Challenges in the face of documentation and publication of 3D reconstructions of Cultural Heritage. How to capture the process and share the data?

This paper presents significant challenges in documenting and publishing source-based hypothetical 3D reconstruction of Cultural Heritage (CH). The authors focus on the lack of standardized procedures, difficulties in data sharing due to diverse file formats, and technological limitations in web-based model viewing. They highlight the role of key guiding documents, namely the London Charter (LC) and the Seville Principles (SP), which outline principles for computer-based visualization and virtual archaeology. While these documents emphasize the need for documenting uncertainties, sources, authenticity, and historical rigor in 3D reconstructions, they lack detailed practical implementation guidelines. This gap has led to varied documentation approaches in related fields such as archaeology and architectural history. The authors also discuss principles for the publication of data, including FAIR Principles and the 5-Star Open Data Scheme introduced by Tim Berners-Lee. Three main methods of documentation, namely the Knowledge Graph, Reconstruction-Argumentation-Method (R-A-M), and web-based visualization, are examined. Each of these methods offers different advantages and meets varying principles of LC and SP. Three publication methods based on the virtual research environment (VRE), using SciDoc, an institutional repository for documentation of digital reconstruction projects, and Sketchfab, a commercial repository for 3D models, are also discussed. The paper concludes with a presentation of the DFG 3D-Viewer, an infrastructure project for the publication of digital reconstructions, and a proposal for a basic metadata schema. The shared metadata schema is a first step towards developing methods for archiving 3D models. The authors also advocate for collaborative efforts among stakeholders and funding institutions to develop standard, comprehensive solutions for preserving digital reconstructions of CH.