The Jerusalem Institute for Research and Digital Documentation of Cultural Heritage

Climate change poses a growing threat to tangible cultural heritage, impacting historic monuments, archaeological sites, and artifacts of immense historical, artistic, and social value. Rising sea levels, increased flooding, and coastal erosion threaten to submerge and erode ancient coastal structures. Meanwhile, extreme weather events such as heatwaves, hurricanes, and heavy rains damage heritage buildings, while fluctuating temperatures accelerate the deterioration of materials like stone, wood, mortar, and paint. These challenges not only jeopardize the physical existence of cultural heritage but also affect its long-term sustainability, especially as many sites rely on tourism and community engagement for their preservation and economic viability.

At the Jerusalem Institute for Research and Digital Documentation of Cultural Heritage, these concerns are central to our mission. Our work emphasizes the urgent need to digitally preserve heritage threatened by environmental change. Drawing on advanced technologies—including photogrammetry, 3D laser scanning, multispectral imaging, and GIS—we document fragile heritage with millimeter precision, creating accurate, detailed, and durable digital records. These digital surrogates enable future restoration efforts, academic analysis, and public education, regardless of the physical site’s condition or accessibility.

Digital tools also allow us to monitor how environmental conditions affect heritage over time. Remote sensing and GIS technologies are used to map climate vulnerabilities and track changes in landscape, vegetation, and water patterns around archaeological and urban heritage sites. These spatial datasets support adaptive conservation planning and help identify priority areas for intervention before irreversible damage occurs. Additionally, our immersive digital exhibitions and interactive 3D models provide alternative forms of access, ensuring that cultural value and public engagement persist even in cases where physical preservation becomes unfeasible.

Through interdisciplinary research, international collaboration, and open-access dissemination, the Institute leverages digital innovation to confront the climate crisis. By combining academic insight with cutting-edge documentation methods, we aim not only to safeguard Jerusalem’s heritage, but also to contribute scalable models of preservation that can be applied to vulnerable heritage around the world. In doing so, we help ensure that cultural treasures—both monumental and modest—remain part of our shared human story for generations to come.