Cultural Heritage Infrastructures in Digital Humanities

Survey of 3D digital heritage repositories and platforms

“…Echoing Lloyd's (2016) study, Statham (2019) suggests that we should present extended information to support 3D visualisation of online heritage assets, and proposes 17 considerations for an 'information package'. There are other preliminary studies, from Guidazzoli et al (2017), Scopigno et al (2017), Koller et al (2009), Champion (2018Champion ( , 2019, Flynn (2019) and Clarke (2015). However, these studies are not comprehensive, they do not provide clear guidelines for the target market: the GLAM sector (plus related communities and hobbyists) to showcase their 3D digital assets.…”

“…Koller et al (2009) identified the absence of a shared, secure and feature-rich file format for 3D models as a major obstacle. Closed or proprietary formats can also cause problems in terms of access, reliability, and longevity, and the resulting models can lack a range of desired or desirable features (Koller et al, 2009 formats, relying on one format is also risky; it may create problems such as synchronising updates, it can also increase time and resources required for administration, maintenance, and storage space (Champion, 2018). We may also need one file format for archiving, and another simpler and smaller format for online browser-based viewing but that may also increase storage and maintenance requirements.…”

“…• For example, the Smithsonian offers 3D displayed models but does not clarify how they were used or explain related cultural protocols; and does not provide full archival records or external resource links (Champion, 2018).…”

“…In an ideal world these new software and hardware opportunities, along with advances in the ease, range and power to digitize, opens up new frontiers for the documentation, representation and dissemination of heritage assets (Sullivan, Nieves, & Snyder, 2017;Tucci, Bonora, Conti, & Fiorini, 2017). But there are persistent and problematic issues: securing reliable and robust 3D data based on shared, standard file formats; comprehensive and consistent metadata (Maiwald, Bruschke, Lehmann, & Niebling, 2019); information regarding the acquisition process, copyright, shareholder rights and authenticity (Muñoz Morcillo, Schaaf, Schneider, & Robertson-von Trotha, 2017) and access: the long term preservation of 3D assets and their use and reuse for scholarly purposes, student learning and wider public dissemination, and so on (Champion, 2018;Koller, Frischer, & Humphreys, 2009;Niven & Richards, 2017;Rabinowitz, Esteva, & Trelogan, 2013).…”

The World Ends Here, the World Begins Here: Bronze Age Megalithic Monuments in Western Scotland

“…GIS, agent-based modelling, and 3D reconstructions should be used as an investigative aid for examining and testing archaeological problems (Hermon 2008) rather than only for 'illustrating knowledge already gained once serious scientific investigations ha(ve) been concluded' (Forte 2008, p. 22). Pedagogical attempts at recreating 3D immersive 'experiences' are likewise moot when not accompanied by analytical efforts (Angeletaki and Carrozzino 2017;Tan et al 2009). Using visual and geospatial tools to investigate archaeological problems 'permits not only reconstruction, but also deconstruction and alternative interpretations' (Hermon 2008, p. 42), and through the use of detailed spatial data 'there is no doubt that a 3D model, be it of a landscape or of a monument, can add information and thus insight to what we already know, at least if the model is correctly built' (Forte 2008, p. 22).…”