In a few thousand years, 99% of the physical material of our cultural heritage we try to preserve today will be lost. An inconvenient fact for all stakeholders involved in the preservation of the actual objects which testify to the richness of our past; most will end up as undefinable dust. Destruction is omnipresent: earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, volcanos, time, hostile environments, flashlights, war, neglect, vandalism, collateral damage, and deliberate violations. Concerning the last, whether it is the destruction of heritage sites to make place for the Olympics in Beijing, the dynamiting of the Buddha’s of Bamiyan statues, the burning of the Timbuktu manuscripts or the demolishing of mausoleums of holy men in Syria and Iraq, people always seem to come up with justifying reasons. Our modern cities are built on the foundations of destructive progress. Strategies to overcome this must be formulated. The seven wonders of the world of which only the Giza Pyramids survived, have taken a central position in our understanding of great architectural accomplishments which were lost, to be remembered only thanks to ancient writings. Today the odds are more favorable. Over the last 150 years, architects, engineers, illustrators and archaeologists produced technical drawings of many heritage sites and artefacts. Digitalization projects and efforts are ongoing everywhere and imaging techniques allow reconstructions unthinkable up until recent times. But what to do with them? What is their accuracy? Do we have complete datasets linked with metadata? What is to be considered as a complete dataset? What has not been registered? Templates, protocols and standards should be developed to ensure their sustainability. When all of that is settled, if the original is lost, what gets preserved digitally, and what does not?

1. Hendrik Hameeuw - 11 May 2017 – Amsterdam (Rijksmuseum)
A critical reflection on the use of 3D technologies
for the documentation of endangered heritage
Nimrud (Iraq) - early 2015

2. INTRO
Bamiyan – 2001 (deliberate destruction by Taliban)
Reims Cathedral – 1914 (deliberate fire by Deutsches KaiserreichBhaktapur, Nepal – 2015 (earthquake)
Royal Museums of Art and History in Brussels – 1946
(accidental fire)
Tell Halaf-Museum – 1943 (bombardment by allied
forces)
Wadi Abu Subeira, Egypt: Palaeolithic rock art – 2012 (quarries)

3. INTRO
Nimrud: as also registered in 2008 (Photo by S.E. Botts), ASOR Cultural
Heritage Initiatives Weekly Report 31: 99
Nimrud March 2015, deliberate destructions of reliefs and the entire
palace structures

4. INTRO
Austen Henry Layard British Museum, anno 2016
H. A. Layard: Nineveh and its Remains, 1849 – Putnam, p. 128:
"Without proper materials it was impossible to move either the gigantic lions, or even
the large sculptures of chamber G. The few ropes to be obtained in the country were so
ill-made that they could not support any considerable weight. I determined, therefore, to
displace the slabs (in chamber B) divided into two compartments ; then to saw off the
sculptures, and to reduce them as much as possible by cutting from the back. The
inscriptions being mere repetitions, I did not consider it necessary to preserve them, as
they added to the weight."
3D model of Standard Inscription, KMKG-MRAH

5. INTRO
H. A. Layard: Nineveh and its Remains, 1849 – Putnam, p. 128:
"Without proper materials it was impossible to move either the gigantic lions, or even
the large sculptures of chamber G. The few ropes to be obtained in the country were so
ill-made that they could not support any considerable weight. I determined, therefore, to
displace the slabs (in chamber B) divided into two compartments ; then to saw off the
sculptures, and to reduce them as much as possible by cutting from the back. The
inscriptions being mere repetitions, I did not consider it necessary to preserve them, as
they added to the weight."
3D model of Standard Inscription, KMKG-MRAH SfM reconstruction British Museum, anno 2016 (origin Nimrud)

6. INTRO
Nimrud: as also registered in 2008 (Photo by S.E. Botts), ASOR Cultural
Heritage Initiatives Weekly Report 31: 99
Nimrud March 2015, deliberate destructions of reliefs and the entire
palace structures

7. INTRO
Nimrud: as also registered in 2008 (Photo by S.E. Botts), ASOR Cultural
Heritage Initiatives Weekly Report 31: 99
Nimrud March 2015, deliberate destructions of reliefs and the entire
palace structures
O.1934, masterpiece of the Royal Museums of Art and
History in Brussels

8. INTRO
Nimrud: as also registered in 2008 (Photo by S.E. Botts), ASOR Cultural
Heritage Initiatives Weekly Report 31: 99
Nimrud March 2015, deliberate destructions of reliefs and the entire
palace structures
O.1934, masterpiece of the Royal Museums of Art and
History in Brussels
3D rendering of Nimrud Throne Room, © 2011 Learning Sites, Inc.

9. INTRO
Hameeuw H., Devillers A., Claes W. 2016: Relighting Egyptian Rock Art: Rapid, Accurate HD Imaging of Prehistoric
Petroglyphs, in: Proceedings of First Young Researchers Overseas’ Day, 16 December 2014, Brussels, Belgium, 1-11.
(DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.48060)
A rock with Predynastic and Pharaonic petroglyphs
in Egypt (Wadi Abu Zuruj – situation November
2014)
Wadi Abu Subeira, Egypt: Palaeolithic rock art – 2012 (quarries)

10. INTRO
Deteriorated Execration figurine from Saqqara – Egypt at the Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels

11. INTRO
So, when it comes to 3D visualizations:
• We live in a 3D reality, its scale: landscapes, architecture, objects, molecules
 Techniques that take this into account are indispensable in order to study and to fully understand
• All material will perish, ashes to ashes, dust to dust
 Maybe, only the digits can overcome this, so they better include a lot of information.
• The reality that interests us, must go beyond the surface, beyond the visible
 Where does 3D stand in this matter?
 Reflections

