A bibliometric analysis of cultural heritage visualisation based on Web of Science from 1998 to 2023: a literature overview

Abstract Cultural heritage visualisation research is a vast and constantly evolving field full of energy. It is concerned with the conservation, exhibition and education of cultural heritage. Plenty of studies have been reported, while more general bibliometric research is lacking. Thus, this study analyses, quantifies and maps the cultural heritage visualisation research from 1998 to 2023 using the Web of Science (WOS) core database. Biblioshiny was used to classify and evaluate the contributions of authors, countries, topics and journals. In addition, VOSviewer was used for the visual presentation of keywords. The results show that the hotspots of cultural heritage visualisation research are 3D modelling and digital management. Such techniques have become increasingly important and prevalent in the field of cultural heritage, with a multitude of activities. The study also makes predictions about how the future of cultural heritage visualisation will change, including a larger range of applications and cross-border collaboration across various disciplines. Therefore, this study provides a relatively new perspective through which more research directions can be found for the exploitation of cultural heritage conservation.