Special Section on Cultural Heritage

Over the last two decades, there have been many high profile success stories where cutting edge computer graphics (CG) technology was used in collaboration with cultural heritage (CH) professionals to unlock the secrets of humanity’s legacy. Well known examples include the empirical 3D acquisition of Michelangelo’s David, the laser scan-based 3D mapping of the tombs found in the Valley of the Kings and the decipherment of the instructions to and the operation of the 2nd-century BCE Antikythera Mechanism— arguably the first computer in human kind history. This special edition of Computers and Graphics contains new work that continues this tradition. Jenny and Hurni [1] propose a series of geometrical transformations that allow assessing the planimetric and geodetic accuracy of old maps before using the data for geo-historical studies. Laycock et al. [2] present techniques to aid in the semiautomatic extraction of building footprints from digital images of archive maps and sketches by aligning the old maps to modern vector data. Ducke et al. [3] propose an opensource pipeline for deriving a full 3D model from a series of overlapping images and illustrate it with data from the archaeological site at Weymouth. Osorio et al. [4] discuss novel digitising techniques for high specular reflection materials based on a multi-spectral approach and describe new virtual installations in the context of the Gold Museum in Bogota. Abel et al. [5] present a study of whether computed tomography is cost effective and can be used to capture and document the fine surface topology of flaked stone tools used by early humans. Li et al. [6] propose a skull completion framework based on symmetry and surface matching which will benefit subsequent archaeological and anthropological processing and analysis. Scheiblauer and Wimmer [7] present an out-of core interactive editing system for point clouds from a laser scanner. Finally, Blake and Ladeira [8] suggest a method for preparing users for a foreign cultural experience in Virtual Reality storytelling and illustrate it with San folklore. More remarkable examples are sure to follow as leading CH institutions and professionals continue exploring advanced computer graphics-based tools and methods in collaboration with CG specialists. CG research on its own has pointed the way to new application development opportunities in the cultural heritage community. These collaborations and advanced CG research underscore the potential value of integrating robust digital imaging into ongoing CH working practice. Regardless of these substantial potential advantages, little adoption of CG tools and methods within the CH community has taken place over the last twenty years. This slow rate of adoption is due to many factors. Many of the tools were and remain expensive and difficult to use by CH practitioners without extensive retraining and require the expertise of digital specialists from outside of the existing