Optimising additive manufacturing for fine art sculpture and digital restoration of archaeological artefacts

Additive manufacturing (AM) has shown itself to be beneficial in many application areas, including product design and manufacture, medical models and prosthetics, architectural modelling and artistic endeavours. For some of these applications, coupling AM with reverse engineering (RE) enables the utilisation of data from existing 3D shapes. This thesis describes the application of AM and RE within sculpture manufacture, in order to optimise the process chains for sculpture reproduction and relic conservation and restoration. This area poses particular problems since the original artefacts can often be fragile and inaccessible, and the finishing required on the AM replicas is both complex and varied. Several case studies within both literature and practical projects are presented, which cover essential knowledge of producing large scale sculptures from an original models as well as a wide range of artefact shapes and downstream finishing techniques. The combination of digital technologies and traditional art requires interdisciplinary knowledge across engineering and fine art. Also, definitions and requirements (e.g. ‘accuracy’), can be applied as both engineering and artistic terms when specifications and trade-offs are being considered. The thesis discusses the feasibility for using these technologies across domains, and explores the potential for developing new market opportunities for AM. It presents and analyses a number of case study projects undertaken by the author with a view to developing cost and time models for various processes used. These models have then been used to develop a series of "process maps", which enable users of AM in this area to decide upon the optimum process route to follow, under various circumstances. The maps were validated and user feedback obtained through the execution of two further sculpture manufacturing projects. The thesis finishes with conclusions about the feasibility of the approach, its constraints, the pros and cons of adopting AM in this area and recommendations for future research

D6.6: 7 conference papers

The Deliverable 6.6 with the title “7 conference papers”, is part of WP6 “Dissemination and Exploitation” of Athena project with a basic aim to knowledge sharing, network development and exposure to an international environment. Three conference attendances were foreseen (e.g. CAA; SPIE; EARSeL) within the project duration whereas more than 30 posters and oral presentations were presented during the project in the conferences such as: SPIE 2016, SPIE 2018, EUROMED 2016, EUROMED 2018, EGU 2016, EGU 2017, EGU 2018, RSCy2016, RSCy 2017, RSCy 2018, etc

Remote Sensing and Geosciences for Archaeology

This book collects more than 20 papers, written by renowned experts and scientists from across the globe, that showcase the state-of-the-art and forefront research in archaeological remote sensing and the use of geoscientific techniques to investigate archaeological records and cultural heritage. Very high resolution satellite images from optical and radar space-borne sensors, airborne multi-spectral images, ground penetrating radar, terrestrial laser scanning, 3D modelling, Geographyc Information Systems (GIS) are among the techniques used in the archaeological studies published in this book. The reader can learn how to use these instruments and sensors, also in combination, to investigate cultural landscapes, discover new sites, reconstruct paleo-landscapes, augment the knowledge of monuments, and assess the condition of heritage at risk. Case studies scattered across Europe, Asia and America are presented: from the World UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa to heritage under threat in the Middle East and North Africa, from coastal heritage in the intertidal flats of the German North Sea to Early and Neolithic settlements in Thessaly. Beginners will learn robust research methodologies and take inspiration; mature scholars will for sure derive inputs for new research and applications

Guidelines for the Management of Cultural Heritage Using 3D Models for the Insertion of Heterogeneous Data

