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In January 2013 the Dean and Chapter of Hereford and the Hereford Mappa Mundi Trust worked in conjunction with Factum Arte to undertake a unique 3D digital scan of the 700 year-old masterpiece, the Hereford Mappa Mundi.  Using their advanced digital scanning technology they have created an extraordinary, life sized, three dimensional reproduction of the map’s surface, representing a tactile version of the largest surviving medieval world map.  

Using the latest non-contact digital scanning, processing and routing techniques which have been developed specifically for conservation applications, this plaster relief reveals, in unprecedented detail, how the map was originally made and how it has aged.  These ‘scars’ include original makers marks, evidence of hundreds of years of human interaction and rudimentary conservation techniques undertaken over a century ago.

This remarkable object in now on permanent display within the Mappa Mundi & Chained Library Exhibition and  will provide scholars, curators and the public with a safe and previously impossible method of studying the surface of the map.

It is a beautiful and intriguing object that offers all visitors a tactile exploration of the map that has never been possible before.

For opening times and admission prices please click here.