Challenges in Geospatial Documentation of Unprotected Built Heritage Sites in India

India is generally acceptedas a treasure trove of many thousands ofbuilt heritage sites. If one looks for a list of such sites with its geographical location and some basic identificatory description, unfortunately there is none, exceptfor the ones protected by the Government authorities. Today with most geospatial databasesbeing on digital platform, it is extremely important to recognize and also include the unprotected built heritage sites. Doing this is the need for the hour, in light of dramatic changes to the landscape caused by developmental activities that are insensitive to cultural heritage. This article looks in detail at the extent of digital information available on the location of Indianmonuments (both protected and unprotected), the challenges in extracting and bringing it into a geospatial platform with the case study of Arasibidi in north Karnataka, India.