[ES] La Gestión del Patrimonio Cultural (GPC) es una operación muy compleja cuyo objetivo es preservar la integridad física de los Bienes Culturales y, al mismo tiempo, difundir los valores históricos y permitir el disfrute del Patrimonio. Debido a las múltiples fases que componen la GPC (documentación, intervención, conservación preventiva, uso), el gestor se ve sometido a un gran esfuerzo de coordinación de las interacciones creadas por figuras profesionales muy diferentes, tanto por formación como por necesidades específicas en el ámbito de la gestión. En los últimos años, la aplicación de las tecnologías digitales al Patrimonio Cultural se ha convertido en una parte indispensable de la GPC. Las metodologías más utilizadas para la adquisición de datos, como el escaneo láser terrestre y la fotogrametría digital, también se han convertido en una práctica habitual en las actividades profesionales. Sin embargo, el uso de modelos 3D para la gestión se limita hasta ahora a algunas investigaciones académicas, que a menudo no tienen continuidad tras la finalización del proyecto. Además, hasta la fecha existen pocas normas supranacionales que guíen a las instituciones en el proceso de creación y uso de modelos 3D para la GPC. Por tanto, la falta de herramientas para controlar la calidad de los datos y productos digitales adquiridos afecta negativamente a la interacción entre el sector de la investigación académica, el sector de la gestión y el mundo profesional. La investigación propone el uso de los modelos 3D como una herramienta válida de apoyo en todas las fases de la gestión, ya sea utilizando los datos tridimensionales como base del archivo digital, o explotando todos los productos obtenidos a partir de los datos básicos para las múltiples acciones de cada fase. Por lo tanto, el objetivo de la tesis doctoral es desarrollar directrices para la producción de modelos 3D con el fin de gestionar, introducir y preservar eficazmente los datos. Estas directrices investigan todos los aspectos del proceso que va desde la adquisición de datos, pasando por su catalogación y archivo, hasta su tratamiento y la creación de un sistema de información simplificado para su gestión. Cada directriz guía al usuario a través de una fase específica del tratamiento y el uso de los datos digitales, y proporciona indicaciones adaptadas al nivel de conocimientos respecto a las tecnologías y metodologías digitales. De este modo, el gestor puede utilizar los modelos 3D para su gestión y controlar su calidad y sus estándares mínimos. Se ha optado por un enfoque interdisciplinar e internacional con el fin de elaborar directrices que se adapten al mayor número posible de Bienes Culturales, desarrollando la tesis en el marco de un acuerdo de cotutela entre la Universidad de Bolonia y la Universitat Politècnica de València. Con el fin de obtener unas pautas universales, las metodologías analizadas en el estudio del estado del arte se aplicaron a una serie de casos de estudio. Los principales son los monumentos paleocristianos de Rávena (Italia), pertenecientes a la Lista del Patrimonio Mundial de la UNESCO, y un panteón neogótico situado en Castellón de la Plana (España). Las experiencias realizadas sobre la GPC en los dos países han contribuido a la elaboración de directrices y normas universales que mejoren las interacciones entre el mundo académico, los gestores y el sector profesional. La investigación, al poner de manifiesto los problemas inherentes a la GPC, ha permitido identificar las principales cuestiones abiertas que se deben explorar en futuras líneas de investigación, como la aplicación de estándares a un gran número de Bienes Culturales para conducir a la puesta a punto de los mismos estándares; la búsqueda de sistemas para la clasificación automática de los datos brutos; el tratamiento de los datos recogidos para la creación de relaciones, estrategias y métodos de clasificación, integración y optimización de datos heterogéneos.