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National-Scale Inventory and Management of Heritage Sites And Monuments:Advantages and Challenges of Using Geospatial Technology


Affiliations
1 Regional Centres, National Remote Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad 500 037, India
2 Ministry of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi 110 011, India
3 Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi 110 023, India
 

India is a vibrant and culturally diverse country with more than 3600 heritage sites and monuments of national importance, of which only 36 are recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. These heritage sites and monuments are precious and non-renewable resources which need to be conserved, protected and monitored. Conventional along with emerging geospatial techniques are required to prepare databases and action plans to manage them effectively and efficiently. This article discusses ISRO’s efforts in the last decade in the field of archaeology using high-resolution remote sensing data in conjunction with GIS, GPS and other geospatial techniques in various applications like inventory and site management plans for a monument/site, cultural resources management plans for World Heritage Sites as well as in exploration archaeology and research for predictive location modelling in the identification of areas with high archaeological potential. Most of the projects have been executed in collaboration with major stakeholders involved in archaeology and in the process have institutionalized the use of geospatial technology to a large extent in operational and research activities.

Keywords

Cultural Resources Management, Geospatial Techniques, Heritage Sites and Monuments, Predictive Locational Modelling.
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  • National-Scale Inventory and Management of Heritage Sites And Monuments:Advantages and Challenges of Using Geospatial Technology

Abstract Views: 277  |  PDF Views: 139

Authors

Uday Raj
Regional Centres, National Remote Sensing Centre, Balanagar, Hyderabad 500 037, India
N. K. Sinha
Ministry of Culture, Government of India, New Delhi 110 011, India
Rakesh Tewari
Archeological Survey of India, New Delhi 110 023, India

Abstract


India is a vibrant and culturally diverse country with more than 3600 heritage sites and monuments of national importance, of which only 36 are recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. These heritage sites and monuments are precious and non-renewable resources which need to be conserved, protected and monitored. Conventional along with emerging geospatial techniques are required to prepare databases and action plans to manage them effectively and efficiently. This article discusses ISRO’s efforts in the last decade in the field of archaeology using high-resolution remote sensing data in conjunction with GIS, GPS and other geospatial techniques in various applications like inventory and site management plans for a monument/site, cultural resources management plans for World Heritage Sites as well as in exploration archaeology and research for predictive location modelling in the identification of areas with high archaeological potential. Most of the projects have been executed in collaboration with major stakeholders involved in archaeology and in the process have institutionalized the use of geospatial technology to a large extent in operational and research activities.

Keywords


Cultural Resources Management, Geospatial Techniques, Heritage Sites and Monuments, Predictive Locational Modelling.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv113%2Fi10%2F1934-1947