ANCMED · Ships as an adaptive and resilience strategy to wide-scale crisis in the Mediterranean (c.1550-700 BC): an open-access digital museum database integrating 3D modeling and virtual reality.

ANCMED will investigate the role of ships as an adaptive and resilience strategy in the face of wide-scale crisis in the Mediterranean during the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age periods. Its primary outcome will be the first of its kind open-access virtual museum that integrates a database on ancient ship depictions, digital photogrammetry, and VR presentation. As such, the project will address some of the most pressing challenges of the Digital Age, namely the insidious loss of knowledge on the ancient world due to various causes that include climate change, political instability, and the lack of publication and preservation of primary archaeological and cultural heritage data. Important research gaps will be tackled by: charting longue dure Mediterranean-wide patterns; a contextually informed approach to ship representations viewing them as cultural artefacts; applying an innovative digital methodology that complements and enhances the archaeological analysis. Significant technical advances (performance, affordability, portability) coupled with a decade of experimentation (improved workflows, well-tested tools) have finally made my approach both timely and feasible. ANCMED is intended to become the principal online research tool on the topic of Mediterranean ships of the pre-classical period. Its broader impact will be to provide the framework and tools for scholars outside of the discipline to meaningfully use and integrate this dataset, to expand digital museum records and aid curators and conservators by providing a means to create cost-effective exact replicas. The project will develop and strengthen my profile as a multidisciplinary maritime archaeologist with expertise in the growing field of digital humanities. As an open-access virtual learning and public valorization platform, ANCMED aligns with several UN sustainable development goals: on quality education, on reduced inequalities, and on developing tools for the preservation of cultural heritage.