About SADP
The authoritative digital inventory of Syria's cultural heritage
The Syria Archaeological Data Platform (SADP) is a centralized system for recording, managing and safeguarding Syria's archaeological sites, monuments and cultural assets. Built for the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), it unifies field documentation, condition assessments, photogrammetry and bibliography into one connected graph of knowledge.
One record, complete context
Every heritage record captures not just a description and location, but its condition, cultural period, threats, interventions, linked photos, drawings and 3D models — all connected through standard heritage ontologies.
Multilingual by design
Full Arabic, English and French support with right-to-left interface. Controlled vocabularies are translated across all three languages so a site type or damage category means the same thing to every user.
Who We Serve
Built for the people protecting Syria's past
SADP is the working environment of DGAM staff, partner archaeologists, researchers and authorized institutions. Each stakeholder has a role-based view and controlled access to the data they need to do their work — and nothing more.
DGAM Staff
Field surveyors, conservators and archivists enter heritage records, upload documentation, and track damage and intervention history.
Researchers
Authorized researchers and academic partners consult the inventory, export data, and contribute findings back into the shared record.
The Public
A dedicated public-facing portal will open a curated view of Syria's heritage — maps, stories, and 3D tours — to engage the world in its preservation.
Inside the Platform
Open standards, open source, built to last
SADP is built on proven open-source heritage technology. No vendor lock-in, no proprietary formats — all data is exportable, auditable, and ready to outlive any single tool.
The stack
Arches — heritage management platform following CIDOC-CRM, the international standard for cultural heritage documentation. Adapted for DGAM using EAMENA's proven data model (Heritage Place, Built Component, Detailed Condition Assessment, Geoarchaeology, Grid Square, Information Resource, Person-Organization).
PostgreSQL + PostGIS — spatial database storing every record with its full geometry. Every field record is indexed for geographic search, overlay analysis and export.
GeoServer — publishes heritage layers as OGC WMS/WFS services. Researchers can consume the data directly in QGIS or any GIS client without downloading copies.
Elasticsearch — full-text and faceted search across thousands of records and thesauri in all three languages.
Storage for 3D & photogrammetry — dedicated volumes for drone imagery, point clouds, photogrammetry outputs and 3D tiles, ready to be served into CesiumJS viewers in the public portal (Phase 2).