[CA] La Gestió del Patrimoni Cultural (GPC) és una operació molt complexa l'objectiu de la qual és preservar la integritat física del els Béns Culturals i, al mateix temps, difondre els valors històrics i permetre el gaudi del Patrimoni. A causa de les múltiples fases que componen la GPC (documentació, intervenció, conservació preventiva, ús) , el gestor es veu sotmés a un gran esforç de coordinació de les interaccions creades per figures professionals molt diferents, tant per formació com per necessitats específiques en l'àmbit de la gestió. En els últims anys, l'aplicació de les tecnologies digitals al Patrimoni Cultural s'ha convertit en una part indispensable de la GPC, des de les fases de documentació fins a les d'intervenció. Les metodologies més utilitzades per a l'adquisició de dades, com l'escaneig làser terrestre i la fotogrametria digital, també s'han convertit en una pràctica habitual en les activitats professionals. No obstant això, l'ús de models 3D per a la gestió es limita fins ara a algunes investigacions i aplicacions acadèmiques, que sovint no tenen continuïtat després de la finalització del projecte. A més, fins a la data hi ha poques normes supranacionals que guien a les institucions en el procés de creació i ús de models 3D. Per tant, la falta de ferramentes per a controlar la qualitat de les dades i productes digitals adquirits afecta negativament la interacció entre el sector de la investigació acadèmica, el sector de la gestió i el món professional. La investigació proposa l'ús dels models 3D com una ferramenta vàlida de suport en totes les fases de la gestió, ja siga utilitzant les dades tridimensionals com a base de l'arxiu digital, o explotant tots els productes obtinguts a partir de les dades bàsiques per a les múltiples accions de cada fase. Per tant, l'objectiu de la tesi doctoral és desenrotllar directrius per a la producció de models 3D a fi de gestionar, introduir i preservar eficaçment les dades. Estes directrius investiguen tots els aspectes del procés que va des de l'adquisició de dades, passant per la seua catalogació i arxiu, fins al seu tractament i la creació d'un sistema d'informació simplificat per a la seua gestió. Cada directriu particular guia l'usuari a través d'una fase específica del tractament i l'ús de les dades digitals, i proporciona indicacions adaptades al nivell de coneixements respecte a les tecnologies i metodologies digitals. D'esta manera, el gestor pot utilitzar els models 3D per a la seua gestió i controlar la seua qualitat i els seus estàndards mínims. S'ha optat per un enfocament interdisciplinari i internacional a fi d'elaborar directrius que s'adapten al nombre més gran possible de tipus de Béns Culturals Cultural, desenrotllat la tesi en el marc d'un acord de cotutela entre la Universitat de Bolonya i la Universitat Politècnica de València. A fi d'obtindre unes pautes universals, les metodologies analitzades en l'estudi de l'estat de l'art es van aplicar a una sèrie de casos d'estudi. Els principals són els monuments paleocristians de Ravenna (Itàlia), pertanyents a la Llista del Patrimoni Mundial de la UNESCO, i una capella neogòtica situada a Castelló de la Plana (Espanya). Les experiències realitzades sobre la GPC en els dos països han contribuït a l'elaboració de directrius i normes universals que milloren les interaccions entre el món acadèmic, els gestors i el sector professional. La investigació, al posar de manifest els problemes inherents a la GPC, permet identificar les principals qüestions obertes que s'han d'explorar en futures línies d'investigació, com l'aplicació d'estàndards a un gran nombre de Béns Culturals per a conduir a la posada al punt dels mateixos estàndards; la busca de sistemes per a la classificació automàtica de les dades brutes; el tractament de les dades arreplegats per a la creació de relacions, estratègies i mètodes de classificació, integració i optimització de dades heterogènies.