Eiman ELGEWELY
(Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt)
Keywords: Cultural Heritage, Heritage at Risk, Digital Heritage, Virtual Reconstruction, Digitization, 3D Printing
Abstract:
The world is sweeping through waves of violence, armed conflicts, and wars, which the Arab world and the Middle East have received the bulk of it in the last few years, resulting in the loss of countless, unique antiquities and the destruction of significant archaeological sites. Furthermore, various museums in the Arab region have been subjected to frequent terrorist attacks, causing severe damage to their collections, in addition to systematic looting and illegal trafficking. There are several other threats, including illegal digging for antiquities by the locals as a result of struggling economic conditions. In addition to the absence of awareness of their importance and the lack of a sense of direct benefit to the neighboring population, which has led to an increase in the antiquities trafficking rates. All those risks have motivated many researchers and even non-specialist activists to launch initiatives trying to exploit digital technology to document and disseminate cultural heritage materials, and even draw attention and shape the public opinion. With the rapid development of digitization, 3D modeling, and 3D printing, there are innovative methods for preserving and reviving lost or affected cultural heritage in the light of the widespread use of open-source software and platforms and low-cost technologies. In this research, we survey and investigate some case studies and projects in an attempt to assess and analyze these digital experiments. We also raise many questions regarding the accuracy and reliability of many recently created 3D reconstructed models, as well as copyright issues of 3D printed replicas. We also discuss the role of media in focusing attention towards certain archaeological sites rather than others, resulting in several repeated 3D versions of the same site, and conclude with discussing how far identity and the sense of place are reflected in such digital heritage projects.
References:
• M. Silver, F. Rinaudo, E. Morezzi, F. Quenda, and M. L. Moretti, “The cipa database for saving the heritage of Syria,” in International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences – ISPRS Archives, 2016.
• Denker, “PALMYRA AS IT ONCE WAS: 3D VIRTUAL RECONSTRUCTION AND VISUALIZATION OF AN IRREPLACABLE LOST TREASURE,” ISPRS – Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spat. Inf. Sci., vol. XLII-5/W1, pp. 565–572, May 2017.