Documentation of cultural heritage; techniques, potentials, and constraints

Abstract. Cultural Heritage is known as an invaluable asset of human being, which portrays his achievements over centuries. The need for identification and preservation of cultural heritage is well understood and experts‟ attempt is to exploit any possible method to fulfill this aim. There are several published literatures and documents, which emphasize on the importance of the documentation of the cultural heritage such as Burra Charter. However, with the development of human and invention of new tools and technologies, the concept of the conservation of cultural heritage has changed considerably. The new technologies such as computers and digital tools have opened new windows and bestowed new opportunities in the process of conservation of cultural heritage. In this regard, it is important to review different technologies in order to make the best advantage of these tools in the cultural heritage field. The focus of this paper would be on the non-technical users who need to gain an overall comprehension of these new emerging tools. The foundation of this paper will be on the existing literatures published by various experts in addition to the author‟s experience and research in the conservation field.