[EN] The Management of Cultural Heritage (MCH) is a very complex operation aimed at protecting the physical integrity of Cultural Heritage assets, while promoting their historical value and development of tourism industry. Composed by distinct phases (documentation, intervention, monitoring and use), MCH implies a great effort for the project manager to coordinate the interactions among very different professional figures. In recent years, the use of digital technologies has become an essential part of the MCH delicate process, from early documentation to late intervention phases. The most commonly used methodologies for digital data acquisition, such as terrestrial laser scanning and digital photogrammetry, have become common practice in a broad range of professional activities. On the contrary, the use of 3D models for MCH is still limited to few academic research to date, often lacking continuity and wide application after the end of specific projects. Furthermore, very few supra-national standard guidelines regulating their use are available to date. As a consequence, the operator who decides to use a 3D model as a basis for management is faced with the scarcity and fragmentation of standards and guidelines. Moreover, the lack of standard on quality of acquired data and digital products negatively influences the interaction between the academic research sector, the managers and the professional world. The focus is on the use of 3D models as a valid support tool in the MCH process, highlighting their advantages in all the distinct phases of the management. As an example, 3D data can constitute themselves the basis for the digital database, gathering all available information concerning a Cultural Heritage site, exploitable for restoration works or for scientific dissemination. In particular, the aim of this PhD research is to develop guidelines to produce 3D models for MCH, with the purpose to efficiently entry, store and manage digital data. The here provided guidelines investigate every aspect of the process leading from data acquisition to cataloguing and archiving, processing and creation of a simplified information system. Each recommendation guides the user through the management of digital data, by adapting to his/her level of knowledge with respect to digital technologies and methodologies. In this way, the manager can efficiently use 3D models in MCH projects. In order to elaborate guidelines that could be suitable for as many typologies of Cultural Heritage as possible an international approach was chosen, developing the thesis in joint supervision under the University of Bologna and the Universitat Politècnica de València. We decided to apply state-of-the-art technologies and methodologies to a variety of case studies. The main ones are the early Christian monuments of Ravenna (Italy) belonging to the UNESCO World Heritage List, and a small neogothic chapel located in Castellón de la Plana (Spain). The fruitful collaboration between two different countries allowed an invaluable exchange of MCH expertise and, more broadly, contributed to the elaboration of standardized and universally applicable MCH guidelines that will allow a better interaction between managers, the academic research world and the professional one. The investigation, by highlighting the problems inherent to the MCH, made it possible to identify the main open issues that need to be explored in future lines of research, such as the application of standards to a large number of cultural assets in an iterative, continuous and automatic way, in order to perfecting the standards; the search for automatic classification of raw data; the processing of collected data for the creation of relations, strategies and methods for the classification, integration and optimisation of heterogeneous data.Bertacchi, G. (2022). Guidelines for the Management of Cultural Heritage Using 3D Models for the Insertion of Heterogeneous Data [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/182419TESI

