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AUIS Students present at the Cultural Heritage and New Technology conference in Vienna

Dr. Tobin Hartnell, director of CACHE; Mohammed Dler Mohammed, an AI programmer and recent graduate of AUIS, and Adam Azad Tawfeeq, an IT student, conducted a joint presentation in Vienna this week about the application of Artificial Intelligence to the study of cultural heritage in Iraq.

AUIS CACHE collected almost 12,000 photographs of the world heritage site of Ashur using a DJI Phantom Pro 4. By flying at low altitude (30 m), and shooting at high definition (4K), it was possible to collect imagery with 1 cm/pixel accuracy or roughly 100x better than commercial satellite imagery available for the region. This photography is then compiled using Agisoft Megashape to create a series of 3D shapefiles that are then stitched together. Each section of the map takes over a day to compile, so Adam Azad and Yalda Razmahang will complete the final 3D model of Ashur in the next few weeks.

Adam Azad Tawfeeq launches the drone by hand one early morning at Ashur (Photo: Tobin Hartnell, AUIS CACHE)

Our drone photography had an average resolution of 1 cm/pixel, which is roughly 100x better than Google Earth (Photo: Adam Azad Tawfeeq/Tobin Hartnell, AUIS CACHE; Google Earth)

Mohammed Dler used pycharm and the Tensorflow library to create an Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithm that can distinguish between different archaeological features at the site. In the interim, Dr. Tobin Hartnell worked with Mohammed Dler and the students of AUIS to categorize the subject matter of the 12,000 photos in preparation for training the algorithm. Originally designed to document ISIL extent of looting, the algorithm will be used for the creation of a new master plan. Trials of AI were successful, and we will update this blog with some preliminary results in December.

The first generation of our Artificial Intelligence algorithm can detect features amongst the 12,000 aerial photos (Photo: Adam Azad Tawfeeq, AUIS CACHE)


Thank you to Omar al-Rawi, Member of the Provincial Parliament of Vienna, and Dr. Wolfgang Börner for hosting this event in Vienna's beautiful Town Hall. A particular thank you to the conference organizers this year for waiving the registration fee for the Iraqis and their tireless support of visa applications for Austria. We look forward to returning again next year with an updated algorithm that can detect objects automatically in complex imagery.

Thank you to the Australian Embassy Direct Aid Program (DAP) for supporting the first phase of this project. Thank you to the Minister of Culture, His Excellency Abdulamir al-Hamdani, for your continued support. Thank you to the people of Sherqat for welcoming us at Ashur.

AUIS CACHE researchers present two academic papers at ASOR

Dr. Tobin Hartnell, director of CACHE, and Mrs. Yalda Razmahang, a CACHE researcher, both presented at the annual conference of the American School of Oriental Research (ASOR) in San Diego this week. The conference took place between Nov. 20 - 23 and represents the largest American conference related to the archaeology and cultural heritage of the ancient Near East in the United States. Dr. Tobin Hartnell presented an analysis of a religious site from Bronze Age Iran. He also served as the session chair for the Anthropological and Theoretical Approaches to the ancient Near East. Darrell Rohl (Calvin College) served as co-chair for the session.

Dr. Tobin presented about the historical significance of water in Elamite religion

Mrs. Yalda Razmahang was the lead presenter on the latest from the AUIS' investigations of ancient Ashur, the religious capital of Assyria. CACHE has been working since July 2019 to documenting ISIL's cultural heritage destruction of the ancient city. Thank you to the Australian Embassy for supporting the first phase of this project. Thank you to the Minister of Culture, His Excellency Abdulamir al-Hamdani, for your continued support. Thank you to the people of Sherqat for welcoming us at Ashur.

Yalda Razmahang (Ph.D. Candidate at Lyon 2) presented about CACHE's work at Ashur

Mrs. Razmahang explains how the project took over 12,000 photos of Ashur as a precursor to making a new 3D map (Photo: Tobin Hartnell, AUIS CACHE)

CACHE plans to resume work at Ashur as early as January 2020.

