29 July at noon (London time)
Global Digital Heritage and the 3D digitization of archaeological heritage: from site to museum.
Three-dimensional documentation has become one of the most transformative tools for the research, conservation, and dissemination of archaeological heritage. The development of technologies such as digital photogrammetry, terrestrial laser scanning, unmanned aerial vehicles and 3D modelling has made it possible to produce highly accurate digital records that provide a fundamental basis for the integrated management of cultural heritage.
This lecture will present the work carried out by Global Digital Heritage in the large-scale and massive digitization of archaeological sites, monuments, and museum collections, illustrating the complete workflow from field data acquisition to the creation of high-resolution 3D models for research, preventive conservation, restoration, education, and public engagement.
Several international case studies will demonstrate how these methodologies are applied in both archaeological sites and museums, making underrepresented heritage more accessible and empowering local communities. All of this is guided by the philosophy of Open Access, through which GDH has helped make more than 12,000 3D models freely available from 21 countries and over 300 museums and archaeological sites, representing an unprecedented global effort in this field.
Finally, the presentation will examine the successful collaboration model established by GDH with museums, archaeological sites, universities, and institutions around the world. This model is based on mutual respect, shared objectives, a commitment to the democratization of culture, and operational decentralization and flexibility.
Dr. Victor Manuel López-Menchero Bendicho (Spain)
Dr. Víctor Manuel López-Menchero Bendicho is an archaeologist and specialist in archaeological heritage management, digital heritage, and virtual archaeology. He holds a European PhD in Archaeology. He serves as the Global Digital Heritage Scientific Director in Europe and is the GDH Chief Scientist for Interagency Collaborations. His research focuses on the documentation, conservation, interpretation, and digital dissemination of cultural heritage through innovative technologies such as 3D digitization, photogrammetry, and virtual reality. He is a founding member of the Spanish Society of Virtual Archaeology, coordinator of the Seville Principles on Virtual Archaeology, and has participated in numerous international research projects and conferences dedicated to digital heritage and archaeological preservation.
Since 2017, in his capacity as Deputy Chief Scientist at Global Digital Heritage, he has participated in and coordinated 3D digitization campaigns in numerous countries, highlighting his work at El Caño Foundation in Panama; La Ruta Maya Foundation in Guatemala; Carmo, Montemor-o-Novo, Évora, and São Cucufate museums in Portugal; Maremma, Kamarina, and Ragusa museums in Italy; Constanța, Adamclisi, Callatis, and Târgoviște museums in Romania; Podgorica and Nikšić museums in Montenegro; archaeological collections of the Emirate of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates; and the National Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the latter country, he was also awarded the 2023 Starobosanski Grad Dubrovnika Foundation Prize in recognition of his commitment to the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
His work in Spain has been particularly significant. As Scientific Director of Global Digital Heritage in Spain, he has led the 3D digitization of monuments, archaeological sites, and museums across the regions of Murcia, Catalonia, Madrid, Castile and León, and Castilla-La Mancha. In recognition of these efforts, Castilla-La Mancha region awarded Global Digital Heritage the Medal of Cultural Merit for its outstanding contributions to cultural heritage preservation and dissemination.
Global Digital Heritage world LiDAR initiative: revealing the unseen
The Global Digital Heritage World LiDAR Initiative (GDH LidArc) aims to advance the use of LiDAR technologies for documenting, analyzing, and preserving cultural heritage on a global scale. This presentation will explore how terrestrial and airborne LiDAR data are transforming archaeological research by revealing hidden structures, landscapes, and archaeological features concealed beneath vegetation, buried underground, or obscured by modern urban development. Through a series of international case studies, the presentation will demonstrate how LiDAR enables the creation of highly accurate three-dimensional models, supports heritage management, and fosters new interpretations of cultural landscapes and their evolution. It will also examine the importance of international collaboration and open-access data in building a shared digital record of the world’s cultural heritage. Finally, the lecture will address the technical, ethical, and sustainability challenges associated with the large-scale use of LiDAR data, highlighting its potential to reveal the unseen and expand our understanding of the past through innovative approaches to documentation, visualization, and archaeological analysis.
The LidArc Initiative has grown to $20 million (US), making it one of the largest privately funded archaeological remote sensing programmes in the world. Supported by the Hitz Foundation and led by Global Digital Heritage (GDH), LidArc unites seven institutional partners in a consortium dedicated to large-area airborne LiDAR survey, advanced data processing, and open-access dissemination of archaeological landscapes. This is a capacity-building program, providing fully funded LiDAR survey to underrepresented or underfunded regions and organisations.
Herbert D. G. Maschner, PhD (USA)
Dr. Herbert Maschner is President and Principal Chief Scientist of Global Digital Heritage, Inc. Formerly he was Executive Director of Center for Virtualization and Applied Spatial Technologies (CVAST) at the University of South Florida (2015-2017) and before that, Director of the Idaho Museum of Natural History (2008-2015). He is a retired Professor, having held tenured Professorships in the USF Department of Anthropology and the School of Geosciences, and in Anthropology at Idaho State University.
The recipient of over $40 million in grants, including PI on ~$5.9 million from the National Science Foundation, he has published 2 monographs, 9 edited books, 180 articles, chapters, and reviews, and presented over 300 conference papers with abstracts. Research areas include virtualization, visualization, informatics, 3D scanning, and public science; the creation of digital research infrastructures that transcend humanities, physical, natural, and social sciences; digital heritage, digital humanities, museum and research informatics, and digital natural history at regional and global scales. Other research interests in human biocomplexity and the environment, resource and community sustainability, long-term human impacts and interactions with marine ecosystems, fisheries, ocean modeling, and human ecosystem engineering. Theoretical specialties in evolutionary psychology, warfare and inequality, global historical ecologies, public education and the democratization of science, and virtual museums and repositories. Methodological interests in 3D imaging, digital heritage, and database construction, elemental and isotopic analyses, geographic information systems, social networks, and complex systems analysis. He has conducted archaeological and heritage research in 16 countries, but his primary field research areas are the Arctic, Western North America, and the Mediterranean.
No charge (free to attend)
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