Home ›

Recording and digital image capturing of culturally significant areas in Africa

Models Project Information
Proj ID: 

Model08

Proj Subject: 

Recording and digital image capturing of culturally significant areas in Africa

Proj Name: 

African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Project

Proj Purpose: 

(1) To preserve, document and increase access to African heritage sites by compiling a database of digital images using digital photogrammetry, visualisation, GIS and database technology and making these widely available to the public
(2) To raise awareness about sites of cultural, architectural and aesthetic significance in Africa
(3) To train others in the use of recording techniques applied in the project
(4) To engage in research and development of photogrammetric recording and other new documentation technologies

Proj Time Frame: 

2005*-present

Although the digital documentation project was formally proposed to the funding agency in 2005, its main proponent, Professor Heinz Rüther had been gathering data toward the collection since 1995.

Proj Method & Activities: 

Stage 1: Photogrammetric recording and creating 3D models

Teams collected spatial and visual data on site using a combination of the following techniques: laser scanning, both aerial and close-range photogrammetry, satellite imagery, remote sensing, image processing, GIS, CAD and computer visualization programs and XML database, as well as conventional surveying techniques. An average of four to five days were spent at each location, recording millions of points that were later used to accurately reproduce the dimensions of structures, their features and design in digital form. The data gathered were used to create high-resolution digital aerial, panoramic and satellite images, stereoscopic photographs, GIS data sets, laser scans, 3D models accurate to within a few centimeters, 2D diagrams, maps, site plans, and video recordings.

Because capacity building was one of the project’s thrusts, the teams worked with work with staff of local schools and research centers, government institutions and heritage organizations in processing the data they collected. This offered an opportunity to train others in the field of digital photogrammetry, remote sensing, GIS and visualization.

Stage 2: Integrating data into the Spatial Information System and creating a database

After the data had been processed, these were compiled into a compendium. Originally, Professor Rüther had conceived of the database as being purely focused on heritage monuments and structures and hosted on the University of Cape Town’s website. But when he applied for and received funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, it was instead decided that hosting the database on the online digital library, Aluka (see discussion of Aluka in the Links section that appears below) would be a more effective course of action since the University’s project complemented Aluka which was set to be launched in 2006 with the support of the Foundation. Consequently, the data was made available in the Heinz Rüther Collection of Aluka as part of the broader content area entitled African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes.

Before publishing project data on the digital library, Aluka staff add material to accompany the images generated by Professor Rüther and his team. These take the form of archival documents, field notes and reports from archaeological excavations, photographs of African peoples and communities as well as of rock art, ethnographies and early travelers accounts, and other supporting manuscripts, sketches and illustrations.

In line with the objective of improving access to documented sites within the continent, non-profit organizations, government agencies, schools and research centers in Africa sign up with JSTOR in order to access the data and images free of charge. Other interested parties are required to sign a license agreement with JSTOR and pay a moderate amount (determined after considering the size and resources available to the requesting institution) to access materials on Aluka. Viewers can then access and manipulate the project data and models on Aluka and images from the Heinz Rüther Collection can even be downloaded for use with GIS and 3D visualization programs. However, users have no capacity or permission to modify the information that appears on the database.

As of 2009, there are over 7,000 entries in the Heinz Rüther Collection obtained over a 26-year period (from 1982-2008).

Models Coverage
Location: 

By 2005, only 27 sites in Africa had been inscribed on the World Heritage list and in many of the lesser known areas, little or – as was often the case – no conservation measures were being undertaken to protect the sites. This project was conceptualized by Professor Rüther and his team to focus attention on the sites that received less attention and to make African sites (and information about them) more accessible, especially to citizens.

At present the project covers (1) Ethiopia – Churches in Lalibela and Stele field in Aksum; (2) Tanzania – the medieval merchant cities of Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara in Tanzania, and the Engaruka landscape (agricultural terraces and irrigation systems) in the Rift Valley; (3) Mali – the Great Mosque in Djenné and Timbuktu, and the Bandiagara escarpment; (4) Kenya – Old Town in Lamu; (5) Ghana – Asante Temples in Besease and Patakro, and Elmina Fort along the Gold Coast; (6) Zimbabwe – ‘dry-stone’ ruins of Great Zimbabwe. Many of the sites included in the Heinz Rüther Collection thus far are UNESCO World Heritage Sites; (7) Sudan – the pyramids of Meroe; and (8) South Africa – rock shelters and caves on the Cederberg Mountains and the Mapungubwe cultural landscape.

Models Financing
Funding Agency: 

Privately funded

Portions of stage 1 were funded by the University of Cape Town with some support coming from the UNESCO Participation Program. In 2006, the project received a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for US$1.1M. This was used for subsequent documentation activities in stage 1 and for stage 2. Additional financial assistance for the database was also obtained from the Arcadia Fund (formerly Lisbet Rausing Charitable Fund, a charity that offers grants to protect endangered African treasures).

Models Organization
Mod Org Name: 

Department of Geomatics

Org Project Director: 

Heinz Rüther (Professor Emeritus and Chairperson of the Geomatics Department)

Org Resources: 

Digital mapping was conducted in teams with upwards of 30 people. On some sites, non-financial support was obtained from other academic institutions (e.g., the Universities of Nairobi, Dar-es-Salaam, Stuttgart, Melbourne, and ETH Zurich offered logistical support) and government authorities (e.g., Ethiopian Mapping Authority).

