DIGITAL STORAGE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE DATA: OPENHERITAGE3D EXAMPLE

Abstract

In the preservation and sustainability of cultural heritage, digital data has an essential role in the architectural conservation process in terms of serving as documents. For all kinds of protection actions to be taken in this process to be reliable, interactive, efficient, and up-to-date, the acquired digital heritage data should be made accessible to everyone. Openheritage3D, a cultural heritage digital data storage and sharing site, which is an organization that emerged for this purpose, was selected as the sample. The digital cultural heritage data sets available on this site have been examined and analyzed separately for each parameter using the total population sampling method. With the pieces of information obtained from the data tables, comparative graphs and tables were made both continentally and in which all heritages were analyzed together. In order to test the validity of the relationships between these parameters acquired during the evaluation process, cross tables were created and passed through the Pearson Chi-Square test processes. As a result of the statistical evaluations, it was revealed whether the associations of the parameters on Openheritage3D are meaningful or not. Thus, the conditions of carrying the parameters that should be in a sample open access digital heritage application were evaluated. In the architectural conservation aspect, suggestions regarding the digital heritage production process have been expressed. As a result of the analysis and evaluations, the status and potentials of open access applications were conveyed, and the issue of digitization of heritage data, and sustainability of cultural heritage were emphasized. Also, by testing the suitability of the databases and digital documentation parameters of the open heritage examined, it contributed to the decision-making mechanism for a possible open cultural heritage application or platform to be designed on a national and international scale.