UPPER INDUS EPIGRAPHIC AND PETROGLYPHIC COMPLEXES IN NORTHERN PAKISTAN: DIGITAL SURVEY PROGRESS REPORT (2022–2024) AND NEW TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS OF INSCRIPTIONS AND PETROGLYPHS
Résumé
Since the previous presentation at the 25th EASAA meeting in Barcelona, a project team of
digital imaging specialists based in the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
has made considerable progress in collecting and processing data from sites in the flood zones
of Diamer-Basha dam under construction on the Upper Indus River in Chilas-Diamer district,
Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. This work builds upon and enhances previous European and South
Asian research published to date in volumes of Antiquities of Northern Pakistan, detailed
catalogs of selected sites in Materialien zur Archäologie der Nordgebiete Pakistans, and an
online database of the Heidelberger Akademie der Wissenschaften. In addition to Hodar and
Thalpan sites on the Indus right bank, surveys of Chilas sites (Chilas Bridge, Chilas 7–15),
Oshibat, Turril Nala, Thor sites, and Minar Gah on the Indus left bank have been completed,
with the aim of generating comprehensive 3D models of individual rocks using
photogrammetry 2000+ models posted to Sketchfab collections), panotours for virtual tours,
and point clouds from terrestrial laser scanning from which various digital assets can be
generated (examples are available at http://heritage360.pk/Diamer/Diamer.html).
In tandem with providing a progress report on field survey activities, this presentation will also
aim to introduce tools for analysis of the written and visual materials developed through
international collaboration with European, Australian, and Canadian researchers and
institutions. A repository of images hosted on HeidICON (Heidelberg University Library)
enables IIIF tagging. A controlled vocabulary with interoperable terms specifically relevant for
analysis of Upper Indus petroglyphs and inscriptions developed by Ani Danielyan and Jason
Neelis is posted to Research Vocabularies Australia. An Image Annotation Workbench (part of
READ Workbench) allows researchers to apply the terms to 2D images, which can also be
linked to the 3D photogrammetry models. By sharing these new tools with archaeologists and
art historians, we seek further input on methodological approaches that may be usefully applied
not only to the research field of Upper Indus inscriptions and petroglyphs in northern Pakistan,
but to other fields as well. Our goal is to stimulate productive discussions about the scope for
using these tools for analysing valuable epigraphical and visual data that is under imminent
threat.