Document Type : Original Research Paper
Author
Conservation of Architectural Heritage Department, Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran.
Abstract
Background and Objectives: The first step in cultural heritage documentation is the preparation of accurate maps of the current state of the artifacts. Worldwide scientific advances have made it possible for heritage conservation to abandon traditional collection methods and use modern tools and methods. Utilizing them significantly reduces the documentation time and increases the accuracy and quality of this process. Among these methods that have received significant attention worldwide in recent years is photogrammetry. In Iran, photogrammetry has been considered in published articles for the past four decades in heritage documentation. However, the development process and attention in this area have not been studied. The brief and initial survey also does not show serious and extensive attention to this new technology in heritage and documentation. Accordingly, the present article seeks to draw an image of the status of related articles. Achieving this goal will make it possible to verify the assumption of the insignificance of research attention to the subject of heritage photogrammetry, and by systematically formulating the structural and content characteristics of these studies, it will be possible to identify research gaps in this field and guide future studies.
Methods: The present study is a secondary study, and its philosophical paradigm is interpretive. The research approach is qualitative, and the data collection method is text-based. Accordingly, 56 articles were selected from the 1990s (when the first relevant article was published in Iran) to the second half of 2024. Based on the systematic review method and qualitative meta-analysis, these articles were analyzed from the perspective of their structural and content characteristics.
Findings: The study shows that, in terms of content, Articles shifted from focusing on introducing the method and explaining the importance of digital documentation in the early years, today has on its agenda the development of a process of utilizing the photogrammetric method in heritage documentation to improve the accuracy and validity of information. On the other hand, although the method applied to account for a more significant share of the scale of architectural buildings and their related elements, attention to digital documentation of architectural complexes, ancient sites, and urban and rural settlements has also increased. From a structural perspective, a significant increase in articles is noticeable, especially in the last decade (84 percent of all articles). Similarly, civil engineering specialists have made the main contribution to the production of these studies (up to 56 percent of articles). Of course, in recent years, the participation of restoration, architectural, and archaeological experts in producing these articles has increased, which shows a desire and need for more serious attention to this topic among this group of experts.
Conclusion: However, scientific Articles in Iran on the subject of heritage documentation with new technologies such as photogrammetry are not impressive in terms of quantity or quality. The publication of the majority of these studies in national conferences (up to 68%) and the inconsequential contribution of restoration experts in writing these Articles also indicate that the subject is growing in cultural heritage and conservation and has no scientific reliability. While considering the unique benefits of this method, including no need for physical contact with historical structures in the harvesting process, the speed of data mining, and access to the expected results of documentation, which can be archived, updated, and post-processed, it is necessary to direct research trends to the important and less-attention subject of digital documentation of heritage with the help of methods such as photogrammetry, to provide the possibility of optimal and principled protection of our country's cultural heritage and its transmission to future generations.
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