n-Dame_Heritage

n-Dimensional analysis and memorisation ecosystem 
for building cathedrals of knowledge in Heritage Science

Heritage research transforms the interaction between material objects and multidisciplinary studies into a dynamic arena for producing collective knowledge. In the digital age, this interaction becomes a privileged framework for the collective analysis and interpretation of facts, objects, and phenomena, gathering a new generation of data towards the construction of tomorrow’s scientific and cultural resources – our future heritage. A critical question arises: how can we capture and analyze the convergence of diverse individual perspectives on the same object of study? How can we examine their processes of construction, overlap, and fusion to reveal new knowledge?


Our innovative approach to computational modeling and digitization leverages the exceptional experimental framework of the scientific worksite on Notre-Dame de Paris Open In New, currently involving 175 researchers across diverse disciplines (archaeology, anthropology, architecture, history, chemistry, physics, computer science). This initiative is building an emblematic corpus of digitally born data, capturing and reflecting contemporary scientific practices in heritage science. Our objective transcends the mere digitization of physical objects, extending instead to a profound understanding of these objects and the knowledge associated with them. This project not only shifts the focus from the object to the knowledge needed to understand it, but also explores how the complex features of the material object and the scholarly knowledge built around it interdependently enrich each other through research practices.


The n-Dame_Heritage project, funded by the European Research Council (ERC Open In New), follows the research activities of the "digital data" working group of the Notre-Dame scientific action, started since 2019 and supported by the Mission pour les Initiatives Transverses et Interdisciplinaires (MITI Open In New) of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS Open In New), the Ministry of Culture (MC Open In New), the Fondation des Sciences du Patrimoine (FSP Open In New), the Établissement public chargé de la conservation et de la restauration de la cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris (RNDP Open In New).

ERC Advanced Grant 2022-2027

Host Institution: CNRS Open In New   
Host Laboratory : MAP (UPR CNRS 2002)  Open In New   
Principal Investigator: Livio De Luca Open In New

news

A new software environment developed within the n-Dame_Heritage project is being prepared: quasi.modo, a conceptual and technical architecture dedicated to the exploration, integration, and semantic interoperability of multidisciplinary heritage data.

Quasi.modo  - Querying and Unifying Architecture for Semantic Integration of Multidimensional Orchestrated Disciplinary Observations - is designed to support the querying, structuring, and connection of heterogeneous datasets produced around complex heritage objects. It provides a unified yet flexible framework in which 3D digitisation data, geolocated annotations, archival sources, scientific analyses, and spatialised scholarly narratives can be explored, linked, and reasoned over within coherent semantic and spatio-temporal models. A beta testing programme is scheduled to start in Spring 2026, opening the platform to a first community of researchers and practitioners.

Further info Open In New

Several articles related to the *n-Dame_Heritage* project were published in 2025, reflecting ongoing methodological and scientific advances in documentation, semantic integration, and data-driven interpretation of the Notre-Dame de Paris corpus. Here is a selection : 


Guillem A., Abergel V., Roussel R., Comte F., Pamart A., De Luca L. Bridging the Provenance Knowledge Gap Between 3D Digitization and Semantic Interpretation. Heritage, Vol. 8(11), 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage8110476

This paper proposes an integrated framework for representing the provenance, transformation steps, and interpretative contexts of 3D digitisation workflows. By embedding provenance and context into the documentation process, the authors demonstrate how semantic models can improve traceability, interoperability, and multi-temporal reuse of heterogeneous 2D, 3D, and documentary datasets, with case studies drawn from the scientific corpus of Notre-Dame de Paris. 




Arese P., Roussel R., De Luca L. Establishing a Dialogue Between Textual Sources and 3D-Spatialised Annotations: A First Experiment Within Notre-Dame’s Scientific Data Corpus. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences, Vol. XLVIII, 2025, pp. 49–56. https://isprs-archives.copernicus.org/articles/XLVIII-M-9-2025/49/2025/

This study addresses the methodological challenge of linking narrative historical sources with structured 3D annotations, proposing an initial framework for reconciling the precision of spatialised data with the contextual depth of textual records. It illustrates how integrated documentation can bridge semantic and geometric dimensions in heritage science.  





Roussel R., De Luca L., Guillem A., Comte F. A Cathedral of Spatialised Annotations Portraying the Multidisciplinary Study of Notre-Dame de Paris. In: Digital Heritage 2025, The Eurographics Association, 2025. https://doi.org/10.2312/dh.20253126


This contribution explores spatialised annotations as epistemic objects that embed expert activity within spatial, temporal, and semantic contexts. Using the interdisciplinary Notre-Dame worksite as a case study, the authors show how large-scale annotation frameworks can structure, visualise, and query observations across disciplinary boundaries. 

