Acquisition

Aided by funding from EEA and Norway Grants, Heritage Malta has expanded its Digitisation Department, whose task it is to digitise and make available the tangible cultural and natural heritage assets entrusted to the agency.

Acquisition

The Digitisation Department are protecting and enhancing the value of Heritage Malta’s collections by utilising the latest equipment in the fields of photography, videography, cloudpoint and Lidar scanning, 3D handheld scanning, drones, and 3D printing to digitally capture and interpret artefacts.

Digitising several thousand artefacts in the Malta Maritime Museum is an important means of preserving these assets for the future and increasing access to them. Whilst digitisation as a preservation process that captures an object in high resolution is a valuable activity in itself, it is also a means of providing new experiences for museum visitors both in the museum and online. Details and inscriptions can be revealed and incorporated into rich multimedia exhibits that present alternate ways of learning about our cultural heritage.

Archive Scanning

We use a state of the art large format museum scanner, capable of capturing still images of objects up to 100cm x 80cm. This allows us to digitise print photographs, large glass negatives, manuscripts, books, notebooks, newspapers and other printed ephemera in very high resolution.

3D Scanning

For small to medium sized three dimensional objects we use a 3D handheld scanner which can scan up to 0.2mm resolution. For larger spaces, such as museum galleries, we combine methods of photogrammetry and laser scanning to produce target-based 3D scans.

Videography

We regularly produce video masterclasses, webinars and documentaries relating to themes and objects in our collections, creating professional-standard recordings at up to 8K resolution.

VR/AR

360 degree image capture for virtual reality experiences are an increasingly popular means of presenting spaces to virtual visitors. Through a web browser we can invite viewers into spaces that are physically inaccessible; or through a virtual reality headset the viewer can become even more immersed.

Photography

Digital photography is a relatively quick and accessible means of providing visual information about our collection items. All of the physical artefacts that we are cataloguing at the Malta Maritime Museum are being professionally photographed to high standards, and the images are being attached to their catalogue records.

Aerial Imaging

Drone photogrammetry allows us to scan large sites in 3D, such as temples or other large outdoor spaces and buildings. Our staff are undertaking flight training to handle our sophisticated drone, which can capture still images and video in up to 8K resolution.