Fostering Preservation and Public Engagement of a Colonial-Era Site on Barbuda with Photogrammetry

Summary

This is an abstract from the "At the Frontier of Big Climate, Disaster Capitalism, and Endangered Cultural Heritage in Barbuda, Lesser Antilles" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The threats to cultural heritage on the Caribbean island of Barbuda are multifaceted, stemming from natural disasters, rising sea levels, political and economic policies, and infrastructure development. While such threats are not new, their increasing and combined detrimental impacts are leading to the exponential damage and destruction of cultural heritage. Highland House, a colonial complex spanning the eighteenth to early nineteenth centuries, situated on Barbuda’s highest point, is exposed to harsh environmental conditions and dramatic climate events. While climate change, resulting in more dramatic and frequent climate events such as hurricanes, is increasing deterioration rates of the structures at Highland House, changing social, political, and economic practices also threaten the site. This paper explores the potential of employing aerial (drone) and ground-based photogrammetry to collect 3D geospatial data for documentation, preservation, and dissemination efforts of Highland House. The Barbuda Council, a local authority, collaborates on the project to foster cultural heritage preservation through tourism efforts. 3D models were generated from combined aerial and ground-based photogrammetry of the site’s extant structures for multi-purpose use including historical reconstructions and web-based models accessible on and offsite to promote broader public awareness of the site and encourage the public to visit Highland House.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• At the Frontier of Big Climate, Disaster Capitalism, and Endangered Cultural Heritage in Barbuda, Lesser Antilles   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 40472.0