Digital technologies have become increasingly prominent in the field of archaeology and humanities, playing an important role in facilitating research and learning. Through the process of digitisation, significant sites and artefacts are safeguarded from physical decay, while also enabling the effective dissemination of information. This transcends geographical barriers, allowing interested scholars and the public to engage with and investigate our cultural heritage.
In the area of Silk Road archaeology, the application of digitisation has been particularly noteworthy because of the wide geographical and temporal scope of studies. Yet how exactly has it been implemented, and what advantages does it offer? In this series of articles, we will explore various aspects of its application. In Part 1, we will look at archaeological site digitisation and digital archiving, while in Part 2, we will look at artefact reconstruction, GIS mapping, as well as the use of VR/ AR. These applications are explored to present current research and methodologies, and to reflect on the benefits such technologies have to offer.
Archaeological site digitisation
Regarding archaeological site digitisation, the most significant example would be the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, Gansu Province in China. The Mogao Grottoes, an important Buddhist archaeological site along the ancient Silk Roads, contain 735 rock-cut temples, among which 492 of them contain mural paintings and polychrome sculptures. In total, there are about 45, 000 square metres of mural paintings. Alice Cassalini recently interviewed Dr Zhenru Zhou discussing their work on digital reconstruction of the Mogao Grottoes, which is an interesting piece!
Considering the growing interest in the site, conservation and preservation has been a challenge to the Dunhuang Academy (DA). According to a conversation with the researcher Ding Xiaosheng in the “Artefact digitization research department” under the DA, he recalls that, starting in 1999, digital cameras were adopted to document the caves, but the resolution of the photos could only reach 75 dpi. Over the past two decades, advancement in technology has revolutionised the documentation process. About 300 caves with mural paintings have now been documented using 300 dpi resolution, in which about 26, 000 square metres of mural paintings have already been documented. 3D photogrammetry was also applied in the process and about 200 caves were 3D scanned and constructed.
[Mogao Cave 285, E-dunhuang]
Some of these documented caves are available on the DA’s open-access platform, E-dunhuang. Visitors are able to virtually browse through these cave sites in the form of 3D models, as well as zooming in on the mural paintings individually. At the end of 2022, they launched a ‘Material pool’ function on the website, allowing visitors to interact with the Dunhuang art elements and make use of them in their own creative designs. Ultimately, the set up of the E-dunhuang platform allows visitors to ‘preview’ the caves before their actual visit to the Mogao, as well as allowing researchers to conduct detailed observation and analysis of the cave sites from afar. Such a project stands out as a role model for other archaeological sites in China, from documenting sites to publishing them digitally.
[Cave 285, Main Chamber, South Wall, E-dunhuang]
It is worth noting that there are other ongoing documentation projects such as the Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes (CAAL) at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, led by Professor Tim Williams. This impressive project, bringing together teams from twenty institutions across seven countries, aims to create an open-access, geospatial inventory of sites across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. As the project itself states, “the range of archaeological heritage across Central Asia is vast and much of it is undocumented, understudied, and under threat”. There are not only city and temple ruins, but also nomadic camps, burial grounds, mountain forts, complex water management systems…all across Central Asia. These important archaeological sites all contribute to our understanding of the cultural and material exchanges of the ancient Silk Roads and the daily lives of the people, and so a robust and accessible digital inventory will be a significant and much welcomed resource
[CAAL Project website]
The database is still under construction but some of these monuments are already available as 3D models on the project web page, such as the ‘Big Guldursun, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan’. Other information provided includes the documentation process, for example in one of the blog posts ‘CAAL regional archaeological maps’, they showcased how the remote sensing teams create layered maps and how this data is being linked with digitised archival records.
[Big Guldursun, models by Farukh KHABIBULLAYEV and Dmitriy VOYAKIN. Video from CAAL]
Digital archive
There are various important digital archives in the field of Silk Road archaeology, including the International Dunhuang Project (IDP) and the Tokyo Bunko Archive.
Due to the foreign expeditions in the early 20th century, a large portion of the manuscripts found from Cave 17 at the Mogao Grottoes (also known as the Library Cave) were scattered to different parts of the world. These documents are made up of religious texts (Buddhist, Taoist, Nestorian, Manichaean), social documents and other texts related to literature, history, medicine, astronomy, music and so on. Languages represented in these texts include Sogdian, Sanskrit, Khotanese, Tibetan, Tangut, Old Uyghur etc. They provide important insight for us to analyse the history and society of Dunhuang and the Silk Roads in different historical periods. If you’re interested in Dunhuang Manuscripts, do check out this online lecture by Professor Imre Galambos and his Youtube Channel (The Chinese Alphabets).
For a long period of time, scholars in the area of Dunhuang studies struggled to access many of these manuscripts. In 1994, the IDP was established by the British Library, which is now an international collaboration between twenty-two institutions in twelve countries. The project facilitates access to and the study of the dispersed material by making it open-access on their website. Since 2010, the project website has offered access to over 50,000 paintings, artefacts, historical photographs and manuscripts. The IDP can be considered the most important digital archive in Dunhuangology, where researchers can search and read documents housed at different institutions in different countries on a single platform.
[The updated International Project (IDP) website]
Just earlier this week, the IDP has launched their new system! The search function has improved and allows you to browse through their collection efficiently. By running a quick search on the keyword “Stein”, as shown in the screenshot below, the layout is very user-friendly. The “Collection only” tab shows historical photographs taken by Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943), and the artefacts and manuscripts that he collected during his expeditions. The “Website only” tab links you to the blog posts, newsletters or exhibitions related to Stein. An example on ‘IOL Tib J 849’ below shows their new and clean interface for displaying their digitised materials. It allows users to view the manuscripts in a more convenient way – with a helpful note indicating the reading direction. On the project website, they have also included themed resources such as “Buddhism on the Silk Roads”, where users can explore articles, related collection items and a glossary! This is such an exciting update and a big progress in the field of digital archiving.
[Quick search on the keyword “Stein” on IDP]
[Example on IOL Tib J 849, IDP]
Regarding the Toyo Bunko Archive, it is part of the Digital Silk Road Project under the National Institute of Informatics in Japan. The archive contains scans of excavation reports of excavations in Central Asia held in the late 19th century to early 20th century and more than 200 scanned books important to the study of Silk Road archaeology. Alice Casalini wrote a great piece on this archive in 2022, which I highly recommend.
[Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books]
Digital technology has revolutionised Silk Road archaeology, enabling the digitisation of sites like the Mogao Grottoes and the preservation of invaluable artefacts through digital archiving. However, this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for Part Two, where we’ll explore the role of digital reconstruction, GIS mapping, as well as AR/ VR tools in shaping our understanding of the Silk Road.
(Cover image generated by Canva AI)
The Digital Orientalist 
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