Mark Altaweel develops technology to support cultural protection

11 August 2023

Mark Altaweel (UCL Institute of Archaeology), with collaborative partners, has developed a digital tool to help prevent the looting of ancient artefacts.

Screenshot of the landing page of a digital technology tool with the name in large black text and a red tear-drop shaped image to the right of the screen

Mark Altaweel has been collaborating with Abu Dhabi University and听Walk of Truth, a non-profit organisation based in the Netherlands, in building听blockchain technology to help with cultural protection.

The digital tool '' that has been developed allows听people to monitor, participate, and be involved in the management听and protection of objects that are in a blockchain.听 Data is recorded across many computers to form a database of linked blocks.听Once information is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot then be altered听without changing all of the blocks in the chain and having听the consensus of the network.

The use of blockchain technology听could听help put pressure on cultural institutions to deal with legitimate and ethically obtained objects as well as听being used to help track the status and research about specific objects.

According to Mark:

鈥�I see it as a way for cultural institutions to begin to share information about (their collections) to the public - so the public can also be involved in protecting them effectively or sharing knowledge about them."

Mark听and his colleagues seek to implement the blockchain technology听in the near future in cultural institutions in the UAE and elsewhere as the technology continues to be developed.