Digital Imaging & the Preservation of Tangible Cultural Heritage

The International Department at Hadassah Academic College Jerusalem and The Jerusalem Institute for the Study and Digital Documentation of Cultural Heritage Present

Digital Imaging & the Preservation of Tangible Cultural Heritage

(An online digital course)

November 2024

Course Leader: Prof. Moshe Caine

Click here to register

About the Course

From the secrets embedded within surface textures to the hidden worlds lurking beneath the surface, the huge advances that we are witnessing in digitization technologies over the past decades are opening the door to conservation, preservation, restoration, and dissemination of our tangible cultural heritage on an unprecedented scale. New documentation methods give us today the opportunity, not only to experience the beauty and value of these cultural assets but to share and distribute them globally.

Digital imaging technologies are exploring and uncovering new frontiers in virtually all fields of heritage research. From the coverage of vast areas by space and air, down to inspection on a microscopic level. All these and more will be reviewed, explained, and discussed in this exciting course, offered online.

The course will present an overview of the various techniques available to heritage practitioners today and provide a basic and practical understanding of the tools that will enable them to become active partners in the international effort to document and preserve local heritage.

Each weekly session will be presented by a different international expert, spanning the technical, theoretical, and applied aspects of heritage imaging and preservation.
Various case studies will be presented, illustrating the practical application of the technologies in both the field and the laboratory.

Participation is open to students and non-students alike. For students wishing to earn academic credit for this course, it will carry an accreditation of 4.5 ECTS.

The course will consist of 16 weekly online lectures of approximately two academic hours each, followed by a question and discussion period.

Learning Outcomes:

• Learn the new capabilities and responsibilities of cultural heritage custodians
• Understanding the role of imaging in the conservation of museum collections 
• Issues in conservation and public outreach
• Understanding FAIR, BIG, and reliable data of heritage documentation
• Grasp the emerging role of virtual and augmented reality in heritage conservation
• How to share heritage in the digital age

Course Topics: 

• Heritage Preservation Technologies
• Digital Technologies in heritage conservation - Overview
• Visualization for Architectural Design
• Imaging techniques in Archaeology
• Multispectral Imaging in art conservation
• Photogrammetry applications for Cultural Heritage
• Laser scanning of Urban Landscapes
• Conservation of digital photographic prints
• Reflectance Transformation Imaging
• Imaging techniques in Paper Conservation
• Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), three-dimensional (3D), and computed tomography (CT) in Paleontology
• Realtime, Online Interactive 3D

Course Instructors and Content (Tentative)

Prof. Moshe Caine
Chair: The Jerusalem Institute
Content: Digital Heritage Preservation: An Overview

Ms. Sharon Tager 
Head of Conservation: The Israel Museum
Content: The Role of Imaging in the Conservation of Museum Collections

Dr. Antonio Cosentino  
Cultural Heritage Science Open Source
Content: Multispectral Imaging, Low Cost

Prof. Sorin Hermon  
Assistant Professor in Digital Cultural Heritage at STARC, The Cyprus Institute
Content: Heritage Digital Twins

Mr. Shai Halevy  
Digital Imaging leader at Israel Antiquities Authority
Content: The Application of Advances Imaging Technologies in Archaeology 

Dr. Susan Hazan  
CEO, Israel Consortium Digital Culture (ICDC), at Digital Heritage, Israel
Content: The Dance of the Doppelgängers, AI and the Cultural Heritage Sector

Prof. Dr. Mona Hess
Chairholder of the Chair for Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation (DTHC)
University of Bamberg
Lead of DTHC at the Centre for Heritage Conservation Studies and Technologies (KDWT) 
Content: Digital Technologies in Heritage Conservation

Mr. Graham Diprose  
Lecturer, Author, Researcher, Consultant, Co-Chair EVA
Content: Digital Preservation and Access: Photography Past, Present, and Future

Dr. Kathryn Piquette  
Senior Researcher in Cultural Heritage Imaging
UCL Centre for Digital Humanities and UCL Advanced Imaging Consultants
Content: Reflectance Transformation Imaging for Cultural Heritage

Prof. Dominik Lengyel  
Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus - Senftenberg
Content: Architectural Design for Visualizing Uncertainty in Knowledge 

Dr. Alexander Wiegmann
Head of the Field Technologies Branch, 
Israel Antiquities Authority
Content: The Photogrammetric Documentation Process at Excavations of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Prof. Antonella  Guidazzoli
Head of Visual Information Laboratory Visit Lab 
CINECA - SuperComputing Applications and Innovation Department, Bologna
Content: Cultural Databases and 3D Interactive Models

Dr. Doron Altaratz  
Senior Lecturer, Hadassah Academic College
Content: The Future of Cultural Heritage Virtualization 

Prof. Stefan Simon  
Director, Rathgen-Forschungslabor, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin -Preußischer Kulturbesitz 
Content: Share & Use - Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age