DIGITAL HERITAGE PROJECT UNVEILED

Google has teamed up
with digital heritage
preservation company
CyArk to create a record of
heritage sites around the
world – including some of
those at the greatest risk of
destruction – by rendering
them in 3D.he project, called
Open Heritage, lets you explore
them from the comfort of
your own home.
Models of 26 sites can be
viewed online so far.hey include
ancient Corinth, the ruins of the
Mayan city of Chichén Itzá and
the relatively modernWaitangi
Treaty Grounds. Users can walk
through the sites virtually to
discover facts about each. An
interactive 3D story about
the ancient Myanmar city
of Bagan has also been
created, including narration
by historian Bettany Hughes.
CyArk was established
after founder Ben Kacyra
saw footage of the Taliban
destruction of Buddhist statues
in Afghanistan, after which
he became determined to
record our monuments for
the future. It was a vision
shared by Google.
“One of the main motivations
behind this project is to bring
the story of our global history
at risk to the public’s attention
and learn about the tools we
have available to preserve
and share it with future
generations,” says Chance
Coughenour, project lead and
Google’s digital archaeologist.
he project is accessible
online, via dedicated iOS and
Android apps and, for a fully
immersive experience, through
virtual reality headsets. It’s
hoped that more locations
will be added in future.
“his is a global-scale project
... and the first group of heritage
data it includes is only the
beginning,” says Coughenour.
https://artsandculture.google.
com/project/cyark