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Abstract

This article explains the state of the art in using technology for cultural heritage. Published by Heritage Malta's Tesserae Spring Issue 2019.
Wilbert Tabone
47
Digitised maps of the Ħal Saieni Hypogeum
and St Paul’s Catacombs, courtesy: Steven Psaila
Cultural Heritage (CH) has been dened as an
expression of the ways of living developed
by a community and passed on from
generation to generation, including customs,
practices, places, objects, artistic expressions and
values.1 CH is split into two categories, namely
tangible and intangible CH. e former refers to
the physical artefacts of a society including built
heritage, artistic creations and other physical
products that are imbued with cultural elements
of society. Conversely, intangible CH refers to
non-physical practices, expressions, knowledge,
representations and skills which are recognised as
a vital component of CH2 and that are constantly
being re-evolved by communities.3
As technology advanced in the last decades, it
has seen gradual permeation in the CH domain,
namely in museums and archaeological sites. is
has seen the emergence of the eld of Cultural
Computing (CC) which applies computer
technology and scientic methods to culture,
arts, and the social sciences to represent, enhance,
extend, and transform creative products and
processes.4 is has allowed unprecedented ease
of access to both visitors and researchers to CH
which was previously inaccessible or in danger
of being lost forever. Some of the most popular
domains have been digitisation processes and
the application of their outputs to develop mixed
reality applications, together with the various
projects involving articial intelligence and
video games. is article shall attempt to give a
brief overview of the diverse number of major
technologies enhancing the researchers work
and the user experience of CH sites.
Digitisation
e need for dierent forms of CH digitisation
dates back several decades and has been made
explicit in various EU Commission policies.
ese stress the need for the democratisation of
goods that have value for all humanity, through
digitisation, accessibility and interoperability
in order to enable sharing of information and
responsibilities aimed at conserving cultural
identity.5 is drive has led to projects such as
Europeana, which is a digital cultural heritage
platform for Europe with digitised cultural
material, including a digital library, archive and
museum. Europeana now provides access to
some 30 million cultural objects from more than
2,500 organisations.
Digitisation has also been widely adopted
in archaeology, where discovered artefacts
are digitised for further study or application,
for example to be used in extended reality
applications. Entire sites are also scanned using
photogrammetric techniques to create maps6
Technology for
Cultural Heritage
48
Technology for Cultural Heritage
49
and the generating of GIS data for further study
on the topology of the site.7
e use of extended reality
With the creation of large digitised data sets,
it is no surprise that mixed reality systems have
become increasingly popular in museums and CH
sites. Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality
(VR) and Mixed Reality (MR) technologies enable
a user-centred experience that makes cultural
heritage digitally accessible anywhere, especially
when physical access is constrained. VR enhances
the users’ presence through a computer generated
environment which cannot be interacted with
and oers no opportunity to see the real-world.
On the other hand, AR superimposes virtual
elements on the real world layer whilst MR blends
both real and virtual environments.8 Extended
Reality (XR) refers to all real and virtual combined
environments and human-machine interactions
generated by computer technology and wearables.
Hence, it can be seen as the umbrella term
encompassing all others.
It is generally understood that museum
installations that do not introduce new
technologies are regarded to be less interesting
and thus attract fewer visitors.9 Experiences
relying simply on textual panels and descriptions
may be informative but they are not interactive.10
erefore, the creation of an intelligent
environment responsive to the presence of
visitors which adapts dynamically makes the
visiting experience far more appealing.11
is is further attested by an experiment
conducted in an art museum which involved
three groups, each assigned a dierent guiding
mode (non-guided, audio-guided and AR-
guided). Results indicated that overall the
learning performance of the AR-guided group
was superior to that of the other two groups.
Similarly, the time spent observing a painting
was highest for the AR-guided group followed
by the audio-guided and non-guided group with
text panels only.12 e AR-guided group felt that
the guide device provided a greater motivation
to learn and was more eective in delivering the
message in a “livelier and less-boring” manner,
due to its extra visual commentary. In fact, the
non-guided group expressed their desire to have
a guide or commentary to aid them understand
and appreciate the paintings, as they felt that
attempting to appreciate the artworks on their
own proved to be ineective. is concluded
that the AR-guiding system eliminated certain
limitations of other systems such as interactive
media kiosks or video players which do not oer
instant comparisons with what is being exhibited,
leading to a reduction in the visitors interest and
subsequently the viewing time.
erefore, it is no surprise that mixed reality
has seen a surge in applications for the CH domain.
