Colour and Space in Cultural Heritage: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Documentation of Material Culture

Colour and Space in Cultural Heritage (www.COSCH.info) is a transdomain European Action (TD1201) in the area of Materials, Physics and Nanosciences (MPNS). The Action runs from 2013 to 2017 and benefits from the support of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology http://www.cost.eu/domains_actions/mpns/Actions/TD1201. The Authors are active participants of the COSCH network. They represent different disciplines involved in documentation and conservation of material cultural heritage. COSCH aims to enhance applications of optical measuring techniques and electronic imaging in this area. The paper outlines scientific, theoretical and practical solutions promoted by COSCH. COSCH activities have been organised around six main subjects: (1) spectral object documentation; (2) spatial object documentation; (3) algorithms and procedures; (4) analysis and restoration of cultural heritage surfaces and objects; (5) visualisation of cultural heritage objects and its dissemination; and (6) the semantic development of the COSCH Knowledge Representation. The Authors indicate future work that is needed to resolve the identified scientific, technical and semantic questions, as well as challenges of interdisciplinary communication, to ensure a wider adoption of specialist technologies and enhanced standards in 3D documentation of material cultural heritage -- being a basis for its understanding, conservation, restoration, long-term preservation, study, presentation and wide dissemination.