SeMaTA-Semantic Mapping Through Archives for the safeguard,valorization,dissemination and transmission of Cultural Heritage-PRIN 2022
The situation of Cultural Heritage in Libya is extremely problematic,both due to recent political events and as a result of issues
related to looting and illicit traffic of antiquities.Often it is impossible to‘save’artifacts from the illicit market because they are not
published.The conservation and dissemination of the ethno-archaeological and anthropological heritage is at risk because the
political changes in the country are causing a gradual loss of traditions,identity markers and cultural and historical landscapes.The
current COVID19 pandemic situation has resulted in a major lack of access to data,reports and libraries.A pilot project of digitization
of important unpublished documents of numerous archaeological Italian missions as well as historical publications in order to create
an open-source digital library and archive on Libyan Cultural Heritage represents an important resource for reconstructing historical
events and the identity of a culturally devastated country,and for mapping and cataloging the immense archaeological and historical
heritage still laying in inaccessible archives.The aim of the project is to create a digital GIS-based,open data archive using a
semantic approach,creating a framework for future archaeological data collections.The data derive from the historical archives of
several institutions currently collaborating in a network.The results of the curation and mapping of the records from the archives,as
well as the digitization of publications,will then be organized as digital archive and an open source library,closely linked to a
webGIS.These features allow constant and unlimited possibilities for updating records,as well as the management of the data in a
multilingual project.The project guarantees a wide dissemination of documents,publications,data and resources,which will help
facilitate local training programs for specialists,in collaboration with Italian and other foreign institutions.It will also aid with the
monitoring of cultural heritage that is under threat from vandalism,urban encroachment and looting,as well as with tracing the illicit
traffic of antiquities.The training is a necessary step of the project,in order to create locally highly specialized
archaeologists,technicians and scholars.It will also support lectures,courses,events and webinars in schools,local Institutions such as
the Board of
the Libyan UNESCO sites,and the cultural and youth associations,which are very active in Libya.This approach will be highly effective
for the wider dissemination of information and the consequent social rehabilitation and recovery of cultural identity.The historical
and socio-cultural value of these archives presents Italian Missions with a moral duty for the preservation,transmission and
dissemination of not only the data and information,but also the reports,memories and events relating to Italian archaeology in
Libya,and promoting the important role of scholars such as Halbherr,Oliverio,Gismondi & so on