Today is a travel day, with the team going from Tampa to Atlanta, on to Paris, and then to Yerevan, Armenia. Our crew of five seasoned 3D specialists, under the direction of Dr. Travis Doering, will then make their way to the Province of Lori, and the medieval monastery at Haghpat. Months have gone into planning and collaboration for a successful beginning effort for our digital documentation of World Heritage in Armenia- beginning at the site of the Haghpat Monastery.

This project brings together the University of South Florida’s (USF) Library and digital initiatives Armenia program, and the Alliance for Integrated Spatial Technologies (AIST), who will begin a program of archival digital documentation, research, and 3D heritage preservation as part of the Armenian Heritage and Social Memory Program at USF. AIST experts in 3D, spatial, and imaging strategies will spend the next 18 days doing field work to document the Haghpat Monastery and surrounding envions using the latest in 3D laser scanning, GPS, and photographic imaging technologies. These data will be shared and presented to the world in efforts to preserve, educate, and better manage important and imperiled heritage. Follow our blog in the coming days to see and hear progress from our researchers as they visit this world treasure and share their findings.