Where this is concerned, augmented, virtual and
mixed reality technologies have been utilised
in CH for a number of diverse applications,
including education, exhibition enhancement,
reconstruction of lost experiences, virtual
museums and exploration. ese categories may
overlap depending on the application, such as a
virtual museum which may be utilised as part of
an exhibition.
Education is concerned with the
dissemination and diusion of the historical
aspects of both tangible and intangible CH. Such
playful learning improves learning outcomes
since it appeals to students’ curiosity and
willingness to share their experiences through
their eagerness to use new technologies. It also
encourages a deeper immersion and interaction
with the exhibition, achieved through the use of
mixed reality technology.13
e use of mixed reality for exhibition
enhancement is intended to improve the visitor’s
experience at a physical museum or heritage site
both indoors and outdoors. A virtual element
such as guide maps, descriptions or virtual-human
characters are superimposed on the users’ real-
world layer as they explore the exhibition space.14
Exploration supports the users in visualising
and exploring historical as well as current views
of CH sites in order to discover, visualise and
manipulate content leading to new knowledge
creation. In such contexts, the users are usually
experts in their eld and hence, the designers of
the application can assume prior knowledge of
domain-specic visualisation when developing
the system. In the last two decades, archaeology
has beneted greatly with the widespread
availability of digitised 3D content, allowing
developers to represent dicult-to-reach
environments using such exploration systems.15
In the context of Malta, imagine
utilising such systems in order to access the
unreachable parts of St Paul’s Catacombs,
the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum or Għar Dalam,
In 2017 Heritage Malta, with the cooperation
of Louvre Museum-Paris, brought back the
famous dagger of Grand Master Jean de Valette
for a historic visit to be exhibited in Malta, after
Bonaparte had kept the dagger for himself in
1798 – since the accompanying ceremonial
sword was too fragile for travel, it was virtually
displayed next to the dagger, courtesy:
Stefania Zuccarello
Left: A visitor experiencing VR during the launch of Wonders of Malta
by Heritage Malta and Google in 2017, courtesy Steven Psaila;
Above: the Guva or oubliette, a prison originally intended as a water
cistern beneath Fort St Angelo, only accessible through a trapdoor,
can now be experienced through Wonders of Malta with a 360o view
of the grati carved by imprisoned knights – allegedly the most
notable prisoner was Caravaggio
NB: Scan QR code to view grati
50 51
Technology for Cultural Heritage
paving the way for further studies and new
discoveries to be made possible. Similarly,
reconstruction enables users to visualise and
interact with reconstructed historical views of
both tangible and intangible CH that existed
only in the past, or only partially exist today.
However, contrary to exploration, it does not
solely cater for experts, and interacting with
such systems does not necessarily lead to
knowledge creation. AR and MR technologies
can superimpose the reconstructed views over
their historical location, together with an
additional information overlay,16 making them
more suitable for tangible CH and a blend of
both tangible and intangible CH applications.
Virtual museums simulate physical museums
and CH sites with their tangible and intangible
artefacts. Most of the time these artefacts are
too fragile or inaccessible to the public, and
therefore these are realistically simulated with
great detail so that users cannot easily discern
the dierences between the originals and their
digital replicas. Such simulations allow users
to feel as if they are physically present in the
actual museum or CH site. Some simulations
may also go as far as including avatars of other
visitors which mimic their movements and
actions through sensors. is creates a hyper-
realistic real-life scenario for all users who
can also interact via gesture, gaze, speech, and
movement.17
Articial Intelligence
Articial Intelligence (AI) has been applied to
various areas of CH and has addressed topics
such as the linking of museum narratives
with online data sources, or other narratives
and museum artefacts which may aid with
interpretation and storytelling. Semantic digital
archives have also been created in order to
provide user-friendly, eective and ecient
search with retrieval capabilities. ere are also
ventures in creating Natural User Interfaces
(NUI) for CH in a semi-virtual environment
(augmented reality) and autonomous mobile
robots for monitoring archaeological sites
faster, cheaper and safer.18
Another area of AI is computer vision (CV)
which is the study of enabling machines to
interpret and analyse images.19 A particular
application utilising computer vision was
the linking of portraits according to similar
facial characteristics20 of works by Mattia
Preti (1613-1699) and Francesco Zahra (1710-
1773). Hence, portraits housed in different
museums or galleries and created by the same
or different artists, may be linked through a
common model sitting or inspiration.
