Preserving Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age: Sending Out an S.O.S. - Hardcover

by Margie M. Burton (Editor), Nicola Lercari (Editor), Thomas E. Levy (Editor)

In late August 2015, international media outlets and cultural institutions reported that the Islamic State beheaded the Syrian scholar Khaled al Asaad and destroyed the 1st-century CE Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria. The world was horrorstruck. Apart from the human tragedy, archaeologists and the international communities were shocked by the wanton destruction of ancient remains that had survived for millennia. However, warfare and ideological destruction contribute just a fraction of the ongoing devastation of our forebears' traces. This book brings attention to the magnitude of the silent loss of cultural heritage occurring worldwide and the even more insidious loss of knowledge due to the lack of publication and preservation of original data, notes, plans, and photographs of excavated archaeological sites. Highlighting a growing sense of urgency to intervene in whatever way possible, this book provides readers with a non-technical overview of how archaeologists and other stakeholders are increasingly turning to digital methods to mitigate some of the threats to at-risk cultural heritage. This volume is a gateway to enhancing the scale and reach of capturing, analyzing, managing, curating, and disseminating cultural heritage knowledge in sustainable ways and promoting collaboration among scholars and stakeholder communities.

Author Biography

Nicola Lercari is an Assistant Professor of Heritage Studies at the University of California, Merced. Willeke Wendrich holds the Joan Silsbee Chair in African Cultural Archaeology and is a professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Digital Humanities in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. Benjamin W. Porter is an Associate Professor of Middle Eastern Archaeology at the University of California, Berkeley's Near Eastern Studies Department, and is a curator and former director of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Margie M. Burton is a Research Associate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, San Diego. Thomas E. Levy is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology and Judaic Studies at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where he holds the Norma Kershaw Chair in the Archaelogy of Ancient Israel and Neigboring Lands.