What are the challenges of ancient murals restoration and conservation?
Challenges in the mural restoration process
The mural was painted long ago, leaving no image data, resulting in the restoration without a reference to cite. This lack of reference material makes it more challenging to restore the mural to its original state. The restorers may have to rely on their expertise and knowledge of the historical period during which the mural was created to ensure that they do not deviate too much from the original design.
Challenges in data collection
The mural is large, and the surface of the mural has been severely eroded and very fragile due to long time immersion in rainwater, with deformation, buckling, hollow drums, etc. The data collection process needs to avoid secondary damage to the mural due to human contact.
As the subsequent restoration work needs to refer to the precise 3D size and color information of the existing murals for further restoration, the traditional 2D data collection method cannot capture the 3D form of the mural disasters:
1. 2D data acquisition may not accurately capture the size of the mural at one time, leading to inaccuracies in the final digital representation.
2. 2D data acquisition only captures the surface of the mural, whereas 3D data acquisition captures the depth, texture, and shape of the mural.
3. 2D data acquisition captures the mural from a single perspective, while 3D data acquisition allows for viewing from multiple angles.
Due to these limits, with 2D data, it’s difficult to identify areas that might require restoration.