This gave rise to the idea of visitors taking
selfies upon entering a museum or gallery, and
discovering which portrait resembles their
own face.
In 2013 Heritage Malta launched a 3D
virtual facial reconstruction of an over
5,000-year-old prehistoric skull found
at the Xagħra Stone Circle in Gozo, now
permanently exhibited at the Ġgantija
visitor centre close to the site where it was
excavated
Two artworks depicting the same subject are
correctly linked using a facial recognition
system, source: Tabone et al., 2015
52 53
Technology for Cultural Heritage
Digital Games for Cultural Heritage
In the last decades, video gaming has become a
major component of Western lifestyles. Video
games have provided CH researchers and
archaeologists with a perfect way to present their
research in a media format that incorporates
multiple perspectives and alternative narratives
to audiences which are not normally engaged
with other forms of academic literature or media
regarding CH or archaeology.21
is is no surprise, as unlike traditional
media, video games are capable to deepen
the understanding of cultural heritage in a
very interactive way. A number of existing
commercial entertainment video games can
also be used for non-leisure purposes including
for presenting CH,22 especially the so-called
documentary games which realistically depict
past historical events such as battles and wars.23
Examples include Total War: ree Kingdoms
(Creative Assembly, 2019) and Assassins Creed:
Unity (Ubiso Montreal, 2014) which can be
used for educational purposes through their
historical accuracy and realism. For example,
the latter is a 3D action adventure game set in
Paris during the French Revolution (late 1700s)
which has great visual and behavioural accuracy.
Famous historical characters such as Napoleon
Bonaparte, Louis XVI of France and the Marquis
de Sade are recreated and mixed with ctitious
characters. e essence and historical events
of the epoch are transmitted very realistically
together with recreations of locations and
buildings of the real world. It also oers a great
insight into the behaviours, customs and general
ambiance of the era for the player.
Moreover, there are a number of serious
games (SGs) also known as applied games or
games with a purpose’ which are designed with a
special intent separate from pure entertainment24.
Examples of their use in CH includes interactive
virtual museums, where gaming technology
is utilised for the purpose of entertaining and
educating visitors25 and usually incorporates
exploration and quizzes about various elements.
Examples include Virtual Egyptian Temple and
Walk through Ancient Olympia. ere are also
prototypes and demonstrators which are games
based on precise 3D virtual reconstructions
from geographic data of ancient historical sites
that usually provide realistic archaeological
exploration. ese include political, religious
and artistic walk-throughs utilising historically
accurate procedurally generated non-player
characters (NPCs). Such examples include
Pompei: e Legend of Vesuvius edutainment
game and Roma Nova. An extension of these,
are games specically used for the acquisition
of cultural knowledge and intangible heritage
The historical character of
Napoleon Bonaparte as
depicted in Assassin’s Creed:
Unity, source: Ubisoft Montreal,
2014 Heritage Malta sites available on Google:
Wonders of Malta with street view technology to
navigate various museums and sites almost as if
the viewer is present e.g. clockwise starting from
Top left: Tarxien Temples, Ta’ Kola Windmill-Gozo
and St Paul’s Catacombs-Rabat
which include intercultural skills and language
training through high-delity 3D simulation of
cultural settings. e nal categories are social
tagging and knowledge acquisition games. ese
encourage players to submit accurate information
on CH artefacts with the purpose of knowledge
verication and data mining so as to enhance the
corpus of knowledge relating to various tangible
and intangible CH elements.26
Looking ahead
is article demonstrates that technology has
truly changed and shied the area of CH. In
this day and age, cultural artefacts from across
the world are accessible to researchers and
enthusiasts at the click of a button. Museums can
be accessed virtually through mobile devices and
carried in one’s pocket. Inaccessible CH locations
can now be easily explored through the use of
virtuality. Articial intelligence is paving the
way to an exciting future, where breakthroughs
in CH research would be possible through new
tools and techniques that can handle the massive
data generated. As technological advancement
is fully embraced by CH researchers, a truly
exciting future awaits.
