Combining InfraRed Thermography and UAV Digital Photogrammetry for the Protection and Conservation of Rupestrian Cultural Heritage Sites in Georgia: A Methodological Application

The rock-cut city of Vardzia is an example of the extraordinary rupestrian cultural heritage of Georgia. The site, Byzantine in age, was carved in the steep tuff slopes of the Erusheti mountains, and due to its peculiar geological characteristics, it is particularly vulnerable to weathering and degradation, as well as frequent instability phenomena. These problems determine serious constraints on the future conservation of the site, as well as the safety of the visitors. This paper focuses on the implementation of a site-specific methodology, based on the integration of advanced remote sensing techniques, such as InfraRed Thermography (IRT) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-based Digital Photogrammetry (DP), with traditional field surveys and laboratory analyses, with the aim of mapping the potential criticality of the rupestrian complex on a slope scale. The adopted methodology proved to be a useful tool for the detection of areas of weathering and degradation on the tuff cliffs, such as moisture and seepage sectors related to the ephemeral drainage network of the slope. These insights provided valuable support for the design and implementation of sustainable mitigation works, to be profitably used in the management plan of the site of Vardzia, and can be used for the protection and conservation of rupestrian cultural heritage sites characterized by similar geological contexts.

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A risk-reduction framework for urban cultural heritage: a comparative study on Italian historic centres

Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development ◽

10.1108/jchmsd-07-2020-0099 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽

Author(s):

Francesca Giuliani ◽

Rosa Grazia De Paoli ◽

Enrica Di Miceli

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Social Life ◽

Large Scale ◽

Qualitative Assessment ◽

Content Type ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Step Procedure ◽

Response And Recovery ◽

A Site ◽

Key Resources

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present and validate a large-scale methodology for risk assessment and management in cultural heritage sites, taking into account their specific tangible or intangible values. Emphasis is given to historic centres that are key resources in building resilience to disasters but are also highly vulnerable due to several factors, such as the characteristics of the built environment, the community and social life, the lack of risk awareness and maintenance and finally the poor regulatory framework for their management and valorisation.Design/methodology/approachThe multi-step procedure starts from the assessment of the attributes of cultural heritage in order to identify priorities and address the analysis. Then, it evaluates the primary and secondary hazards in the area, the vulnerabilities and threats of the site and the impacts of the chain of events. Finally, it allows for calibrating a site-specific set of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery measures.FindingsThe application to two case studies in the Italian peninsula, the historic centres of San Gimignano and Reggio Calabria, allows for identifying research gaps and practical opportunities towards the adoption of common guidelines for the selection of safety measures.Originality/valueBy providing a qualitative assessment of risks, the research points out the potentialities of the methodology in the disaster risk management of cultural heritage due to its capacity to be comprehensive and inclusive towards disciplines and professionals.

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Three-Dimensional Digital Documentation of Cultural Heritage Site Based on the Convergence of Terrestrial Laser Scanning and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Photogrammetry

ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information ◽

10.3390/ijgi8020053 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 53 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Young Jo ◽

Seonghyuk Hong

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽

Three Dimensional Model ◽

Positional Accuracy ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Digital Documentation

Three-dimensional digital technology is important in the maintenance and monitoring of cultural heritage sites. This study focuses on using a combination of terrestrial laser scanning and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry to establish a three-dimensional model and the associated digital documentation of the Magoksa Temple, Republic of Korea. Herein, terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry was used to acquire the perpendicular geometry of the buildings and sites, where UAV photogrammetry yielded higher planar data acquisition rate in upper zones, such as the roof of a building, than terrestrial laser scanning. On comparing the two technologies’ accuracy based on their ground control points, laser scanning was observed to provide higher positional accuracy than photogrammetry. The overall discrepancy between the two technologies was found to be sufficient for the generation of convergent data. Thus, the terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry data were aligned and merged post conversion into compatible extensions. A three-dimensional (3D) model, with planar and perpendicular geometries, based on the hybrid data-point cloud was developed. This study demonstrates the potential for using the integration of terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry in 3D digital documentation and spatial analysis of cultural heritage sites.

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Economic and Societal Impacts on Cultural Heritage Sites, Resulting from Natural Effects and Climate Change

Heritage ◽

10.3390/heritage2010019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 279-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

George Alexandrakis ◽

Constantine Manasakis ◽

Nikolaos A. Kampanis

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Impact Analysis ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Socioeconomic Impact ◽

Strongly Correlated ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Policy Interventions ◽

A Site ◽

Market Benefits

The demand for a new concept of heritage, in which monuments and landscapes are considered active factors in creating a sense of history, is esteemed not only from a scientific and academic perspective, but as well as part of a more sensitive and efficient strategy to link cultural heritage and tourism, by bringing an integrative perspective to the forefront. Implementing such strategies is strictly correlated with the ability to support decision-makers and to increase people’s awareness towards a more comprehensive approach to heritage preservation. In the present work, a robust socioeconomic impact model is presented. Moreover, this work attempts to create an initial link between the economic impacts and natural hazards induced by the changes in the climatic conditions that cultural heritage sites face. The model’s novel socioeconomic impact analysis is the direct and indirect revenues related to the tourism use of a site, on which local economies are strongly correlated. The analysis indicated that cultural heritage sites provide a range of both market and non-market benefits to society. These benefits provide opportunities for policy interventions for the conservation of the cultural heritage sites and their promotion, but also to their protection against the impacts of climate change and natural disasters.

