Emergent heritage: the digital conservation of archaeological sites in reservoirs and the case of the Dolmen de Guadalperal (Spain)

A rare opportunity to document the Dolmen de Guadalperal, a megalithic monument submerged for decades in Spain's Guadalperal reservoir, emerged when water levels receded in 2019. This study leveraged advanced digital techniques—terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) and photogrammetry—to capture unprecedented geometric documentation of the site at multiple scales. The resulting data revealed significant changes since its excavation in 1925, identified degradation patterns, and uncovered new details about its decorated supports. Unlike traditional methods, this approach capitalized on the brief accessibility window to gather comprehensive heritage information, demonstrating a scalable protocol for conserving submerged archaeological sites worldwide.

Cerrillo-Cuenca, E., de Sanjosé Blasco, J. J., Bueno-Ramírez, P., Pérez-Álvarez, J. A., de Balbín Behrmann, R., & Sánchez-Fernández, M. (2021). Emergent heritage: the digital conservation of archaeological sites in reservoirs and the case of the Dolmen de Guadalperal (Spain). Heritage Science, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-021-00590-5