Mon, 20 May 2024

A cathedral of digital data and multidisciplinary knowledge for heritage science

Workshop organised by the "digital data" working group of Notre-Dame de Paris Scientific Project

19-21 June 2024, Auditorium Pierre Desnuelle, CNRS Joseph Aiguier Campus, Marseilles

As part of the Notre-Dame de Paris research project, interaction between different disciplines has been crucial to enriching our understanding of a complex heritage object, while renewing our thinking on collaborative methods in the digital age.

The 'digital data' working group's approach to computational modelling and digitisation takes advantage of this wide-ranging scientific project, bringing together specialists from a variety of fields (archaeology, anthropology, architecture, history, chemistry, physics, computing) to develop a body of data that reflects current scientific practice in the study of heritage.

Following thematic paths from the material object to its digitisation, and then from data to multidisciplinary knowledge, these study days are structured around sessions presenting the advances made by the members of the 'digital data' working group and round tables to discuss the issues relating to these advances with the representatives of the other working groups of the scientific site (wood, stone, structure, acoustics, decoration, heritage emotions, etc.). The aim of this structure is to encourage a rich, interdisciplinary exchange of ideas, enabling in-depth discussions on the methodologies, results obtained and prospects to be developed in the coming years as part of the nDame_Heritage ERC project.

Although focused on data from Notre-Dame de Paris, this event aims to extend its reflections and methodologies to the wider field of heritage science. Our aim is to lay the foundations for understanding and managing scientific data for the purposes of heritage knowledge, conservation and restoration.

The workshop is open to the public, with registration necessary to attend in person or by videoconference.


https://ndame2024.sciencesconf.org

Special Issue – Journal of Cultural Heritage (2024)

01/02/2024

A special issue of the Journal of Cultural Heritage (Vol. 65, 2024) is dedicated to the CNRS / French Ministry of Culture scientific programme on Notre-Dame de Paris, reflecting the unprecedented interdisciplinary research effort initiated after the 2019 fire.


Entitled “The Notre-Dame de Paris : a multidisciplinary scientific site”, this issue presents the first collective synthesis of the nine thematic working groups involved in the project (wood, stone, metal, glass, structure, monumental decoration, acoustics, digital data, and heritage emotions). It documents the methodologies, observations, and initial results obtained across a wide range of disciplines, from material sciences and structural engineering to archaeology, digital humanities, acoustics, and social sciences.


The volume highlights the holistic and multi-temporal approach adopted for the study and conservation of the cathedral, as well as the development of new digital and analytical frameworks for the integration, interpretation, and long-term preservation of heterogeneous scientific data. It provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges raised by such a large-scale heritage crisis and of the scientific responses deployed within an exceptional collaborative and institutional context.

Special Issue: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/journal-of-cultural-heritage/vol/65/

ntroductory article: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.culher.2024.02.004

Wed, 1 Jun 2022   Job opportunities

The ERC n-Dame_Heritage Project and its host institution CNRS are inviting applications for seven open positions:

Click on each position below for further details and instructions on how to apply.

Two years (renewable up to four years) researcher position in Digital Humanities

Knowledge formalisation, data curation and analysis in cultural heritage

Two-years (renewable up to four years) researcher position in Computer Science. 

Knowledge engineering, machine learning, multimedia content classification and retrieval

Two-years (renewable up to four years) research engineer position in Computer Science. 

Full stack development, Cloud computing, Web services

Three-Years PhD student position in Data Science for Cultural Heritage

n-Dimensional analysis and exploration of heritage science data in mixed reality

Two-years (renewable up to four years) study engineer position on multimodal 3D digitisation

Laser scanning,photogrammetry, RTI, geometric and visual processing applied to architecture and remains

Two-years (renewable up to 4 years) study engineer position on digital curation of heritage science data

Data collection, Data curation, FAIR principles, heritage science.

Two-years (renewable up to 4 years) study engineer position on semantic annotation of heritage data

Semantic annotation of heterogeneous data (text, images, videos, 3D models, …)

Application deadline: June 22, 2022. Extended deadline : June 30, 2022. Interviews (only for selected candidates) : July2022 

Contracts are expected to start between October and December 2022. 


Candidates can apply for several positions, depending on their education and skills. Nevertheless, each application should be considered as a unique context and the cover letter should be targeted according to the specific activities of each job offer.