National-Scale Inventory and Management of Heritage Sites And Monuments:Advantages and Challenges of Using Geospatial Technology

India is a vibrant and culturally diverse country with more than 3600 heritage sites and monuments of national importance, of which only 36 are recognized as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. These heritage sites and monuments are precious and non-renewable resources which need to be conserved, protected and monitored. Conventional along with emerging geospatial techniques are required to prepare databases and action plans to manage them effectively and efficiently. This article discusses ISRO’s efforts in the last decade in the field of archaeology using high-resolution remote sensing data in conjunction with GIS, GPS and other geospatial techniques in various applications like inventory and site management plans for a monument/site, cultural resources management plans for World Heritage Sites as well as in exploration archaeology and research for predictive location modelling in the identification of areas with high archaeological potential. Most of the projects have been executed in collaboration with major stakeholders involved in archaeology and in the process have institutionalized the use of geospatial technology to a large extent in operational and research activities.