Workshop on 3D Digital Documentation of Cultural Heritage and Its Application to 3D Digital Documentation of Archaeological Objects, and an XR meet up event held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The Japan Centre for International Cooperation in Conservation and Heritage Commission of Saudi Arabia co-organised a workshop for 3D digital documentation at the National Museum of Saudi Arabia from 2nd to 4th November, 2025. As the application of 3D documentation in the field of cultural heritage has been drawing attention in Saudi Arabia in recent years, our workshop series of 3D documentation was organised for the first time in Saudi Arabia, with the theme of “3D Digital documentation of archaeological objects,” receiving 25 experts as participants who are working in fields such as archaeological excavation and museum management.
During the workshop, lectures were held by lecturers despatched from Japan regarding the basic methods of 3D photogrammetry, and various 3D documentation techniques depending on the object size or occasion of the documentation. In addition to the lectures, participants were divided into five groups and practiced the 3D photogrammetry of sample objects and documentation with a Lidar smartphone application and 3D laser scanning.
On 4th November, an open event titled “XR meet up in Riyadh” was held in the National Museum of Saudi Arabia. Various examples and activities from Japan related to 3D digital documentation were exhibited in the event, as follows: ‘VR experience of Copan in Honduras’ by Komatsu University; ‘XR Heijo-kyo’ by the Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties, ‘3D DB Viewer project’ by the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Nara National Research Institute for Cultural Properties; ‘Kyoto VR’ by Holo Lab Inc.; Scaniverse by Niantic Inc.; and VR experience of Aali royal burial mound in Bahrain and Tanei Temple in Cambodia. The event provided opportunities to experience various utilisations of 3D documentation of cultural heritage widely to the public.
This workshop was organized as a part of the project for Exchanges in International Cooperation for Conservation of Cultural Heritage funded by the Agency of Cultural Affairs.