Hampi World Heritage Area Management Authority will digitise and document 1,600 monuments at the world heritage site.

Get set to see the unseen Hampi online soon. After the ASI showcased important monuments under its jurisdiction, HWHAMA (Hampi WorldHeritage Area Management Authority) has decided to digitise and document every monument, including minute details like survey number, brief and real-time updates on changes, if any, creating a virtual Hampi online. It will cover over 1,600 monuments under the state archaeology department’s jurisdiction.

The ASI (Archaeological Survey of India) has such a facility in place for protected monuments that are under its jurisdiction, with a 360-degree view of a few.

Several of the 1,600 monuments are listed, but not documented, and the HWHAMA’s initiative will give a better perspective on the heritage site, and it is hoped, it will attract tourists too. Photographing of the monuments has started and once this is over, documentation and digitisation will be done, said sources. “There are more than a thousand of them and showcasing them will not only help tourists but also help researchers. In some cases, the monuments are almost forgotten and abandoned,” a source told Bangalore Mirror.

State officials have already started demarcation of ASI- and state-protected monuments. The ones protected under the state archaeology department include Purandaradasa Mantapa, Koti Linga, Hastagiri Ranganatha, Yantrodharaka Devastana, and more than a hundred entry gates like Harishankara Gate, Bhima Gate, etc, to the historic city. These monuments will be photographed first. Later, they will be documented with details of origin, historic importance, current state and proposed conservation details.

“The work is to be taken up in phases,” the source added. “This is an effective move towardconservation as most of them are in bad shape. Now that they are getting attention, they will be restored and protected.”

Authorities at Hampi confirmed the documentation, but preferred not to divulge details on the initiative.

“We are documenting all the monuments protected under the state archaeology department’s jurisdiction. The process is on,” Dr R Gopal, commissioner, HWHAMA, told Bangalore Mirror.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Bangalore> Others / by  Chetan R , Bangalore Mirror Bureau  / March 15th, 2014