Radio Continuum Surveys with Square Kilometre Array Pathfinders

In the lead-up to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project, several next-generation radio telescopes and upgrades are already being built around the world. These include APERTIF (The Netherlands), ASKAP (Australia), e-MERLIN (UK), VLA (USA), e-EVN (based in Europe), LOFAR (The Netherlands), MeerKAT (South Africa), and the Murchison Widefield Array. Each of these new instruments has different strengths, and coordination of surveys between them can help maximise the science from each of them. A radio continuum survey is being planned on each of them with the primary science objective of understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies over cosmic time, and the cosmological parameters and large-scale structures which drive it. In pursuit of this objective, the different teams are developing a variety of new techniques, and refining existing ones. To achieve these exciting scientific goals, many technical challenges must be addressed by the survey instruments. Given the limited resources of the global radio-astronomical community, it is essential that we pool our skills and knowledge. We do not have sufficient resources to enjoy the luxury of re-inventing wheels. We face significant challenges in calibration, imaging, source extraction and measurement, classification and cross-identification, redshift determination, stacking, and data-intensive research. As these instruments extend the observational parameters, we will face further unexpected challenges in calibration, imaging, and interpretation. If we are to realise the full scientific potential of these expensive instruments, it is essential that we devote enough resources and careful study to understanding the instrumental effects and how they will affect the data. We have established an SKA Radio Continuum Survey working group, whose prime role is to maximise science from these instruments by ensuring we share resources and expertise across the projects. Here we describe these projects, their science goals, and the technical challenges which are being addressed to maximise the science return

New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection

This volume is a product of the 13th International Conference on Archaeological Prospection 2019, which was hosted by the Department of Environmental Science in the Faculty of Science at the Institute of Technology Sligo. The conference is held every two years under the banner of the International Society for Archaeological Prospection and this was the first time that the conference was held in Ireland. New Global Perspectives on Archaeological Prospection draws together over 90 papers addressing archaeological prospection techniques, methodologies and case studies from 33 countries across Africa, Asia, Australasia, Europe and North America, reflecting current and global trends in archaeological prospection. At this particular ICAP meeting, specific consideration was given to the development and use of archaeological prospection in Ireland, archaeological feedback for the prospector, applications of prospection technology in the urban environment and the use of legacy data. Papers include novel research areas such as magnetometry near the equator, drone-mounted radar, microgravity assessment of tombs, marine electrical resistivity tomography, convolutional neural networks, data processing, automated interpretive workflows and modelling as well as recent improvements in remote sensing, multispectral imaging and visualisation

Guidelines for the Management of Cultural Heritage using 3D models for the insertion of heterogeneous data

