An initiative made up of three Syrian teams specialized in the protection of heritage and antiquities won the competition award presented by the global “Our World Heritage” initiative, to support the efforts of these teams and build the capacities of Syrians to preserve heritage through digital documentation and combating the illegal trade in antiquities.
The teams contributing to the project are part of the “Heritage Protection Initiative” team at The Day After Organization, a team from the “ARC/K project” for the protection and documentation of world cultural heritage, and “Artive” team for antiquities protection.
The incentive award includes technically supporting the teams and inviting representatives of the participating teams to attend a training course in the field of 3D imaging.
The teams documented many important landmarks and buildings in northwestern Syria, specifically the area of “Dead Cities”, and produced three-dimensional models of these documented buildings.
The importance of this initiative lies in introducing the use of modern documentation techniques on Syrian antiquities, training specialists within it on their use, and raising awareness of the local population about the importance of antiquities.
In addition to the fact that the outputs and models produced can be used in wide fields, serving the cause of the Syrian cultural heritage, such as its use in the field of education and raising awareness, and using them as historical evidence to change the state of antiquities over time, or even to restore buildings or damaged parts of them.
The “Heritage Protection Initiative” team at “The Day After” Organization consists of several specialists and former workers in the field of heritage and antiquities in Syria, including engineers and archaeologists, working in various fields of excavation, restoration, and documentation of antiquities.
The coordinator of the initiative to protect the archaeological cultural heritage, Khaled Hayatleh, and the team leader in Syria is Engineer Abdul Rahman Al-Yahia.
The team has completed several projects previously, and its activities are concentrated in the regions of northwestern Syria, and the Heritage Initiative had a major role in monitoring and documenting the sabotage acts that affected Syrian antiquities.
To view the work of the “Heritage Protection Initiative”, visit its website.
