Online Photo Archives as Tools for Archaeological Heritage Preservation and Engagement Workshop

This workshop, organized by Jack Green (ACOR), was part of the 2020 ASOR Virtual Annual Meeting. Online photo archives provide access to thousands of recent and historic images of archaeological and cultural heritage collections, sites, and landscapes across the MENA region. These range from aerial to ground-based photographs, crowd-sourced images, institutional or project-based archives, and digitized private archives. A recent increase in such online archives can partly be traced to recent responses to damage and destruction of cultural heritage across the Middle East. Such images may be used to aid reconstructions of damaged structures or objects, as research tools for monitoring changes and threats to collections, sites, and monuments in the region, as well as resources for preserving cultural memory among local and diaspora communities. Despite multiple resources and platforms available online, there is limited dialog between such projects about shared values, roles, and objectives. This workshop provides a forum to discuss opportunities and challenges for online photo archives focused on heritage preservation in the MENA region, asking questions such as: Who are their intended audiences? How might these archives be used in scholarly and public education settings? How effective are they in documenting, monitoring, and preserving heritage? Finally, the workshop attendees will consider the importance of collaboration, sharing, and building greater awareness of such archives.

Видео Online Photo Archives as Tools for Archaeological Heritage Preservation and Engagement Workshop канала ASOR