The Management of Cultural Heritage (MCH) is a very complex operation aimed at protecting the physical integrity of CH assets, while promoting their historical value and development of tourism industry. In recent years, the use of digital technologies has become an essential part of the MCH delicate process, but the use of 3D models is still limited to few academic research to date. Furthermore, very few supra-national standard guidelines regulating their use are available to date and the operator who decides to use a 3D model as a basis for management is faced with the scarcity and fragmentation of standards and guidelines. The aim of the PhD research is to develop guidelines to produce 3D models for MCH, with the purpose to efficiently entry, store and manage digital data. The here provided guidelines investigate every aspect of the process leading from data acquisition to cataloguing and archiving, processing and creation of a simplified information system for the management. In order to elaborate guidelines that could be suitable for as many typologies of CH as possible an international approach was chosen, developing the thesis in joint supervision under the University of Bologna and the Universitat Politècnica de València, and by applying the state-of-the-art technologies of acquisition, processing and use of 3D models to a variety of case studies. The investigation, by highlighting the problems inherent to the MCH, made it possible to identify the main open issues that need to be explored in future lines of research, such as the application of standards to a large number of cultural assets; the automatic classification of raw data; the processing of collected data for the creation of relations, strategies and methods for the classification, integration and optimisation of heterogeneous data.La Gestione del Patrimonio Culturale (GPC) è un’operazione molto complessa mirata alla conservazione dell’integrità fisica dei Beni Culturali e alla contemporanea divulgazione dei valori storici e fruizione del Patrimonio. Nel corso degli ultimi anni l’applicazione delle tecnologie digitali ai Beni Culturali è diventata una parte imprescindibile nella GPC, ma l’uso dei modelli 3D per la gestione è finora limitato ad alcune ricerche e applicazioni accademiche. Inoltre, ad oggi sono pochi gli standard con carattere sovranazionale che guidano gli Enti nel procedimento di creazione e uso dei modelli tridimensionali per la GPC. Il gestore che decide di utilizzare un modello 3D come base per la gestione si scontra con la scarsezza e la frammentarietà di standard e indicazioni in tale ambito. L’obiettivo della tesi è quello di elaborare linee guida per la produzione di modelli 3D per un’efficace gestione, inserimento e conservazione dei dati. Tali linee guida indagano ogni aspetto del processo che porta dall’acquisizione del dato, alla sua catalogazione e archiviazione, al suo processamento e alla creazione di un sistema informativo semplificato per la gestione. Per arrivare all’elaborazione di linee guida che si adattino a più tipologie possibili di Beni Culturali è stato scelto un approccio interdisciplinare e internazionale, sviluppando la tesi in regime di cotutela tra l’Università di Bologna e l’Universitat Politècnica de València, e applicando lo stato dell'arte delle tecnologie di acquisizione, elaborazione e utilizzo dei modelli 3D ad una varietà di casi studio. Il percorso di ricerca ha permesso di individuare le principali questioni aperte che devono essere approfondite in futuro, come l’applicazione di standard a un alto numero di Beni Culturali; la ricerca di sistemi per la classificazione automatica dei dati grezzi; l’elaborazione dei dati raccolti per la creazione di relazioni, strategie e metodi per la classificazione, l’integrazione e l’ottimizzazione di dati eterogenei.La Gestión del Patrimonio Cultural (GPC) es una operación muy compleja cuyo objetivo es la conservación de la integridad física del Patrimonio y la difusión de los valores históricos. En los últimos años, la aplicación de las tecnologías digitales se ha convertido en una parte indispensable de la GPC, pero el uso de modelos 3D para la gestión se limita a algunas investigaciones y aplicaciones académicas. Además, hasta la fecha existen pocas normas y directrices de carácter supranacional que guíen a las instituciones en el proceso de creación y uso de modelos 3D para la GPC. El objetivo de la tesis es desarrollar directrices para la producción de modelos 3D del Patrimonio Cultural con el fin de gestionar, introducir y preservar eficazmente los datos. Estas directrices investigan todos los aspectos del proceso que va desde la adquisición de datos, pasando por su catalogación y archivo, hasta su tratamiento y la creación de un sistema de información simplificado para su gestión. Se ha optado por un enfoque interdisciplinar e internacional con el fin de elaborar directrices que se adapten al mayor número posible de tipos de Bienes Culturales, desarrollando la tesis en el marco de un acuerdo de cotutela entre la Universidad de Bolonia y la Universitat Politècnica de València, y aplicando las tecnologías más avanzadas para la adquisición, procesamiento y uso de modelos 3D a una variedad de casos de estudio. La investigación ha permitido identificar las principales cuestiones abiertas que se deben explorar en futuras líneas de investigación, como la aplicación de estándares a un gran número de Bienes Culturales; la búsqueda de sistemas para la clasificación automática de los datos brutos; el tratamiento de los datos recogidos para la creación de relaciones, estrategias y métodos de clasificación, integración y optimización de datos heterogéneos

