The citadel of Chan Chan, located in Trujillo, province of La Libertad, north of Lima, will be shown in 3D by ‘Google Arts and Culture’. The project is called ‘Heritage in danger’, which will show the world the impact of climate change on a collection made up of six monuments and cultural sites. Also, a virtual tour of the citadel will be presented.
Chan Chan, composed of nine walled citadels, is one of the most visited archeological sites in Peru. In the case of documentation, this was done by Google with the help of the CyArk and ICOMOS companies and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Peru. Also, there is support from the Directorate of World Heritage Sites and the Decentralized Directorate of La Libertad Culture and the Chan Chan Archaeological Complex Special Project (PECACH).
Technology to rebuild
Kacey Hadick, director of Project Development at CyArk, explained that the objective of the project is to make visible the consequences of climate change in archeological sites such as Chan Chan. Not only does it tell how the citadel was built and how the architecture of the ancient city made of adobe is characterized, but also the actions taken by the authorities for its preservation despite the rains or phenomena such as El Niño will be presented.
«The 3D models that will be seen in Chan Chan can be used to detect the current state of the cultural site and that areas that require preservation work can also be found,» he said.
This material showcases the international public. With the virtual tour, users will be able to know the history of the so-called Unesco World Heritage. The general project has 25 detailed 3D models, as well as six 360-degree tours on ‘Street View’ and two augmented reality models.
Chance Coughenour, Program Manager at ‘Google Arts & Culture’, explained that these videos can be reviewed free of charge from the mobile application available for Android and iOS, as well as from the website. Resources can be viewed without the internet after being downloaded and 360-degree images and 3D models were delivered to the Ministry of Culture.