkeley (Vasudevan et al., 2011) which consists of several stereo clusters, each connected to a quad core server, to perform 360-degree stereo reconstruction. The system is integrated with a tracking system (TrackIR by NaturalPoint) which tracks position and orientation of a Wii Remote (Nintendo) and active shutter glasses for the 3D TV (Panasonic). The Wii Remote is used for interaction and navigation by tracking its position and orientation. As the user moves his/her head, the rendered image corresponds to the user’s location with respect to the 3D display, providing an immersive experience. The 3D visualization provides more intuitive interaction with various tools (e.g. 3D measurements, positioning of objects) and better recognition of the relative geometric relationship between objects and other data. Furthermore we have connected with a similar system at University of California, Merced, to perform remote experiments between the two sites.
Fig. 4 - 3D Model of a Neolithic house of Catalhuyuk (B77) reconstructed by laser scanner and now accessible in the Teleimmersive collaborative system.
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Fig. 5 - 3D model of multistratified layers and artifacts from an archaeological trench of Catalhuyuk (East Mound). All the data were recorded with optical scanners and they have a micron accuracy. The combination of 3D layers and artifacts is able to suggest new interpretations.
COLLABORATIVE ARCHAEOLOGY The development of the system is still in progress, but nevertheless, we have started different applications according to three very important archaeological case studies: the Neolithic site of Catalhuyuk in Turkey (figs. 3-5), two tombs of the Western Han Dynasty in China with colored wall paintings (Xi’an, figs. 8-9) and the Mayan city of Copan, Honduras (temple 22, fig. 7). The principal scope for any
Fig. 6 - Interactive embodied actions (Wii) in the teleimmersive system: query and visualization of spatial layers and artifacts in a Neolithic house.
Fig. 7 - Collaborative interaction with the Mayan temple of Copan with motion tracking. This digital reconstruction is the result Model made by Raul Maqueda.
project is the collaborative simulation of different actions and hypotheses of 3D models, dbases and libraries in the cyberspace. In Teleimmersive archaeology the interpretation process is the result of embodied participatory activities whereas multiple users/actors construct a new digital hermeneutics of archaeological research from the fieldwork to virtual reality communication. This cyberspace augments the possibilities to interpret, measure, analyze, compare, illuminate, simulate digital models according to different research perspectives while sharing models and data in the same space. In the case of Catalhuyuk, the Teleimmersive system is aimed to recreate virtually all the archaeological process of excavation, layer-by-layer, artifact by artifact (figs. 3-5). All the data are recorded originally by time-of-flight and optical scanners and then spatially linking them with 3D dbases, alphanumeric and GIS data. In short the 3D interaction can query and investigate 3D models and spatial relations that was not possible to analyze before. Therefore the excavation process becomes digitally reversible and in this way we are able to reproduce new different affordances. In particular the system shows in augmented reality 3D connections between stratigraphies and artifacts not visible in situ. In the above mentioned Chinese tombs, both digitally recorded by laser scanners, the teleimmersion is focused on the study and recontextualization of the funeral objects in the ancient spatial architectural space. Here the iconography of frescos can be reinterpreted by collaborative actions and simulations and 3D cybermaps. The cybermap (fig.10) represent the 3D iconic geography of
Fig. 10 - Human avatar inside the virtual tomb M27 of the Western Han Dynasty (Xi’an, China).
the tomb with the relations between the main subjects; for example: social life, symbolic animals, characters, divinities, etc. In the case of the Mayan city of Copan (Maya Arch 3D Project), we are working on the virtual reconstruction of the temple 22 (fig. 7), studying the model at different stages of reconstruction and comparing it with other architectural models and with the existing archaeological remains. These hybrid forms can be seen as a 3D puzzle, a sort of Lego able to generate potential unexplored possibilities of reconstruction. Assembling and disassembling the model is a necessary starting point for interpreting and understanding architectural features, cultural background and 3D spatial connections of all the components of the model. CONCLUSIONS AND PERSPECTIVES Teleimmersive archaeology is still in embryonic stage of development but this system is the first one of this kind created worldwide and opens very challenging perspectives in archaeology. Collaborative minds at work simultaneously in the same immersive cyberspace can generate new interpretations and simulation scenarios never explored before. This process enhances the feedback of the operators which can develop and share data originally segmented in different domains (layers, units, areas, museums, labs, buildings, databases, archives, repositories, etc.). The collaborative system works as a virtual laboratoy where all the activities are performed in real time and involve teams from different geographical locations.
Fig. 8 - Human avatar inside the virtual tomb M27 of the Western Han Dynasty (Xi’an, China).
Acknowledgements
Fig. 9 - Collaborative work of human avatars inside the virtual tomb M27.
