Exploring Preventative Protection against Crime at Archaeological Sites: Introducing Revitaliser

• In Event: Innovative Approaches to Heritage Crime & Justice

Abstract

Despite their significance and efforts by local authorities, archaeological sites have faced extensive looting. Furthermore, although there is a growing international interest in protecting cultural heritage from plunder, the implementation of effective measures to prevent such crimes still goes unanswered. In many locations it has been logistically impossible and prohibitively expensive to actively monitor all archaeological sites: thousands of sites are spread out over, at times, forbidding and inaccessible landscapes, resulting in a situation where the authorities respond to criminal site destruction after it happens. This results in significant cultural loss and has little crime prevention effect. This paper presents the ideas and approaches behind the EU-funded Revitaliser Project. The project brings together expertise in archaeology, remote sensing technologies, AI and algorithmic image analysis, and criminology towards developing proactive, preventative, and cost-effective monitoring of archaeological sites that are vulnerable to illicit excavations and other criminal incursions.

Authors

• Dante Abate, ERATOSTHENES Centre of Excellence

• Donna Yates, Maastricht University

• Hector Orengo, Barcelona Supercomputing Center

• Fabio Remondino, Fondazione Bruno Kessler