Abstract
Heritage science is an inherently practice-oriented field that aims to support our understanding, and conservation, of heritage. Research is commonly undertaken using laboratory or field-based methodologies, but given the ethical and scale constraints, over time and space, of these approaches, process-based models should provide a tool for exploring practical solutions. Unlike other fields, such as climate science and ecology, there appears limited engagement with modelling within heritage science. The characteristics and use of processed-based models published in the field is examined to explore tensions in using models to transfer understanding between research and practice. By examining models that investigate interactions between heritage materials and environment, we find that, at best, model outputs may be used by other researchers or occasionally by heritage institutions; or more commonly, the model’s existence is used as a justification of research, yet without meaningful engagement within either the academic and heritage practitioner communities. Some models are unlikely to be used in practice as they have been developed at spatial or temporal scales incompatible with being truly applicable to objects or sites, or can seem to advance theory without engaging with practice. The uptake of models by researchers who rerun or change the code is rare. Models that seem to gain substantial use appear to benefit from graphical user interfaces that make them easy to run. Evidence of models in solving real-world conservation problems is hard to find. This may arise because practical applications are rarely reported in academic journal literature and open access publications. There is some evidence they are revealed in conferences and possibly internal heritage organisation reports, but this gray literature doesn’t readily feedback into the development and refinement of existing models. It is likely the use of models would increase if mechanisms were available to support the development of user interfaces, training workshops and the ability of practical use cases to be fed back to the modelling community.
Highlights
Modelling is widely applied in many science and social science disciplines e.g. [1, 2]
39 papers were identified as focusing on process-based models (Fig. 2, inner ring), and these were most frequently found in the Journal of Cultural Heritage (11), Building and Environment (7), Science of the Total Environment (7) and Heritage Science (6)
Our selection does not capture all process-based models that relate to heritage, but our dataset encompasses a range of model types, applications and approaches that give a reasonable understanding of the current state of modelling within heritage science
Summary
Modelling is widely applied in many science and social science disciplines e.g. [1, 2]. Models are an abstract of reality and so present a simplified representation of a system. In a very practice-oriented field such as heritage science, process-based models provide a tool for engaging with changes to heritage objects or sites e.g. A successful model within heritage science could enable a two-way transfer of understanding between research and practice, rather than just providing one-way recommendations on heritage conservation or policy. Traditional field and laboratory methods of experimentation on unique or valued objects and sites are highly constrained, so modelling could seem to be a good solution
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