From Sky to Screen: The Role of Remote Sensing and Digital Reconstructions in Preserving Endangered Archaeological Heritage

Abstract The research paper argues that from sky to screen “workflows” fusing satellite and aerial remote sensing (very‐high‐resolution optical imagery, SAR change detection, airborne/UAV LiDAR) with on‐the‐ground rapid documentation and next‐generation digital reconstructions (photogrammetry, scan‐to‐mesh, neural radiance fields, real‐time 3D Gaussian splatting)—are transforming the preservation of endangered archaeological heritage via early‐warning risk mapping, damage assessment in conflict and climate‐exposed zones, and the generation of accurate, navigable surrogates for research, conservation, and public access, as evidenced by regional monitoring infrastructures like EAMENA which leverage satellite imagery and open heritage databases, and by global digitization initiatives such as CyArk’s laser‐scanning and photogrammetry pipelines that produce metrically reliable, shareable 3D records (with transparent provenance), while recent advances in neural rendering and splat‐based radiance fields reduce acquisition friction and improve completeness under sparse imagery, rendering immersive, browser‐ready models feasible for institutions with fewer resources; conceptually, we propose that remote sensing provides synoptic, repeatable observations for triage and prioritization whereas digital reconstructions translate those observations into decision‐ready models, didactic platforms, and “living” archives that can be annotated, versioned, and linked to GIS, HBIM, and heritage knowledge graphs (e.g., CIDOC CRM), thereby threading together site‐level detail and landscape‐scale monitoring; at the policy layer, capacity‐building programs—exemplified by UNESCO–UNOSAT trainings in Ukraine on satellite‐based heritage assessment—indicate movement toward mainstreaming geospatial literacy in heritage agencies, while FAIR/CARE data principles, open standards (IIIF/3D, E57, glTF), public repositories mitigate the reproducibility and longevity gaps that have constrained earlier digitization waves; ethically, we argue that “seeing from above” requires counterbalancing with community co‐curation, data sovereignty for Indigenous and local custodians, and risk‐aware publication practices (e.g., generalized or delayed coordinates for looting‐sensitive assets), and we propose evaluative rubrics which co‐mingle positional accuracy, surface completeness, radiometric fidelity, uncertainty visualization, and provenance audit trails to assess fitness‐for‐purpose across conservation planning, scholarly analysis, and virtual engagement; in the round, the paper charts a research agenda entwining Earth‐observation change analytics with lightweight, field‐deployable capture and neural reconstruction pipelines, interpolates them in participatory workflows and ethical governance, and tests impact longitudinally on conservation outcomes, educational reach, and policy uptake, contending that such linked “sky‐to‐screen” ecosystems are now indispensable implementation for safeguarding archaeological value when access is perilous, time is short, and the stakes material, historical, and human are colossal.