The use of technology has become vital in the documentation and conservation of heritage, especially in difficult or urgent circumstances. After many landmarks of the historic city of Palmyra were destroyed during Syria's war in 2015, conservators built three-dimensional digital models of the destroyed city to aid its future reconstruction. The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2001 with very little prior documentation prompted action in the documentation of vulnerable monuments, such as the establishment of CyArk. More recently, detailed digital surveys and a heritage BIM model were essential in the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris after it was devastated by fire in 2019.
One of the digital tools used in these initiatives is photogrammetry. Put simply, photogrammetry is the process of obtaining measured information from photographs. Although it traces its origin to the nineteenth century, its use has been enhanced with the use of software and digital photography, with tools available to convert multiple photographs of an object or building into a three-dimensional model. These can include detailed color information capturing a lifelike appearance of the physical object. Drone footage can even be used to build context models in a fraction of the time to conduct surveys. Thus, it is an invaluable tool for conservators, archaeologists, and architects.