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GEOMATICS TECHNOLOGIES IN THE FRAMEWORK OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY PROJECT FOR INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xliii-b2-2020-1477-2020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol XLIII-B2-2020 ◽

pp. 1477-1484

Author(s):

C. Moise ◽

A.-M. Lazar ◽

C. E. Mihalache ◽

L. A. Dedulescu ◽

I. F. Dana Negula ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Integrated Management ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Non Invasive ◽

Aerial Mapping ◽

Remote Sensing Techniques ◽

Complex Project ◽

The Right ◽

Photorealistic Models

Abstract. Cultural heritage represents the link between past and present civilizations, contributing to the right appreciation of the present-day by understanding the historical evolution of different human communities that are shaping our world. Preservation of the cultural heritage and mitigating potential risks on invaluable artifacts or objectives is key to conserving the identity of present and future generations. Our complex project is dedicated to monitoring, conservation, protection and promotion of the Romanian cultural heritage. It addresses the challenge of better safeguarding the cultural heritage by developing a multidisciplinary approach.The combined use of Synthetic Aperture Radar and multispectral satellite imagery represent a non-invasive investigation instrument that enable multitemporal analysis, contributing with valuable insights regarding cultural heritage sites. Remote sensing techniques were used to generate geospatial products such as displacement maps, urban sprawl evolution maps, urban heat island maps and many more.For protecting important artifacts, innovative recipes based on nanotechnologies were developed. In order to promote these artifacts, 3D photorealistic models were created using 3D reconstruction technology. For selected cultural heritage objectives, an integrated LiDAR aerial mapping system has enabled the creation of a high accuracy 3D model.This paper illustrates how different technologies, ranging from remote sensing to nanotechnology, could be used for safeguarding and promoting the Romanian cultural heritage and represents a first step in establishing and consolidating a multidisciplinary team involved in this domain.

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THREE-DIMENSIONAL DIGITAL DOCUMENTATION OF HERITAGE SITES USING TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING AND UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE PHOTOGRAMMETRY

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-2-w5-395-2017 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol XLII-2/W5 ◽

pp. 395-398 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Y. H. Jo ◽

J.Y. Kim

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Terrestrial Laser Scanning ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Ground Control Points ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

Digital Documentation ◽

Absolute Coordinate System

Three-dimensional digital documentation is an important technique for the maintenance and monitoring of cultural heritage sites. This study focuses on the three-dimensional digital documentation of the Magoksa Temple, Republic of Korea, using a combination of terrestrial laser scanning and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry. Terrestrial laser scanning mostly acquired the vertical geometry of the buildings. In addition, the digital orthoimage produced by UAV photogrammetry had higher horizontal data acquisition rate than that produced by terrestrial laser scanning. Thus, the scanning and UAV photogrammetry were merged by matching 20 corresponding points and an absolute coordinate system was established using seven ground control points. The final, complete threedimensional shape had perfect horizontal and vertical geometries. This study demonstrates the potential of integrating terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry for three-dimensional digital documentation. This new technique is expected to contribute to the three-dimensional digital documentation and spatial analysis of cultural heritage sites.

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Cultural Sites Between Nationhood and Mankind

10.1093/oso/9780198825210.003.0011 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lorenzo Casini

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Regulatory Authority ◽

Legal Regime ◽

Unesco World Heritage ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

World Heritage Convention ◽

Complex Interactions ◽

Cultural Sites ◽

Complex Relationships ◽

A Site

The chapter explores the legal regime that currently addresses cultural heritage sites. It analyzes the complex relationships between local, national, and universal community interests in cultural heritage sites, and how law can address such relationships, by focusing on the regime that is based on the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention (WHC). The WHC is a system of complex interactions between state and global authorities, where states choose to bring in international regulators, but then find themselves having ceded significant regulatory authority to the latter who invoke community interests. Once a site is added to the WHC list, the interests at stake transcend national borders and an international arena has been established: This will allow foreign actors—or even domestic actors who do not share local or national communities—to monitor and to act against states’ policies that may affect the preservation of cultural heritage.