Virtual Heritage: new technologies for edutainment

Cultural heritage represents an enormous amount of information and knowledge. Accessing this treasure chest allows not only to discover the legacy of physical and intangible attributes of the past but also to provide a better understanding of the present. Museums and cultural institutions have to face the problem of providing access to and communicating these cultural contents to a wide and assorted audience, meeting the expectations and interests of the reference end-users and relying on the most appropriate tools available. Given the large amount of existing tangible and intangible heritage, artistic, historical and cultural contents, what can be done to preserve and properly disseminate their heritage significance? How can these items be disseminated in the proper way to the public, taking into account their enormous heterogeneity? Answering this question requires to deal as well with another aspect of the problem: the evolution of culture, literacy and society during the last decades of 20th century. To reflect such transformations, this period witnessed a shift in the museum’s focus from the aesthetic value of museum artifacts to the historical and artistic information they encompass, and a change into the museums’ role from a mere "container" of cultural objects to a "narrative space" able to explain, describe, and revive the historical material in order to attract and entertain visitors. These developments require creating novel exhibits, able to tell stories about the objects and enabling visitors to construct semantic meanings around them. The objective that museums presently pursue is reflected by the concept of Edutainment, Education + Entertainment. Nowadays, visitors are not satisfied with ‘learning something’, but would rather engage in an ‘experience of learning’, or ‘learning for fun’, being active actors and players in their own cultural experience. As a result, institutions are faced with several new problems, like the need to communicate with people from different age groups and different cultural backgrounds, the change in people attitude due to the massive and unexpected diffusion of technology into everyday life, the need to design the visit by a personal point of view, leading to a high level of customization that allows visitors to shape their path according to their characteristics and interests. In order to cope with these issues, I investigated several approaches. In particular, I focused on Virtual Learning Environments (VLE): real-time interactive virtual environments where visitors can experience a journey through time and space, being immersed into the original historical, cultural and artistic context of the work of arts on display. VLE can strongly help archivists and exhibit designers, allowing to create new interesting and captivating ways to present cultural materials. In this dissertation I will tackle many of the different dimensions related to the creation of a cultural virtual experience. During my research project, the entire pipeline involved into the development and deployment of VLE has been investigated. The approach followed was to analyze in details the main sub-problems to face, in order to better focus on specific issues. Therefore, I first analyzed different approaches to an effective recreation of the historical and cultural context of heritage contents, which is ultimately aimed at an effective transfer of knowledge to the end-users. In particular, I identified the enhancement of the users’ sense of presence in VLE as one of the main tools to reach this objective. Presence is generally expressed as the perception of 'being there', i.e. the subjective belief of users that they are in a certain place, even if they know that the experience is mediated by the computer. Presence is related to the number of senses involved by the VLE and to the quality of the sensorial stimuli. But in a cultural scenario, this is not sufficient as the cultural presence plays a relevant role. Cultural presence is not just a feeling of 'being there' but of being - not only physically, but also socially, culturally - 'there and then'. In other words, the VLE must be able to transfer not only the appearance, but also all the significance and characteristics of the context that makes it a place and both the environment and the context become tools capable of transferring the cultural significance of a historic place. The attention that users pay to the mediated environment is another aspect that contributes to presence. Attention is related to users’ focalization and concentration and to their interests. Thus, in order to improve the involvement and capture the attention of users, I investigated in my work the adoption of narratives and storytelling experiences, which can help people making sense of history and culture, and of gamification approaches, which explore the use of game thinking and game mechanics in cultural contexts, thus engaging users while disseminating cultural contents and, why not?, letting them have fun during this process. Another dimension related to the effectiveness of any VLE is also the quality of the user experience (UX). User interaction, with both the virtual environment and its digital contents, is one of the main elements affecting UX. With respect to this I focused on one of the most recent and promising approaches: the natural interaction, which is based on the idea that persons need to interact with technology in the same way they are used to interact with the real world in everyday life. Then, I focused on the problem of presenting, displaying and communicating contents. VLE represent an ideal presentation layer, being multiplatform hypermedia applications where users are free to interact with the virtual reconstructions by choosing their own visiting path. Cultural items, embedded into the environment, can be accessed by users according to their own curiosity and interests, with the support of narrative structures, which can guide them through the exploration of the virtual spaces, and conceptual maps, which help building meaningful connections between cultural items. Thus, VLE environments can even be seen as visual interfaces to DBs of cultural contents. Users can navigate the VE as if they were browsing the DB contents, exploiting both text-based queries and visual-based queries, provided by the re-contextualization of the objects into their original spaces, whose virtual exploration can provide new insights on specific elements and improve the awareness of relationships between objects in the database. Finally, I have explored the mobile dimension, which became absolutely relevant in the last period. Nowadays, off-the-shelf consumer devices as smartphones and tablets guarantees amazing computing capabilities, support for rich multimedia contents, geo-localization and high network bandwidth. Thus, mobile devices can support users in mobility and detect the user context, thus allowing to develop a plethora of location-based services, from way-finding to the contextualized communication of cultural contents, aimed at providing a meaningful exploration of exhibits and cultural or tourist sites according to visitors’ personal interest and curiosity

