From the largest to the smallest: the use of the latest technology in digitalization of the objects from the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk
Piotr Dziewanowski, Janusz Różycki
Abstract In the collection of the National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk are both items that do not exceed 1 cm in length and objects measuring over 80 meters. With such diversity of objects sizes it becomes clear that there should be used different methods of documentation relevant to the object, data that we want to get and the way of later presentation. In April of 2015 began the process of 3D scanning of the largest object in the collection of National Maritime Museum in Gdańsk - the museum ship "Sołdek". Scanning the object, which is available on a daily basis to the public turned out to be quite a logistical challenge. The construction of the ship, narrow corridors and cramped engine room caused many problems both for scanning and later processing of data. On the other hand there are examples of tin bottle caps that have been collected in the current year while excavating the wreckage of F53.30 ship. On some of them are preserved tinker signs, and their correct reading was necessary to confirm the chronology of the artifacts and the place of their production. Correct reading of the information on the bottle caps, due to the small size of the objects and state of preservation, required the usage of different methods than in case of the museum ship ”Sołdek”. Equally important as data collection, their processing and interpretation is opportunity to present in attractive way the results of work on the objects from our museum collection. By using appropriate methods we can present in the virtual space both objects presented in the museum every day, and those which for technical reasons are never shown to the public.