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Conservation of Cultural Heritage: Issues along the Thapathali-Teku stretch of the Bagmati River in Kathmandu, Nepal

Heritage ◽

10.3390/heritage2030135 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 2228-2242

Author(s):

Anita Tamrakar ◽

Rishi Ram Parajuli

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Holistic Approach ◽

Management Plan ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

The Past ◽

Technical Issues ◽

Daily Ritual ◽

Bagmati River ◽

The 19Th Century ◽

Financial Issues

The Bagmati, an auspicious and sacred river, is adorned with Ghat, Dharmashalas, Pati, Sattals, Temples, Brahmanaal etc. at various stretches within the valley for the facilitations of the devotees from the daily ritual bath to the last right of cremation. The Bagmati has been associated with the peoples of the Kathmandu valley, making it a highly significant cultural space of their devoutness. Authorities fail to recognize the significance of the site in terms of time, lack of proper policies, management plan, resources for safeguarding and conservation; several issues and challenges arise regarding the conservation of the site. Apart from technical issues such as material originality, financial issues, environmental issues, degradation of river water quality, development pressure and encroachment have ruined the site. This paper presents the significance of the 19th century cultural heritage sites along the Bagmati River from Thapathali to Teku Dobhan, which has not been prioritized for safeguarding. This also addresses the restoration, reconstruction, conservation and preparation of the management plan. In order to safeguard the past legacy of this site for the future generations, the holistic approach of conservation has to be opted for.

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Marine Robots Mapping the Present and the Past: Unraveling the Secrets of the Deep

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12233902 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (23) ◽

pp. 3902

Author(s):

Nadir Kapetanović ◽

Antonio Vasilijević ◽

Đula Nađ ◽

Krunoslav Zubčić ◽

Nikola Mišković

Keyword(s):

Cultural Heritage ◽

Underwater Cultural Heritage ◽

Remotely Operated Vehicle ◽

Side Scan Sonar ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Marine Vehicles ◽

Current State ◽

Constant Change ◽

Aerial Vehicle ◽

First Time

Underwater cultural heritage sites are subject to constant change, whether due to natural forces such as sediments, waves, currents or human intervention. Until a few decades ago, the documentation and research of these sites was mostly done manually by diving archaeologists. This paper presents the results of the integration of remote sensing technologies with autonomous marine vehicles in order to make the task of site documentation even faster, more accurate, more efficient and more precisely georeferenced. It includes the integration of multibeam sonar, side scan sonar and various cameras into autonomous surface and underwater vehicles, remotely operated vehicle and unmanned aerial vehicle. In total, case studies for nine underwater cultural heritage sites around the Mediterranean region are presented. Each case study contains a brief archaeological background of the site, the methodology of using autonomous marine vehicles and sensors for their documentation, and the results in the form of georeferenced side-scan sonar mosaics, bathymetric models or reconstructed photogrammetric models. It is important to mention that this was the first time that any of the selected sites were documented with sonar technologies or autonomous marine vehicles. The main objective of these surveys was to document and assess the current state of the sites and to establish a basis on which future monitoring operations could be built and compared. Beyond the mere documentation and physical preservation, examples of the use of these results for the digital preservation of the sites in augmented and virtual reality are presented.

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Monitoring Air Pollution in the Vicinity of Cultural Heritage Sites in Cyprus Using Remote Sensing Techniques

Digital Heritage - Lecture Notes in Computer Science ◽

10.1007/978-3-642-16873-4_44 ◽

2010 ◽

pp. 536-547 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kyriakos Themistocleous ◽

Argyro Nisantzi ◽

Diofantos Hadjimitsis ◽

Adrianos Retalis ◽

Dimitris Paronis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Remote Sensing ◽

Air Pollution ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Remote Sensing Techniques

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IMPACT OF VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE ON ACCESSIBILITY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences ◽

10.5194/isprs-archives-xlii-2-w11-929-2019 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol XLII-2/W11 ◽

pp. 929-936 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A. Paladini ◽

A. Dhanda ◽

M. Reina Ortiz ◽

A. Weigert ◽

E. Nofal ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Cultural Heritage ◽

Information And Communication Technologies ◽

User Study ◽

Seismic Stability ◽

Main Role ◽

Heritage Sites ◽

Heritage Site ◽

Information And Communication ◽

A Site

Abstract. Accessibility plays a main role among the aspects that contribute to the conservation of Cultural Heritage sites. Seismic stability, fragility of the artefacts, conflicts, deterioration, natural disasters, climate change and visitors’ impact are only some of the possible causes that might lead to the inaccessibility of a heritage site for both researchers and visitors.The increasing potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the conservation field has resulted in the development of Augmented and Virtual reality (AR and VR) experiences. These ones can be very effective for what concerns the description of the visual experience, but also improve the understanding of a site and even became analytic research tools.This paper presents an inaccessible Buddhist temple in the Myanmar city of Bagan as a case study for the realization of a VR experience that aims at providing accessibility to knowledge and therefore a better understanding of the cultural value. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the VR for this purpose, a user study has been conducted and its results are reported.

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