Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Remote Sensing as a crucial tool for Cultural Heritage preservation: case studies from the Near East
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
DAI Arbeitsgebiete
The German Archaeological Institute
A research institution under the remit of the German Foreign Office
www.dainst.de
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
At present 36 projects in
Near Eastern Countries
Scientific Research
Preservation projects
Presentation projects
Baalbek / Lebanon Uruk / Iraq
Gadara / Jordan Resafa / Syria
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Syrien: Dura Europos – important site dating c. 300 BC – 273 ADSource: Homepage Bureau of educational and cultural affairs, US Department of State, Syria Cultural Heritage Initiative
Archaeological sites in periods of conflict:
Major problem: illegal diggings
Comparison of Satellite imagery : June 2012 – April 2014
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Why are illegal diggings so destructive?
Prefered material in the Ancient Near East: mud
brick
Will be completely destroyed
Uruk/Southern Iraq,
famous architectural remains 3300 BC
Isin, Capital in Southern Iraq 2. mill. BC
Photo: J. Russell Photo: DAI
Photo: M. van Ess DAI/UNESCO
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Map of illegal diggings in Southern Iraq,
As of 2006Source: E. Stone, Stony Brook University
Source: Joanne Farchakh
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Archaeological site Southern Iraq in 2001 and in 2005
Semi-automated detection of looting activities
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Semi-automated detection of looting activities –
a project of
German Archaeological Institute / Bavarian State Dept. of Monuments and Sites Munich / German
Aerospace Center, DLR-DFD, Oberpfaffenhofen / Definiens AG, Munich / European Space Imaging, EUSI,
Munich
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Semi-automated detection of looting activities
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Hatra (Iraq) announced to be destroyed
BBC, 7th March 2015
Similar news worldwide
Nimrud (Iraq) announced to be destroyed
New York Times, 5th March 2015
Source: Homepage BBC Source: Homepage NYT
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Partners
► German Aerospace Center in Munich
► German Archaeological Institute Berlin
► European Space Imaging Munich
Evaluation of
Fake news / rumors about the destruction of cultural heritage using remote sensing data
S. Plank, G. Strunz, M. van Ess, P. Richardson
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Source:
Top: Google Earth
Below: M. van Ess
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Source:
ISIS propaganda film 11. April 2015
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Nimrud, North Western palace
Satellite image 8. June 2013
Source: (GeoEye-1/
©European Space Imaging
/DigitalGlobe)
Satellite image 20. April 2015
Source : WorldView-2,
©European Space Imaging /
DigitalGlobe
Satellite image 1. April 2015
Source : WorldView-2,
©European Space Imaging
/DigitalGlobe
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
World Heritage Hatra (1.-3. c. AD)
source:
ISIS propaganda film 4. April 2015
Evaluation of satellite imagery
Hatra between 7th of March and 4th of April:
architectural structures remain intact
► most probably the propaganda film of ISIS is correct: between 7th of March and 4th of April
the décor of the buildings has been destroyed but the buildings themselves remain intact
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Source : Michael Danti 2010: http://www.asor-syrianheritage.org/special-
report-update-on-the-situation-in-palmyra/Source: Wikimedia Commons
Palmyra (Syria)
Source : S. Plank /
©European Space Imaging / DigitalGlobe
Orient-Abteilung
Copernicus and Cultural Heritage Workshop – Dr. Dr. h. c. Margarete van Ess
Deutsches Archäologisches Institut
Source: J. Leissner,
Cultural Heritage: an important economic factor
in Europe (2007)