Advanced analytical diagnostics applied to human osteological remains

Le ossa antiche, recuperate dai contesti archeologici e preservati all’interno dei Musei, rappresentano una preziosa fonte di informazioni sull'alimentazione, lo stato di salute, la mobilità delle popolazioni antiche nonché sulla demografia e condizioni ambientali del passato, utili a ricercatori e accademici. A seguito dello sviluppo di moderne tecnologie delle scienze omiche, i reperti osteologici sono sempre più richiesti e questo ha comportato un aumento dell'analisi del DNA antico (aDNA). I metodi di campionamento per l'estrazione del DNA antico sono prevalentemente distruttivi e spesso possono compromettere i reperti osteologici per ulteriori future analisi o per studi in altri campi di ricerca. Oltre al campionamento invasivo e distruttivo, in condizioni di scarsa conservazione dell’osso archeologico causata da alterazioni tafonomiche e diagenetiche, il sequenziamento del DNA antico può essere un'operazione estremamente costosa. Dati gli elevati costi della procedura di sequenziamento dell'aDNA, in questo lavoro di ricerca è stato condotto uno studio analitico mediante spettroscopia a raggi infrarossi (FTIR) per sviluppare un metodo di pre-screening affidabile, veloce ed economico per determinare la presenza/assenza di molecole genetiche in un campione osseo archeologico. La spettroscopia IR è uno strumento utile in quanto è rapida, minimamente distruttiva, economica e sensibile alle variazioni delle proprietà strutturali delle componenti organiche (collagene) e inorganiche (nano cristalli di bioapatite) che costituiscono l’osso. A livello ultrastrutturale, le componenti organiche e inorganiche possono stabilire forti legami con il DNA , stabilizzandolo e determinando la sua sopravvivenza nel tempo. Da campioni archeologici (di epoche e provenienze diverse) estremamente alterati a moderne ossa fresche, abbiamo valutato la sensibilità e l'efficacia di nuovi parametri IR per caratterizzare la diagenesi subita dalle ossa tenendo in considerazioni i cambiamenti delle condizioni climatico–ambientali e di seppellimento. Il lavoro è stato esteso per esaminare le modificazioni indotte dalla diagenesi sulla struttura secondaria del collagene conservato, valutandone gli effetti sui cristalli di bioapatite. I risultati ottenuti dimostrano che il parametro IR che descrive l’ordine/disordine atomico, utilizzato in questa ricerca, è vantaggioso per il monitoraggio di variazioni minime nella struttura e nelle proprietà chimiche della bioapatite nonché indirettamente nel collagene. Questo metodo potrebbe migliorare il processo di selezione dei campioni ossei nonché la loro idoneità per analisi specifiche, ad es. analisi genetiche, paleoproteomiche e degli isotopi stabili sulla base delle analisi spettrali. Viene qui proposto inoltre un modello predittivo funzionale con i parametri infrarossi utilizzati, al fine di determinare il parametro più predittivo per la prensenza/assenza di DNA, utile per ridurre i costi delle analisi genetiche. Dai dati ottenuti, la qualità/quantità di aDNA risulterebbe non essere determinabile a causa dell'influenza di fattori ambientali locali.Ancient bone tissues, recovered from archaeological contexts and preserved within the Museums, represent a valuable source of information on health, diet, mobility of ancient populations as well as on demographics and environmental conditions of the past, useful for researchers and academics. Following the development of modern technologies of omic sciences, osteological finds are increasingly requested and this has led to an increase in the analysis of ancient DNA (aDNA). Sampling methods for ancient DNA extraction are predominantly destructive and may often compromise osteological findings for further future analysis or for studies in other research fields. In addition to invasive and destructive sampling, in poor conservation conditions of the archaeological bone caused by taphonomic and diagenetic alterations, the sequencing of ancient DNA can be an extremely expensive operation. Given the high costs of the aDNA sequencing procedure, an analytical study by means of infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was conducted in this research work to develop a reliable, fast and inexpensive pre-screening method to determine presence/absence of genetic molecules in an archaeological bone sample. Infrared spectroscopy is a useful tool fast, minimally destructive, inexpensive and sensitive to changes in the structural properties of the organic (collagen) and inorganic (bioapatite nanocrystals) components that make up bone. At the ultrastructural level, the organic and inorganic components of bone may stabilize strong bounds with DNA, stabilizing it and determining its survival over time. The sensitivity and efficiency of new IR parameters was tested on fresh bones and extremely altered archaeological samples, characterized by different chronology and origin. The diagenesis undergone by the bones was characterized taking into account changes in climatic-environmental and burial conditions. The research was expanded by examining changes induced by diagenesis on the secondary structure of collagen preserved, evaluating their effects on bioapatite crystals. The results obtained demonstrate that the IR parameter used in this research, that describes the atomic order/disorder, is advantageous for monitoring minimal changes in the structure and chemical properties of bioapatite as well as indirectly in collagen. This method may improve the selection process of bone samples as well as their suitability for specific analyzes, e.g. genetic, paleo-proteomic and stable isotope analysis on the basis of infrared spectra. A functional predictive model with the infrared parameters used, in order to determine the most predictive parameter for the presence/absence of DNA, allowing to reduce the costs of genetic analyzes, was proposed here. The results obtained, shows that the quality/quantity of aDNA cannot be determined due to the influence of local environmental factors

Historical Wood: Structure, Properties and Conservation

This book is a selection of manuscripts devoted to the conservation and preservation of wooden cultural heritage. The articles present the new methods for conservation of various historical wooden artefacts, reliable modern techniques for characterisation of the wood structure, properties and degree of degradation, and discusses problems and doubts related to all aspects of conservation and re-conservation of wooden cultural heritage. It contains both review and research papers to give the readers a broader picture of the problems and issues related to the conservation of wooden historical objects and structures. We need to remember that wooden cultural heritage is an integral part of our culture and history that define our humanity. We are obliged to protect it, save it from oblivion, and preserve it for future generations