Assessing Earthquake Damage to Cultural Heritage Sites

On 6 February 2023, two devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 struck south-east Türkiye and northern Syria, affecting eleven provinces in a region exceptionally rich in archaeological and historic heritage. The disaster zone includes the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Göbekli Tepe, Arslantepe, Nemrud Dağ and Diyarbakır Fortress and the Hevsel Gardens. In the days following the catastrophe, reliable information about damage to cultural heritage sites remained scarce.

Within days, archaeologist Prof. Dr. Çiler Çilingiroğlu of Ege University issued a public call through social media that invited colleagues and citizens to document damage to historic sites. Soon afterwards she began collaborating with remote-sensing specialist Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nusret Demir of Akdeniz University. A second call invited volunteers to help build a shared database of information. More than fifty volunteers responded, including archaeologists, conservators, architects, engineers and students.

The team organised a collaborative monitoring system using widely accessible digital tools such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Google Workspace and OpenStreetMap. Volunteers gathered photographs and reports from residents, rescue teams, journalists and colleagues across the affected provinces. These ground observations were combined with satellite imagery shared through international scientific cooperation. A key dataset was the NASA/Caltech ARIA Damage Proxy Maps, which use satellite SAR data (e.g., Sentinel-1, ALOS-2) to detect post-earthquake structural and terrain damage.

Citizen observations combined with satellite analysis produced one of the first large-scale overviews of earthquake damage to cultural heritage in the region. More than 1,500 archaeological and historic sites across the eleven provinces were documented and assessed.

The results revealed important patterns. Ottoman-period buildings accounted for the largest share of recorded damage, while prehistoric archaeological mounds often showed greater structural resilience. The dataset helped identify the types of heritage sites most vulnerable to seismic events and provided valuable information for conservation planning and emergency response.

A key outcome of the project was the creation of an open digital resource. In 2025 the team launched an interactive online map after publication of a paper that makes the collected data publicly accessible for researchers, heritage professionals and local communities.

The initiative operated without a budget and relied entirely on volunteer work and open-access data. It created a scalable and low-cost model for rapid heritage assessment after natural disasters. The approach can be replicated in other regions using open data, satellite imagery and coordinated citizens’ participation.

The Awards’ Jury stated: “This initiative demonstrates how rapid mobilisation after a natural disaster can support the protection of cultural heritage. The Jury appreciates the strong contribution of academic volunteers and the innovative combination of citizen science with remote sensing based on open data. It also highlights the value of connecting national and international research networks to document heritage at risk.”

Contact: Çiler Çilingiroğlu | Ege University, Faculty of Letters, Archaeology Department | ciler.cilingiroglu@ege.edu.tr | www.culturalheritagetreq.netlify.app