Ten+ Years of Experience in Digitization of Cultural Heritage by Means of Industrial X-ray Computed Tomography: A Summary

Abstract

Digitization of irreplaceable objects of cultural significance is gaining permanently more importance as field of research [1-5]. At places, which keep collections of historical or archaeological character, a strong desire exists to create a digital twin of at least parts of those collections. The reasons therefore are manifold. In order to produce high-quality 3D volume data representing various objects, at the Fraunhofer X-ray Development Centre (EZRT), Fürth/Germany, up to 15 different Computed Tomography (CT) systems can be used, each with specific performance characteristics. There are two aspects, which have to be considered with each measurement: first, which materials are present in the historical object? Second, which is the purpose the measurement is made for? During the last 10 years, almost 200 objects of cultural heritage were digitized at the Fraunhofer EZRT. Historical objects include art works, relics, musical instruments, technological prototypes like a Messerschmitt Me 163 jet plane, archaeological findings such as hoards, Roman weaponry, fossilized skeletons, and many more. We will present the most interesting cases among these and draw a series of conclusions regarding the handling of the valuable objects, parametrization and realization of the measurement and – last but not least – post processing and data handling.