Virtualization as a Method for Heritage Preservation: A Case Study from Seyitömer Höyük, Turkey

Summary

In Turkey, rapid industrialization is one of the most prescient concerns facing the country’s natural and cultural heritage. Increasingly, archaeologists are expanding their traditional toolkit to incorporate methods of virtualization, to create 3D models of sites, structures, and artifacts. This paper offers a case study of digital heritage preservation at Seyitömer Höyük, an Early Bronze Age (ca. 3000-2000 BCE) urban center that is located within an active coal mine, and is under direct threat from industrialization. This paper reveals how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) were used to create a photorealistic 3D model of this endangered site, and produce a valuable interpretive and educational tool available in an open access format on the Internet. It is argued that the use of such digitization strategies is a valuable component of site management planning, particularly in cases where archaeological resources face imminent danger from external threats.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 17326