3D modeling and Cultural Heritage, Maldives
The SAIE lab partnered with the Maldives Heritage Survey project from 2017-2019 to build 3D digital models and documentation of threatened heritage sites across the Maldives.
Using a range of UAV and terrestrial modeling methods, such as photogrammetry, LiDAR, and GIS - SAIE lab produced dozens of site passports which allow the user to experience and tour ancient mosques, cemeteries, buddhist sites, and other cultural relics from the Maldives. The aim of the project, funded by the Arcadia Foundation, was to document digitally the full spectrum of cultural heritage on the Maldives to produce an open-access archive that might weather the threats of rising sea levels, climate change, and population displacement.
Below are a few examples of the 3D models and site passports produced for MHS.
Full project description can be found at: https://maldivesheritage.oxcis.ac.uk/
Many of our models are available on Sketchfab, or click examples below for a VR navigation of artifacts and sites.
Featured publications for the project
Frachetti, M.D. and Alexei N. Mar’yashev. (2007) Long-term Occupation and Seasonal Settlement of Eastern Eurasian Pastoralists at Begash, Kazakhstan. Journal of Field Archaeology 32(3): 221-42. https://doi.org/10.1179/009346907791071520