Kilwa Kisiwani

In December 2019 CyArk traveled to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Kilwa Kisiwani off the coast of Tanzania. Working in collaboration with ICOMOS International and the Antiquities Division within the Department of Natural Resources and Tourism for the Republic of Tanzania the CyArk field team documented three structures at the site. The Great Mosque, Gerezani fort and Malindi mosque were documented using terrestrial LIDAR, terrestrial photogrammetry and aerial photogrammetry with drones. Both the Malindi mosque and Gerezani fort were selected for documentation due to their location on the coast and the rapid rate of erosion taking place at these sites. In advance of the field work in Kilwa Kisiwani a workshop was held in Dar es Salaam to share information about the project, summarize current research and study around climate change impacts on heritage around the world as well as the ways that digital documentation can be used to support conservation and adaptation efforts.