Quentin Devers (CNRS) annonce la mise en ligne d’une nouvelle version de ses archives sur le Ladakh : ladakharchaeology.com
Description du projet par Quentin Devers :
This second release forms the largest database on the heritage of Ladakh, with over 160,000 images covering 1900+ monuments/sites/heritage entries:
- 510+ petroglyph & pictograph sites
- 330+ fortifications
- 290+ temples, monasteries, nunneries (intact & in ruin)
- 270+ Buddhist carvings
- 210+ stupa stones
- 50+ painted chortens
- 50+ cave sites
- & more
Ladakh has a beautifully rich and diverse heritage, which points to a long, mostly unknown history. This heritage is however difficult to access, and very little-studied. The purpose of this catalogue is to enable more research on Ladakh’s past, by unlocking access to a uniquely vast database.
The archive is also meant as a tool for conservation by preserving the memory of this heritage: over the years, a number of sites presented in it have been destroyed or heavily damaged. Facing destructions that are ever wider, faster and unrelenting, it is our duty to document to the best of our abilities and in a promptly manner as many sites as possible, before they vanish under the attack of sledgehammers and pneumatic drills: a site destroyed before it could be documented is doomed to remain unknown forever.
Because heritage is a gift to humanity and should not have the barriers of ownership, this archive is an open access effort. Images are freely accessible for as long as 1) it is for non-commercial projects, 2) the images and their derived content are also distributed under the same open-access terms, 3) their source is properly cited (Creative Commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International).
This archive is meant to grow over time and to shelter content from other contributors. Anyone who feels their data can help better document this incredible heritage are welcome to be a part of this platform.
Finally, it includes a presentation of heritage-related projects such as the study of the Old Lady Spider cave with Pr. Veena Mushrif, the series of volumes on the historical sites of Ladakh with INTACH, the documentation and study of the rock art sites of Ladakh, etc.