Hyperspectral analysis of cultural heritage artifacts: pigment material diversity in the Gough Map of Britain

Di Bai; David W. Messinger; David Howell

doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.8.081805

2 June 2017 Hyperspectral analysis of cultural heritage artifacts: pigment material diversity in the Gough Map of Britain

Di Bai, David W. Messinger, David Howell

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 8, 081805 (June 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.8.081805

Abstract

The Gough Map, one of the earliest surviving maps of Britain, was created and extensively revised over the 15th century. In 2015, the map was imaged using a hyperspectral imaging system while in the collection at the Bodleian Library, Oxford University. The goal of the collection of the hyperspectral image (HSI) of the Gough Map was to address questions such as enhancement of faded text for reading and analysis of the pigments used during its creation and revision. In particular, pigment analysis of the Gough Map will help historians understand the material diversity of its composition and potentially the timeline of, and methods used in, the creation and revision of the map. Multiple analysis methods are presented to analyze a particular pigment in the Gough Map with an emphasis on understanding the within-material diversity, i.e., the number and spatial layout of distinct red pigments. One approach for understanding the number of distinct materials in a scene (i.e., endmember selection and dimensionality estimation) is the Gram matrix approach. Here, this method is used to study the within-material differences of pigments in the map with common visual color. The application is a pigment analysis tool that extracts visually common pixels (here, the red pigments) from the Gough Map and estimates the material diversity of the pixels. Results show that the Gough Map is composed of at least five kinds of dominant red pigments with a particular spatial pattern. This research provides a useful tool for historical geographers and cartographic historians to analyze the material diversity of HSI of cultural heritage artifacts.

Citation Download Citation

Di Bai, David W. Messinger, and David Howell "Hyperspectral analysis of cultural heritage artifacts: pigment material diversity in the Gough Map of Britain," Optical Engineering 56(8), 081805 (2 June 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.8.081805

Received: 1 February 2017; Accepted: 4 May 2017; Published: 2 June 2017

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available