University of Bamberg
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Archaeology, Heritage Conservation Studies and Art History

Professorship in Materials and Preservation Science

  1.  University of bamberg
  2. Faculties
  3. Humanities
  4. Institutes
  5. Archaeology, Heritage Conservation Studies and Art History
  6. Heritage Conservation Studies
  7. Professorship in Materials and Preservation Science
  8. Research
  9. Research Projects
  10. Environmental damage simulation (DBU)

Visualisation of environmental damage functions on architectural monuments (material and preservation science sub-project) 

Exemplary visualisation of anthropogenically induced change processes on nationally valuable cultural assets made of natural stone, including the example of the princely portal of Bamberg Cathedral

Content and aims

The overall aim of the project is to research, document and communicate the effects of climate and anthropogenic environmental influences on cultural assets, in particular the weathering of natural stone. Existing damage models are to be combined with non-invasive 3D surface scans and 3D simulations in order to develop a method for predicting damage to natural stone exposed to the elements.
This methodology will be tested on three different object clusters, each based on different data sources: sacred outdoor sculptures at Bamberg Cathedral, model bodies called "Asterixes" and gravestone sculptures at Munich's South Cemetery.
An important part of the project is the visual presentation of the scientific results in order to promote their comprehensibility and communication in society. In addition, both physical and chemical processes that lead to the weathering of natural stone objects are being investigated as part of the project.
 

Methodology of sub-project

As part of the materials and preservatio science sub-project investigating surface changes to sculptures and stone surfaces, the methodology of analytical 3D scanning is being applied.

The investigation includes original sculptures from the Bamberg Prince's Portal and their plaster casts, which serve as representative surfaces at various points in time. The range of analyses is supplemented by other case studies mentioned above.

A structured light scanner (SLS) is used to create high-resolution scans of the surfaces. The scans are then analysed to make surface changes visible. A distinction is made between changes caused by environmental influences and those caused by the moulding process. To do this, the resulting scans of the different time positions are compared with each other using a target/actual comparison. The changes are shown in false colour images to make the differences between the original sculptures and the plaster casts more clearly visible. An earlier study has already provided initial results in this regard: doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-X-M-1-2023-229-2023

The scan data also forms the basis for the visualisation and will be incorporated into the other sub-projects. 

Project team

Antragsteller und Bewilligungsempfänger:

Projektpartner:

Funding

The project is funded by The German Federal Environmental Foundation (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt DBU) it is listed under the file number 39670.