ABSTRACT

A study was undertaken by an interdisciplinary group of COSCH researchers between 2014 and 2016, to record and examine silver coins believed to be ancient Roman in origin. The aim was to evaluate the suitability of various advanced, non-invasive optical and spectrometric techniques for analysing the physical characteristics and elemental composition of numismatic objects. In order to compare results, the same two silver coins were used throughout the study: two denarii portraying Empress Faustina I, wife of Antoninus Pius, believed to be posthumous deification issues of AD 141. The questions addressed included the characterization and authentication of test coins, as well as technical issues in the multimodal recording of material cultural heritage with metadata and paradata. The team investigated whether the methods chosen for this case study responded to the needs of numismatists, and whether they could feasibly be applied in museum practice, to support research and conservation of historic coins, and to enhance the documentation and dissemination of numismatic objects through heritage science.

Keywords: numismatic studies, Roman silver coins, examination, optical techniques, multimodal recording, COSCH

Background and Purpose of the Study

This chapter introduces an experimental study of two silver coins, believed to be ancient Roman, and discusses some of its interdisciplinary outcomes. We undertook to investigate, in collaboration with other international researchers, how historic coins are examined and documented, and what is the role of modern, non-invasive optical and spectrometric technologies in today's numismatic research and museum practice. The network Colour and Space in Cultural Heritage (COSCH) facilitated research contacts between experts representing a wide range of interdisciplinary interests and expertise in optical, metrological and imaging technologies and material sciences. Benefiting from this combined expertise and access to specialist equipment, at a level that is rarely available to museums, this case study was designed to explore which of the advanced technologies available to us could enhance numismatic research and conservation, and museum practice in general. Therefore, our main objectives were:

• to assess current research and documentation practice: how are historic coins in numismatic museum collections being examined and recorded, presented and disseminated in the 2010s? What is the role of digital methods?

• to apply a wide range of optical and spectrometric techniques to measure and examine, and present the test coins;

• to compare the results of different technologies applied for the same purpose, in particular to compare the geometric measurements achieved through several 3D techniques;

ABSTRACT

Accuracy, artefact, feature, precision, reconstruction, resolution, texture, uncertainty are words central to many discussions of the documentation of cultural heritage. This terminology, whilst broadly understood across the disciplines, is often misunderstood due to its specific use in particular cases. An interdisciplinary dialogue conducted over a period of years and comprising experts in a range of fields—art history, colour science, engineering, semantics, mathematics, cultural heritage, museum studies, and others—has yielded a challenging discussion document that considers the thorny issue of a shared understanding of a set of keywords. On occasion our perceived shared language is not shared at all but reveals—at times through subtle nuance, and yet at times through gaping chasm—the disciplinary subjectivities we hold unbeknownst to ourselves. Mutual understanding of some of these key terms is central to any newly engaged, participatory transdisciplinary endeavour that seeks to develop critical methods for the documentation, analysis, preservation, and sharing of cultural heritage objects outside the traditional disciplinary silos. This chapter charts the interdisciplinary discussion towards a common understanding of terminologies used in cultural heritage. It is a discussion that recognizes critical differences or common misuse, and aims to contribute to a shared understanding that may be useful for all knowledge domains in the field. The chapter summarizes the work of a number of Think Tanks conducted by Early Career Investigators participating in the COSCH network.

Keywords: cultural heritage, interdisciplinary research terminology, metrology, humanities, digital documentation, COSCH

Introduction

The digital documentation of material cultural heritage is a multidisciplinary task and often involves experts in spectral and spatial recording, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT). When generating digital representations of objects of cultural heritage, a shared understanding is necessary to develop suitable and user-oriented solutions. However, reaching a shared understanding is complex. It begins with a clear definition of the project's aim(s), including the explanation of concepts, terms, and procedures that may be unknown to some project partners. These first steps may seem obvious and should be the basis not only for multidisciplinary projects, but for all projects. However, these tasks are more multifaceted in multidisciplinary projects as, in addition to unfamiliar disciplinary terminology, each project partner might use terms that are common to various domains, but may have inherently different meanings.