Colloquium: New Tools, Old Tales: Frontiers and Contexts for Heritage Research

Advances in science and technology have revolutionized how we study the past and its material remains. New tools, innovative applications, and ground-breaking scientific methods shed new light on hidden secrets and enable valuable discoveries that enrich our understanding of past societies. In this fascinating context of interdisciplinary research and innovation, the proper interpretation of data remains challenging – a fact that shapes new frontiers of heritage research. The humanities have a primary role in providing a critical and synthetic understanding of how scientific and technological methods help us gain new knowledge about past societies and the cultural narratives shaping our sense of heritage and identity.

This colloquium draws from research work at the Cyprus Institute’s ‘Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories’ (https://apac.cyi.ac.cy) of the Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC), where an interdisciplinary team of experts works together to develop and apply a wide range of analytical and digital methods to address issues of materiality, technique, typology, style and provenance of monuments, works of art and archaeological objects. Focusing on select examples, a building, a painting, and a piece of wood, this symposium will explore how new tools reshape old tales.

Nikolas Bakirtzis is Associate Professor at The Cyprus Institute and its Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center (STARC). He also directs the ‘Andreas Pittas Art Characterization Laboratories’ (APAC Labs). With a background in Archaeology and Art History, his research, publications, and teaching focus on the artistic and architectural heritage of the Medieval and Early Modern Mediterranean. More recently, his work explores heritage and cultural identity issues in historic cities.
At APAC Labs, he pursues research on aspects of the history, the materiality and the provenance of medieval and early modern works of art enhanced through advanced digital and analytical methods.

His awards and fellowships include, among others, support from the European Commission, the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation, the Princeton Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, the A.G. Leventis Foundation, and the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles.