CyArk

Last updated
CyArk
Formation2003
FounderBen Kacyra
PurposeDigital documentation of cultural heritage sites and architecture
Headquarters Oakland, California
ProductsCyArk 3D Heritage Archive
Methods Laser scanning, digital modeling
Website cyark.org

CyArk (from "cyber archive" [1] ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization located in Oakland, California, United States founded in 2003. CyArk's mission is to "digitally record, archive and share the world's most significant cultural heritage and ensure that these places continue to inspire wonder and curiosity for decades to come." [2]

Contents

CyArk's founder, Ben Kacyra, stated during his speech at the 2011 TED Conference that the organization was created in response to increasing human and natural threats to heritage sites, and to ensure the "collective human memory" is not lost while making it available through modern dissemination tools like the internet and mobile platforms. [3]

The organization is known for its work with a number of partners in producing high-quality digital scanning of World Heritage Sites, such as Angkor Wat, Pompeii, Chichen Itza, the Eastern Qing tombs, Nineveh, the Antonine Wall, Mount Rushmore, and many others. [4] [5] [6] [7]

History

Profile of Tikal Temple II Cyark Tikal Temple II.jpg
Profile of Tikal Temple II

CyArk was founded in 2003 by Iraqi expatriate and civil engineer Ben Kacyra. In the 1990s, Kacyra was instrumental in the invention and marketing of the first truly portable laser scanner. The scanner, called the Cyrax, was designed for surveying purposes, and was produced by Cyra Technologies. [8]

In 2001, Cyra Technologies and all rights to the invention were sold to the Swiss firm Leica Geosystems. [9]

After sale of the company, Ben Kacyra dedicated his energy to using the new technology to document archaeological and cultural heritage resources, and to the CyArk organization. [10]

CyArk's primary focus has been the digital documentation of threatened ancient and historical architecture. This architecture includes sites such as Colorado's Mesa Verde, Italy's Pompeii, Wyoming's Fort Laramie, and Kacyra's native Mosul in Iraq – also known as the biblical Assyrian city of Nineveh.

CyArk has generated a fairly large amount of publicity since its inception. Initially, this was in part due to the relevance of Kacyra's life story to the ongoing Iraq War, during which much of the country's cultural patrimony was destroyed amidst a spasm of looting and heavy military damage to important historical sites such as Babylon and Samarra. As the public face of the CyArk organization, Ben Kacyra became a popular speaker at conferences such as Google's Zeitgeist (2008), and TEDGlobal (2011), describing his life story and the potential of digital preservation to save the "collective treasure" of global heritage. In recent years, however, he has taken on more of an advisory role, while the independent non-profit organization CyArk has gathered considerable momentum.

As of 2014, CyArk has become a major entity in the historic preservationist and cultural resource/heritage management communities. The 2014 CyArk 500 Annual Summit was held at the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C. The theme was "Democratising cultural heritage: Enabling access to information, technology and support." [11]

Project focus

3-dimensional projection of Tikal Temple II Cyark Tikal Temple II 3D.jpg
3-dimensional projection of Tikal Temple II

CyArk seeks to help preserve heritage sites around the world through utilizing digital documentation to support the work of heritage managers and further connect people with the history of these sites. According to the site's website, they work across three principle areas: conservation, recovery, and discovery. [12]

CyArk's digital data may be useful for professionals monitoring and managing gradual architectural deterioration at cultural sites. [13] This data could also make it possible to generate blueprints for reconstruction following catastrophic events, such as the Afghan Taliban's notorious demolition of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 or the 2010 destruction by suspected arson of the Royal Tombs of Kasubi, Uganda. The Kasubi Tombs were digitally preserved by CyArk a year before their demise, providing a lasting digital record and potential blueprint for reconstruction. [14]

In 2019, CyArk launched Open Heritage 3D in partnership with Historic Environment Scotland and the University of South Florida to make digital data of heritage sites available to download online for people to use for educational purposes.

According to CyArk's online mission statement, the dissemination of free digital content about heritage sites can help encourage additional visits by tourists, and invigorate communities with revenue from cultural tourism. Youth and educators will benefit from free, publicly accessible historical and site information, including some Creative Commons-licensed content. And finally, the creation of digital records ensures not only that the sites will never be lost forever; it also provides a digital resource to facilitate the continued mining of information over time as technologies and methods of information extraction evolve.

Selected list of projects

The CyArk website also offers a world map of the hazards which global heritage sites face, such as earthquakes and sea level rise due to global warming.

Funding and partnerships

Initially, CyArk was fully supported by the Kacyra family and their Kacyra Family Foundation. [8]

CyArk is now primarily funded through individual project funding, corporate in-kind support, and foundation grants/donations. Corporate funders as of 2014 include Microsoft, IBM, Iron Mountain, Autodesk, and Trimble Navigation. [18]

CyArk has also established working relationships with project partners in engineering, media, and academia, including Christofori und Partner and PBS. At UC Berkeley, the organization coordinated an internship program with the department of Anthropology in 2006–2007. CyArk is currently an approved work-study employer for Cal students.

As of October 2011, the already-existing partnerships with the United States' National Park Service (NPS), the United Kingdom's Historic Scotland (HS), World Monuments Fund, and Mexico's Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Historia (INAH) had been greatly expanded, [19] with upcoming projects that include Mexico's Teotihuacan, [20] Scotland's Rosslyn Chapel, [21] Iraq's Babylon, and the U.S.' Mount Rushmore National Memorial. [5] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nineveh</span> Ancient Assyrian city

Nineveh was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located on the outskirts of Mosul in modern-day northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as well as the largest city in the world for several decades. Today, it is a common name for the half of Mosul that lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and the country's Nineveh Governorate takes its name from it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nahum</span> Minor prophet in the Bible

Nahum was a minor prophet whose prophecy is recorded in the Tanakh, also called the Hebrew Bible and The Old Testament. His book comes in chronological order between Micah and Habakkuk in the Bible. He wrote about the end of the Assyrian Empire, and its capital city, Nineveh, in a vivid poetic style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mosul</span> City in Nineveh, Iraq

Mosul is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second largest city in Iraq in terms of population and area after the capital Baghdad, with a population of over 3.7 million. Mosul is approximately 400 km (250 mi) north of Baghdad on the Tigris river. The Mosul metropolitan area has grown from the old city on the western side to encompass substantial areas on both the "Left Bank" and the "Right Bank", as locals call the two riverbanks. Mosul encloses the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh on its east side.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nineveh Governorate</span> Governorate of Iraq

Nineveh Governorate, to be better called Ninawa Governorate, is a governorate in northern Iraq. It has an area of 37,323 km2 (14,410 sq mi) and an estimated population of 2,453,000 people as of 2003. Its largest city and provincial capital is Mosul, which lies across the Tigris river from the ruins of ancient Nineveh. Before 1976, it was called Mosul Province and included the present-day Dohuk Governorate. The second largest city is Tal Afar, which had an almost exclusively Turkmen population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monument</span> Structure built to commemorate a relevant person or event

A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical, political, technical or architectural importance. Some of the first monuments were dolmens or menhirs, megalithic constructions built for religious or funerary purposes. Examples of monuments include statues, (war) memorials, historical buildings, archaeological sites, and cultural assets. If there is a public interest in its preservation, a monument can for example be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chavín de Huántar</span> Archaeological site in Peru

Chavín de Huántar is an archaeological site in Peru, containing ruins and artifacts constructed as early as 1200 BC, and occupied until around 400–500 BCE by the Chavín, a major pre-Inca culture. The site is located in the Ancash Region, 434 kilometers (270 mi) north of Lima, at an elevation of 3,180 meters (10,430 ft), east of the Cordillera Blanca at the start of the Conchucos Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">3D scanning</span> Scanning of an object or environment to collect data on its shape

3D scanning is the process of analyzing a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance. The collected data can then be used to construct digital 3D models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypogeum</span> Underground temple or tomb

A hypogeum or hypogaeum is an underground temple or tomb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nineveh Plains</span> Region in Iraq

Nineveh Plains is a region in Nineveh Governorate in Iraq, to the north and east of the city Mosul. Control over the region is contested between Iraqi security forces, KRG security forces, Assyrian security forces, Babylon Brigade and the Shabak Militia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ain Sifni</span> Place in Iraq

Ain Sifni, also known as Shekhan, is a town and subdistrict in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq. It is located in the Shekhan District in the Nineveh Plains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donny George Youkhanna</span>

Donny George Youkhanna was an Iraqi-Assyrian archaeologist, anthropologist, author, curator, and scholar, and a visiting professor at Stony Brook University in New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zamani Project</span>

The Zamani Project is part of the African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database. Zamani is a research group at the University of Cape Town, which acquires, models, presents and manages spatial and other data from cultural heritage sites. The present focus of the Zamani project is Africa, with the principal objective of developing “The African Cultural Heritage Sites and Landscapes Database”. Zamani comes from the Swahili phrase “Hapo zamani za kale” which means “Once upon a time”, and can be used to mean 'the past'. The word is derived from Arabic root for temporal vocabulary, ‘Zaman,’ and appears in several languages around the world.

