Harald Ingholt's Twentieth-century Archive of Palmyrene Sculptures: "Unleashing" Archived Archaeological Material of Modern Conflict Zones

abstract:Archival material can shape the future of archaeological research and cultural heritage preservation, but it must be made accessible to the academic community and general public. This is especially true for conflict zones, as archives of various kinds are often all that remains as a record of sites and monuments. Palmyra, Syria, is important for understanding the ancient world and modern global cultural heritage; however, it has been destroyed by conflict, thus making archival material crucial to the site's future. By fully publishing the archive of Palmyrene sculpture compiled by the Danish archaeologist Harald Ingholt, researchers, adhering to the FAIR principles, set an example of best practice that includes holistic publication of archaeological projects both in print and digitally to make the data accessible to a wide audience. In this article, Palmyra's Tomb of Maqqai serves as a case study to demonstrate some of the potentials of open-data publication.