Earlier in 2020, the Cultural Heritage Laboratory at the Social Science Center at Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) received support from the Guangdong Provincial Committee through the Special Funds for Cultivating Scientific and Technological Innovation for Guangdong University Students (also known as the Climbing Plan).

The student assistant team at the Cultural Heritage Laboratory applied for funding for the “application of 3D scanning, printing and modeling technology in the digital assembly and restoration of archaeological ceramic specimens,” under the Technical Innovation Production category.

Their project sought to develop new methods for digitally assembling and restoring archaeological ceramic specimens through the use of the Ceramic Specimen Database. They would integrate technologies such as 3D scanning, printing, and modeling. Undergraduates students have been working in the Cultural Heritage Laboratory for over six months under the tutelage of the Social Science Center lecturers.

The students are working to apply cutting-edge science and technology to the assembly and restoration of archeological relics. The interdisciplinary research platform takes a different approach from cultural institutions by aligning with the needs of industry.

The project has the potential to promote digital mosaics and repairs of cultural relics made of other materials, such as bronze and bone. It is thought that the technology could be used for virtual displays and creative cultural development while serving public educational needs.

The Ceramics Specimen Database in the Cultural Heritage Laboratory has over twenty thousand specimens from across twenty provinces and cities across mainland China, as well as more than one hundred sites across the world.