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Teleimmersive archeology project was supported by Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS) at University of California, Berkeley. We also acknowledge financial support from NSF grants 0703787 and 0724681, HP Labs, The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) for the implementation of the teleimmersion software. We thank Ram Vasudevan and Edgar Lobaton for the stereo reconstruction work at University of California, Berkeley. We also thank Tony Bernardin and Oliver Kreylos from University of California, Davis for the implementation of the 3D video rendering. For the implementation of the archaeological case studies: Maya Arch 3D Project, Digital Technologies for Research in Maya Archaeology (supported by NEH), Catalhuyuk Project, Stanford University, University of New Mexico, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Institute of Archaeology of Xi’an. Special thanks are due to: Ian Hodder, Stanford University, Jennifer Von Schwerin, UNM, Heather Richard, UNM, Fabio Remondino, FBK, Raul Maqueda, Madrid.
ArcheomaticA International Special Issue
Cultural heritage Technologies The system is scalable and low cost. Right now we have two campuses already equipped with Teleimmersive technologies, UC Merced and Berkeley. Other institutions can connect by Web interfaces, simply using standard web cams. As future work we are thinking to extend the system also to outdoors contexts, for example in an archaeological excavation. This would combine and integrate labs and operators (for example scholars and students) with the archaeologists on site. In conclusion, it will be possible in the future to analyze the degree at which immersive collaborative work generates more advanced forms of learning and human interactions.
References
Forte M. (ed.) (2010), Cyberarchaeology, BAR International Series 2177, Oxford. Vasudevan R., Kurillo G., Lobaton E., Bernardin T., Kreylos O., Bajcsy R., Nahrstedt K. (2011), High Quality Visualization for Geographically Distributed 3D Teleimmersive Applications, IEEE Transactions on Multimedia, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 573 – 584. O. Kreylos (2008), Environment-independent VR development in G. Bebis, et al. (eds.): Advances in Visual Computing, ISVC 2008, Part I, LNCS 5358, 901–912. Fry R., Smith G.F. (1975), The effects of feedback and eye contact on performance of a digit-coding task. J. Soc. Psychol. 96, pp. 145–146. Doherty-Sneddon G., Anderson A., O'Malley C., Langton S., Garrod S., Bruce V., (1997) Face-to-face and videomediated communication: A comparison of dialogue structure and task performance, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, Vol 3(2), Jun 1997, pp. 105-125.
Abstract
The project of teleimmersive Archaeology is supported by the Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRISI) of the Univeristy of Berkeley. This is the first system created worlwide which opened new prospects of changes in the field of archeology. The Ciberarcheology is a new field of research aimed to simulation and investigation of the past.
Keywords Cybertecnology, Teleimmersive archeology, 3D, Virtual Reality.
Authors Maurizio Forte mforte@ucmerced.edu University of California, Merced Gregorij Kurillo University of California, Berkeley
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EVENTS NOVEMBER 23 – 25 2015 Salzburg Capturing Reality Forum Web: www.capturingrealityforum.com NOVEMBER 26 – 27 2015 Prague DIGI 2015 International Conference – Use of digital technology in heritage preservation Web: www.digi2015.cz DECEMBER 9 -11 2015 Rome I giovani e il restauro Web: www.igiovanieilrestauro.org DECEMBER 10 – 11 2015 Naples Sixth International Conference of Conservation and Valorization of Cultural Heritage Web: www.diagnosisculturalheritage.com DECEMBER 17 – 19 2015 Torino Digital Humanities e beni culturali: quale futuro? Quarto convegno annuale dell’AIUCD Web: http://aiucd2015.unito.it/ JANUARY 11 – 12 2016 Rome Sustainability in Cultural Heritage (SICH) Web: www1.dcci.unipi.it/sichprin/
JANUARY 12 – 14 2016 Paris XX SITEM - Salon International des Musées, des lieux de culture et dw tourism: équipments et valorisation Web: www.museumexperts.com
APRIL 26 - 27 2016 Rome 2nd International Conference on Geographical Information Systems Theory, Applications and Management Web: www.gistam.org
2-4 FEBBRAIO 2014 The Hague (The Netherlands) TUSExpo European trade fair The Unmanned Systems Expo
APRIL 28 2016 Castel Gandolfo (RM) FORUM TECHNOLOGYforALL Field Workshop Web: www.technologyforall.it
FEBRUARY 3 - 5 2016 Rome 2nd International Conference of Aerial Archaeology Web: www.archeologia-aerea.it/eng
MAY 17-18 2016 Rome FORUM TECHNOLOGYforALL Conference Web: www.technologyforall.it
APRIL 6 - 9 2016 Ferrara XXII Salone dell’Arte del Restauro e della Conservazione dei Beni Culturali e Ambientali Web: www.salonedelrestauro.com
JULY 3 – 9 2016 Milan 24th General Conference of the International Council of Museums Web: http://network.icom.museum/icommilan-2016/ JULY 12 - 19 2016 Prague XXIII Congress of International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing ISPRS) Web: www.isprs2016-prague.com
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PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY This is a time of change. We find innovation all around us and our future will depend on how we interconnect with it. History and culture evolve daily, and every day people look for connections and emotions. This is why museums seem to be alive; asking questions and giving answers. GENOA
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