50th Anniversary Conference of the University of Sulaimani

Over the last 18 months, the Dutch Consulate in Erbil sponsored an undergraduate research project on the Political Economy of Refugees and IDPs in Iraqi Kurdistan. Whilst there is an abundance of NGOs attempting to support the displaced during this crisis, there is comparative little research. Our project sought evidence for unprogrammed responses, those outside of government policy, of the displaced. Whilst refugees and IDPs appear powerless, these unprogrammed responses are the refugees acting strategically and suggest that the displaced actively seek to empower themselves, particularly by improving their livelihood.

Dr. Tobin Hartnell oversaw the project together with five AUIS students - Adam Azad, Banu Omed Jalal, Bilal Yaseen Mohammed, Hogar Hadi, and Kozhan Wahid. Dr. Tobin Hartnell and Hogar Hadi presented the findings at a conference celebrating fifty years of the University of Sulaimani.

Thank you to everyone at the Dutch Consulate of Erbil for supporting CACHE and the students at AUIS.

CACHE is invited to the ICRHAPI 2nd annual international conference on Cultural Heritage in Kufa

Tobin Hartnell and Yalda Razmahang (AUIS CACHE) were invited to attend the 2nd annual ICRHAPI conference on Cultural Heritage at Kufa. The University of Kufa hosted the 2nd annual international conference on Cultural Heritage in co-operation with the Oxford, Cambridge, the University of Chicago, Pennsylvania University, and Harvard. The first day focused on keynote speakers from the sponsoring universities, whilst the second day split into two simultaneous session to discuss the tangible and intangible heritage of Iraq.

http://ijcam.uokufa.edu.iq/

If you are interested in southern Iraq's cultural heritage, this conference is the place to be every April. Thank you to Hayder and his team for organizing the event. See you next year in Kufa.

CACHE archaeologist visits the Collection at the Syriac Museum with AUIS Student Clubs - Eunoia and the Kurdology Club

Dr. Tobin Hartnell and his student Assistant Zhulian Sharifi organized a field trip for over 100 AUIS students to learn about Assyrian culture from the Syriac Museum in Ainkawa, a special neighborhood in Erbil. The museum boasts a large ethnographic collection of art and technology including agricultural tools, clothing, and weapons, in addition to a small but important exhibit about Iraq's first newspaper and Assyrian contribution to Iraqi Kurdistan's music and popular culture. The Syriac museum is located near an ancient tepe (archaeological mound) that boasts one of the earliest urban districts of Erbil (Arbela, Kurdish Hawler). In the afternoon, the students visited the ancient spiritual site of Mt. Safeen in Shaqlawa.

CACHE scholars present two papers at the international ASOR General Meeting in Denver, Colorado

Dr. Tobin Hartnell and Yalda Razmahang (currently ABD at l'Universite de Lyon 2, France) travelled to Denver Colorado as representatives of CACHE to present two academic papers. On Friday the 16th, Dr. Tobin Hartnell presented a cross-cultural analysis of water in the ancient world entitled Indigenous Conceptions of Water in ancient Mesopotamia and Iran and its Significance. On Saturday, Yalda Razmahang took the lead to present a joint paper on the world heritage site of Ashur entitled Archaeology at Risk: Documenting the ISIS Destruction of Ashur. The ASOR conference is one of the largest annual conferences dedicated to the study of archaeology in the ancient Near East with almost two thousand in attendance. Both Tobin and Yalda plan on returning to ASOR in November 2019 where Tobin will serve as Session Chair for the Theoretical Archaeology section, and Yalda will present their latest work on Ashur.

CACHE receives Direct Aid Program (DAP) Funding from the Australian Embassy in Baghdad to return to the World Heritage site of Ashur

In 2018, Dr. Tobin Hartnell, Director of AUIS CACHE, received permission from Dr. Qaiss Rashid, the director of the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) to conduct surface survey and ceramic collections at the World Heritage Site of Ashur. The site was attacked by ISIS in May 2015, and it is suspected that there are still Explosive Hazards (EHs) and Explosive Remnants of War (ERWs) at the site and in its immediate environs. In February, the Australian Embassy provided a small grant to AUIS CACHE to fund its first season of work at the site. The first season will collect aerial photography in order to assess any recent damage or looting, and conduct an up-to-date on-the-ground assessment of the various monuments at the site. We will report back on our initial results in the coming months.

Thank you to the Australian Embassy of Iraq for supporting this project.

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