(IN)TANGIBLE HERITAGE(S)

Abstract

Captivate: Spatial Modelling Research Group – Is building a digital model of the entire Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site above ground, below ground and underwater, using LiDAR, photogrammetry, radar and sonar, working in partnership with the Maritime World Heritage Site, Royal Museums Greenwich, Royal Parks, Historic England, Old Royal Naval College, St Alfege Church, Visit Greenwich and Wessex Archaeology. To date we have found the location of Henry VIII’s jousting ground or tilt yard and identified the outline of his Great Hall, both by using radar, built massive point cloud models of Queen’s House, St Alfege Church, Queen Anne Court, Sea Cadets and King William courtyard. We are also working with Royal Parks using drones to survey ongoing archaeological surveys. In addition, we are working on European digital heritage projects in partnerships with the Universita degli Studi di Fiorenze, the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia and Tallinn University using remote sensing technologies. Captivating the Attention of Strangers – This paper one the one hand looks at point cloud models as being indistinguishable from magic – crystal balls that can bring to sight the unseen, reveal the unsuspected, as having the capacity to make the familiar strange, to entice strangers in our case to visit the hidden wonders of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site. These digital models can be sites of cinematic invention, of extraordinary compositions and spatial fancy and fallacy. On the other hand, there is the heritage imperative for fidelity, for the authenticity of the model. This begs the question of what is the resolution of authenticity? On what basis is digital data discarded? What if value resides in the discarded noise? What is lost when a point cloud is cleaned up? Where to stop and where to begin?