The actual law of physics will tell the truth. You first remove the head from the cylinder, seal off the valve ports, and fill the head space with fluid. Once the head is completely full, you dump the fluid into a measured jar, beaker, test tube, of some sort. This will give the actual dimension of the combustion head, from there, you measure the area above the piston when it is TDC.
Now you will have the actual true reading. If the piston is at flat with the top of the cylinder, then the liquid measurement is the true reading.
This is how the big boys with the big toys measure the heads on any hotrod engine.
Maximo