Kasubi is a hill in Kampala, Uganda's capital and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasubi Tombs</span> UNESCO World Heritage Site

The Kasubi Tombs in Kampala, Uganda, is the site of the burial grounds for four kabakas and other members of the Baganda royal family. As a result, the site remains an important spiritual and political site for the Ganda people, as well as an important example of traditional architecture. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in December 2001, when it was described as "one of the most remarkable buildings using purely vegetal materials in the entire region of sub-Saharan Africa".

The Scottish Ten was a five-year project, initiated in 2009, funded by the Scottish Government. It used technology to create accurate digital models of the country's five World Heritage Sites and five other UNESCO World Heritage Sites elsewhere in the world.

Deliberate destruction and theft of cultural heritage has been conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria since 2014 in Iraq, Syria, and to a lesser extent in Libya. The destruction targets various places of worship under ISIL control and ancient historical artifacts. In Iraq, between the fall of Mosul in June 2014 and February 2015, ISIS had plundered and destroyed at least 28 historical religious buildings. Valuable items from some buildings were looted in order to smuggle and sell them to foreigners to finance the running of the Islamic State. By March 2019, ISIS had lost most of its territory in the Middle East.

Digital heritage is the use of digital media in the service of understanding and preserving cultural or natural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tourism in Iraq</span>

Tourism in Iraq refers to tourism in the Western Asian country Iraq. Iraq was one of the main destinations for many years, however it changed dramatically due to conflicts. The tourism in Iraq has faced many challenges, however, in recent years there has been improvements. The capital city Baghdad is the second largest city in the Arab world and the 4th largest in the Middle East. Iraq has several World Heritage Sites, dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, most notably Babylon Iraq. Iraq is considered to be a potential location for ecotourism. Erbil was chosen as "Arab Tourism Capital" in 2014 by the Arab Tourism Committee.

Artec 3D is a developer and manufacturer of 3D scanning hardware and software. The company is headquartered in Luxembourg, with offices also in the United States, China (Shanghai) and Montenegro (Bar). Artec 3D's products and services are used in various industries, including engineering, healthcare, media and design, entertainment, education, fashion and historic preservation. In 2013, Artec 3D launched an automated full-body 3D scanning system, Shapify.me, that creates 3D portraits called “Shapies.”

References

  1. "Ben Kacyra: Ancient wonders captured in 3D". YouTube. November 9, 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
  2. CyArk's website
  3. Video of Ben Kacyra's speech at the TED 2011 conference
  4. 1 2 Brown, John; Elizabeth Lee (2008). "Ancient History Meets New Technology". Professional Surveyor Magazine. No. March. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  5. 1 2 Lee, Elizabeth (October 2010). "Scanning Rushmore – Digitizing the Legacy". The American Surveyor. Vol. 7, no. 7. pp. 10–19. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  6. 1 2 Luccio, Matteo (2013). "Surveying Cultural Heritage". Professional Surveyor Magazine. No. July. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  7. "CyArk Projects". CyArk. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  8. 1 2 Abate, Tom (2007-07-22). "Laser mapping tool traces ancient sites – Device made for contractors helps archaeologists create first-ever digital blueprints". SFGate – Innovations. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  9. "History". Leica Geosystems . Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  10. 1 2 Powell, Eric A (May–June 2009). "The Past in High-Def". Archaeology Magazine. Vol. 62, no. 3. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  11. "CyArk 500 Annual Summit 2014". Digital meets Culture. 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2014-10-09.
  12. CyArk Website
  13. Interview with Ben Kacyra in National Geographic (October 2010)
  14. Preston, Elizabeth (December 2011). "The Big Idea – Laser Preservation". National Geographic Magazine. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  15. Ristevski, John (2006). "Laser Scanning for Cultural Heritage Applications". Professional Surveyor Magazine. No. March. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  16. PBS' Wired Science segment on CyArk, November 2007
  17. Monte Albán Archived 2011-11-13 at the Wayback Machine , CyArk website
  18. Cheves, Marc (2014-10-01). "Monumental Challenge: Ben Kacyra's Remarkable Perseverance". LiDAR News. Archived from the original on 2014-10-30. Retrieved 2014-10-11.
  19. Updates from CyArk, 2011 Archived 2011-12-01 at the Wayback Machine , CyArk website
  20. Teotihuacan Archived 2011-12-13 at the Wayback Machine , CyArk website
  21. Rosslyn Chapel Archived 2011-12-13 at the Wayback Machine , CyArk website
  22. Mount Rushmore Archived 2011-12-25 at the Wayback Machine , CyArk website