The work of Global Digital Heritage for the massive digitization of fortifications in Spain

Abstract

[EN] In the last 20 years the field of cultural heritage has experienced a revolution in terms of documentation methods. The latest technological advances in laser scanners and photogrammetry have opened the possibility of documenting in three dimensions all types of monuments and sites regardless of their size or complexity. In this revolution fortified spaces have not been an exception. Hundreds of research teams around the world have developed 3D digitization projects of castles and fortresses. However, the overall impact of these projects has been very limited, partly due to the lack of collaboration and partly due to the inability of citizens to freely access the data. Currently, the research team of the US non-profit entity Global Digital Heritage is working on the massive digitization of fortifications in Spain, regardless of their chronology or size. In this context, work has been done on digitizing the prehistoric fortified site of Motilla del Azuer in Daimiel, the Iberian oppidum of Cerro de las Cabezas in Valdepeñas, the fortified Islamic city of Calatrava La Vieja in Carrión de Calatrava, the medieval Christian castle of Calatrava La Nueva in Aldea del Rey, the medieval-Renaissance castle of Los Vélez in Mula, the watchtower of Cope in Águilas or the machine-gun bunker of the Spanish Civil War in Alhama de Murcia, to name just a few examples.