12. 3D IS DANGEROUS

13. 3D IS DANGEROUS
Detail on an original Neo-Assyrian palace relief
Based on 3D video reconstruction – With texture map (2.8k views online), by nFrames
Based on 3D video reconstruction – Without texture map (MatCap) (2.8 views online), by nFrames

14. 3D IS DANGEROUS
Detail on an original Neo-Assyrian palace relief
With texture map (130 views online), Thomas Flynn
Without texture map (MatCap) (130 views online), Thomas Flynn

15. 3D IS DANGEROUS
Royal Museums of Art and History, O.1923
Royal Museums of Art and History, O.1923
Textured 3D model based on photogrammetry (Photoscan)
Studio conditions (Trial 01)
‘Solid’ 3D model based on photogrammetry (Photoscan)
Model 186 MB – 2.643.069 faces (based on 14 pics)
Recording and processing: + 1h.
Royal Museums of Art and History, O.1923
Royal Museums of Art and History, O.1923
Textured 3D model based on photogrammetry (Photoscan)
Studio conditions (Trial 02)
‘Solid’ 3D model based on photogrammetry (Photoscan)
Model 837 MB – 9.794.832 faces (based on 22 pics)
Recording and processing: +3h.

16. 3D IS DANGEROUS
Fast and easy, low quality scanning (3D-scanner NextEngine)
Slower and experience required: high quality scanning (3D-
scanner Mechscan) NP 2 with the Mechscan 3D-sanner
NP 3 with the NextEngine (up) and PLD (down)
1000$
50.000€

17. 3D IS DANGEROUS
• The 3D techniques and technologies have their deliveries, congratulations! But…
 Did they register what we think they have registered?
 To what degree does the visualisation resemble the original?
 Virtual = an interpretation of the reality
 When lost, the 3D model becomes the nr. 1 replacement
 Quality label

18. 3D HAS BECOME TOO COMMON

19. 3D HAS BECOME TOO COMMON
Animated 3D by Iconem as grand dissemination of work conducted at Palmyra – Spring 2017, viewed by 42.400 users

20. 3D HAS BECOME TOO COMMON
Most viewed 3D model on the Sketchfab of the BM, viewed by 56.000 users

21. 3D HAS BECOME TOO COMMON
Most viewed 3D model on the Sketchfab of the BM, viewed by 73.200 users

22. 3D HAS BECOME TOO COMMON
Archaeological artefact from Cyprus on/via Europeana Collections, any technical information of the 3D model is absent

23. 3D HAS BECOME TOO COMMON
• The 3D techniques and technologies have their deliveries, congratulations! But…
 Did they register what we think they have registered?
 To what degree does the visualisation resemble the original?
 Virtual = an interpretation of the reality
 When lost, the 3D model becomes the nr. 1 replacement
 Quality label
• Yes, a 3D model, but please tell me more!
 What information can be retrieved from a pdf or online uploaded 3D model?
 Technical metadata
 Identifier for the dataset and particular computed model

24. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING

25. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
Brussels (KMKG-MRAH – O.5023)

26. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
HECTOR: High Energy CT Optimized for Research
@ UGCT - Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University
µCT scan
Brussels (KMKG-MRAH – O.5023)

27. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
HECTOR: High Energy CT Optimized for Research
@ UGCT - Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University
VGL-viewer

28. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
HECTOR: High Energy CT Optimized for Research
@ UGCT - Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University
VGL-viewer

29. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
X-Ray Fluorescence
Raman Spectroscopy
Chemical mapping
X-Ray Imaging
Multispectral Imaging
XRD, SEM, EBSD, OM,
HR-TEM, …

30. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
Copy / 3D animation Baal temple gate of Palmyra, proposition for the Trafalgar square, London (Harvard – Oxford project)
High public awareness vs. Low scientific usefulness

31. 3D DOCUMENTS CLOSE TO NOTHING
• The 3D techniques and technologies have their deliveries, congratulations! But…
 Did they register what we think they have registered?
 To what degree does the visualisation resemble the original?
 Virtual = an interpretation of the reality
 When lost, the 3D model becomes the nr. 1 replacement
 Quality label
• Yes, a 3D model, but please tell me more!
 What information can be retrieved from a pdf or online uploaded 3D model?
 Technical metadata
 Identifier for the dataset and particular computed model
• The world is more than x, y, z coordinates!
 Integrated systems and approaches
 Challenge: integrating 3D information with all the rest

32. 3D HAS NO VALUE

33. 3D HAS NO VALUE

34. 3D HAS NO VALUE
St-Martinus church at Ypres (before WWI)
St-Martinus church at Ypres (by the end of WWI)
St-Martinus church at Ypres (today)

35. 3D HAS NO VALUE, OR DOES IT?
3D reconstruction of the temple in Jerusalem. 3D reconstruction of the temple in Palmyra.

36. 3D HAS NO VALUE, OR DOES IT?
Restauration of Palmyra relief by Italian Conservation Lab (2017): Digital restauration + 3D printing

37. 3D MODELS AS VIRTUAL STARTING POINT
• 3D multispectral scanner (structural light, SfM, Photometric
Stereo, …)
• Integrated 3D modelling
• SfM/laser/structural light + GIS
• GPR + multispectral imaging
• Tomographies
• µCT + XRF
• Hypothetical: µCT + XRF + 3D structural light (so with texture)
• …
 Mixed datasets with 3D as rack/container
Theater of Jebleh in Coastal Syria, 3D reconstruction based on drone
pictures and architectural plans by Iconem

38. VIRTUAL WORLD HERITAGE
Strategic Objectives the "Five C’s“ of the World Heritage Convention
- Credibility
- Conservation
- Capacity-building
- Communication
- Communities
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