Notes & References
1 ICOMOS 2002.
2 Ahmad, 2006.
3 Lenzerini, 2011.
4 Haydar, et al. 2011; Wang 2009.
5 Bekele, et al. 2018.
6 Georgopoulos, 2017.
7 Costantino and Angelini, 2010.
8 Bekele, et al. 2018.
9 Gerval and Le Ru, 2015.
10 Lu, et al. 2014.
11 Manovich, 2006.
12 Chang, et al. 2014.
13 Gargalakos, et al. 2011.
14 Choi, 2014.
15 Comes, et al. 2014; Haydar, et al. 2011.
16 Saggio and Borra, 2011.
17 Bekele, et al. 2018.
18 Bordoni and Mele, 2016.
19 Szeliski, 2010.
20 Tabone and Seychell, 2015.
21 Morgan, 2016.
22 Anderson, et al. 2009.
23 Burton, 2005.
24 Gee, 2003.
54 55
Technology for Cultural Heritage
25 Sylaiou, et al. 2009.
26 Bontchev, 2015.
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As highlighted in the UNESCO 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, the conservation of traditional craftsmanship necessitates providing an accurate documentation, transmission from generation to generation and the continuity of the practices carried out by practitioner craftsmen. The accuracy of documentation can be achieved by understanding craftsmanship holistically, considering both its tangible and intangible aspects . New technologies can play a significant role in the identification, documentation, preservation, promotion, and education of traditional craftsmanship with its different aspects holistically. The recent developments in documentation technology, especially digital technology, facilitate the accuracy of documentation and contribute to the achievement of holistic conservation. Furthermore, digital technology also facilitates understanding and training process of traditional craftsmanship both for the general public and apprentices of traditional craftsmanship. This study discusses the significance of the use of new technologies in the holistic documentation and conservation of traditional craftsmanship accepted as a domain of intangible cultural heritage, focusing particularly on building crafts.
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Contemporary methods of preserving cultural heritage rely highly on digitization and archiving as foundations for developing various virtual heritage applications. During last two decades, video games proved to be an interactive visual media able to incorporate virtual heritage in amazing and highly appealing way. At the same time, each video game represents a valuable artifact reflecting technological, socioeconomic and historical issues of its creation. Therefore, video games are an essential and integrated part of modern cultural heritage and themselves need preservation efforts. The present paper discusses video games as a modern tool for presenting cultural heritage by integrating art, storytelling and digital technology. It focuses on both entertainment games and serious games for cultural heritage and provides some illustrative examples of such games with discussing their approach and novelty. On the other hand, video games are viewed as interactive artifacts been a valuable part of modern cultural heritage, which requires specific efforts for their preservation together with technological platforms and gaming environment.
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In this paper, we describe an experiment to study the effect of mobile Augmented Reality (AR) on learning in art museum contexts. We created six original paintings and placed them in a mini art museum. We then created an AR application on the iPad to enable the artist to visually augment each painting by introducing animation. We then measured the ability of the visitors to remember the appearance of the paintings after 24 hours, as well as their ability to objectify the paintings. Experiment results show that while AR does improve retention and transfer of such art information, the benefits of AR are mediated by other factors such as interference from other elements of the exhibition, as well as subjects' own prior art experience and training. The use of AR may also produce unexpected benefits, such as providing users with a new perspective of the artwork, as well as increasing their curiosity and encouraging them to experiment with the technology. Such benefits may potentially improve the chances for learning and analytical activities to take place.
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Since the adoption of the Venice Charter in 1964, there have been many conservation guidelines in the form of charters, recommendations and resolutions that have been introduced and adopted by international organisations such as UNESCO and ICOMOS. This article focuses on the scope and definition of heritage as promulgated by the various charters across the globe. The term ‘historic monument' used in the Venice Charter 1964 was reinterpreted by ICOMOS in 1965 as ‘monument' and ‘site'; and by UNESCO in 1968 as ‘cultural property' to include both movable and immovable. The different terminology between the UNESCO and ICOMOS was reconciled at the World Heritage Convention 1972. At national and regional levels the scope of heritage was broadened to include gardens, landscape and environment, and later reinterpreted and defined quite differently in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and China. Although the scope of heritage, in general, is now agreed internationally to include ‘tangible' and ‘intangible' as well as ‘environments', the finer terminology of ‘heritage' has not been streamlined or standardised, and thus no uniformity exists between countries.