Sensor-Driven Preventive Preservation for Subterranean Cultural Heritage: The ARGUS Pilot in the Baltanás Underground Wine Cellars (Spain)

Cultural heritage is increasingly vulnerable to climate change, air pollution, and human activity Traditional “repair after damage” approaches often act too late, when deterioration becomes irreversible Preventive preservation based on continuous monitoring, early detection, and data driven mitigation offers a proactive alternative Advances in IoT, AI, and digital twins now allow heritage managers to deploy low power, non invasive sensor networks that characterize environmental, structural, and anthropogenic risks in real time The EU funded ARGUS project introduces a threat to sensor mapping methodology that systematically links heritage hazards with the most appropriate sensing technologies Pilots include open air archaeological sites, medieval structures, and underground complexes.