Aluka, which hosts the project’s compendium, is a partner, but separate initiative with its own staff and resources. The content area in which the Heinz Rüther Collection appears is guided by three Senior Advisors: Dr. George Abungu (Chief Executive of Okello Abungu Heritage Consultants; Chairman of Africa 2009), Professor Martin Hall (Vice-Chancellor Designate at the University of Salford) and Professor Susan McIntosh (Professor of Anthropology at Rice University). It also relies on feedback from the academic community as well as from the government and private sector.

Org Mailing Address: 

Department of Geomatics
University of Cape Town
Private Bag
Rondebosch 7701
South Africa

Org Contact Person: 
Recording and digital image capturing of culturally significant areas in Africa
Models Outcome
Material Type: 

Database (see discussion in Methods and Main Activities)

Resource Location: 

http://www.aluka.org/

Models Evaluation
Status: 

Another 15 sites have been identified for digital mapping for the period of 2008-2011, among them Musawwarat es Sufra in Sudan; monuments of Stone Town in Zanzibar, Tanzania; the Mandara Mountains in Cameroon; Fort Jesus in Mombassa, Kenya; the Royal Palace of Abomey in Benin; the fortress in Mozambique; Old Town in Pemba, Tanzania; and the Churches in Tana Lake, Ethiopia.

The project team is working on making available (on compact disc format) interactive software that allows visitors to “walk through” and “fly through” the virtual cityscapes and landscapes. This will build upon the virtual tours of selected sites already offered on Aluka (in quicktime movie file format).

Selection Criteria & Results of Initiative: 

The African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Project has been a useful tool in furthering knowledge about African heritage and in the practical application of knowledge management systems. According to Rajan (2009), 20% of Aluka users come from Africa. The project output is currently used in other research (lending itself well to quantitative analysis) and for education purposes, with potential for use in promoting tourism and as an aid to conservation and restoration projects. Whether taken alone or in conjunction with Aluka, it is a useful resource for research, teaching, and local and global exchanges of information.

This project’s experience highlights the importance of networking. By linking up with Aluka, the team from the University of Cape Town was able to find a more cost-effective means for making their database widely accessible and they were able to reach wider audiences than they might have attracted as an isolated link. More staff time and project resources was able to be allotted to stage 1 than to stage 2, which utilized already existing competencies and information systems.

This case study recognizes the sad fact that materials and information surrounding artifacts are often found in and more easily accessible to people outside of the country or community to which such heritage originates. The provision it makes for free access to local users of the database is admirable.

Applicability to Philippine Setting: 

Remote sensing and geographic information systems technologies have not been widely applied to studies of heritage structures in the Philippines. However, local expertise exists to be tapped at a later date. The Geomatics for Environment and Development Program (GED) for instance, is based at the Manila Observatory of the Ateneo de Manila University and UP DIliman offers students training in geomatics at the College of Engineering.

An initiative similar to Aluka lies within reach in the Philippines. IPC Project 297 has already begun compiling local initiatives on heritage architecture in the country. This could later link up with preexisting compendia generated by other organizations (e.g., the output of the Cultural Mapping Project of Vigan undertaken by UST and the Vigan City Government in 2007, of Vigan House Documentation and Photodocumentation Workshops; Collections of DADAPILAN Ilocano Studies Center, the Center for Kapampangan Studies, and other research institutions; the archives of local chapters of the United Architects of the Philippines and the UP College of Architecture). In order to render the database more fully comprehensive, it could also tap into the network of university libraries in the Philippines. This wider scope would make it an invaluable resource. However, such an endeavor would require the willingness of different organizations to come together to work on the common goal and a large degree of coordination from institutions that deal with heritage architecture and heritage-related work.

Possible Benefits: 

A comprehensive database of studies on Philippine heritage would facilitate local research and education efforts, and would encourage the production of more scholarly work on heritage architecture.

Although Aluka is a research tool mainly utilized by institutions for higher learning, the Philippines might also benefit from a database that could be made available in a format that can be used as a resource in grade schools and high schools across the country. This interactive multimedia would make classroom lessons in Philippine history and Social Studies or in Sibika/Araling Panlipunan come alive, thereby making heritage more relevant and a topic of greater interest for students at an early age. Using computer technologies that they are more familiar with to present visually appealing, educational materials would show today’s youth that heritage need not be distanced from their modern life; enshrined in the past and relegated only to occasional visits to museums and monuments. It might even instill among students (and users of the database, in general) a greater appreciation for the built environment and material culture.

Geomatic studies would serve as an aid to attracting tourism and changing the prevailing perception that the sole (or at least the major) tourist attraction in the country is its natural resources. Funds generated from an increase in heritage tourism and from an increased awareness of the importance of heritage structures can then support future conservation efforts.

Documentation of sites and structures can be an interim strategy for protecting deteriorating structures while funds, technical competence, and other resources are amassed to a state where conservation can be more adequately pursued.

Reference: 
Recording and digital image capturing of culturally significant areas in Africa
Links: 
Recording and digital image capturing of culturally significant areas in Africa