Journals / Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi / 2026 / Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1

From Social Media to Digital Memory: Opportunities and Limitations in the 3D Representation of Cultural Heritage

Sosyal Medyadan Dijital Belleğe: Kültürel Mirasın 3B Temsilinde Olanaklar ve Sınırlar

Ömer Uzunel(NEVŞEHİR HACI BEKTAŞ VELİ ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0001-8159-8902
Aysun Topaloğlu Uzunel(KIRŞEHİR AHİ EVRAN ÜNİVERSİTESİ)0000-0003-4252-7380
Pages
157–177
Publication Date
2026-06-27
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AI Summary & Key Takeaways

AI Insight
⚡ TL;DR(Too Long; Didn't Read)

The results indicate that limited and uncontrolled visual datasets are capable of producing digitally meaningful formal representations, while simultaneously carrying inherent structural risks, including contextual loss, incomplete coverage, and representational illusion.

📌 3 Key Takeaways

🎯
Objective & Hypothesis:Advances in digital imaging and photogrammetric technologies are transforming cultural heritage documentation into an increasingly accessible and low-threshold practice.
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Key Findings & Data:Today, it has become technically possible to generate largely complete three-dimensional models of monumental cultural heritage objects using short and unplanned video recordings shared on social media.
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Conclusion & Impact:The results indicate that limited and uncontrolled visual datasets are capable of producing digitally meaningful formal representations, while simultaneously carrying inherent structural risks, including contextual loss, incomplete coverage, and representational illusion.
🔬Design:Modeling & Simulation
📍Scope:Comprehensive Sample
⚙️Variables:Structure from Motion (SfM) · 3B kültürel miras modelleme · dijital belgeleme

Abstract

Advances in digital imaging and photogrammetric technologies are transforming cultural heritage documentation into an increasingly accessible and low-threshold practice. Today, it has become technically possible to generate largely complete three-dimensional models of monumental cultural heritage objects using short and unplanned video recordings shared on social media. This study presents a case analysis focusing on the 3D modelling of three Nereid sculptures from the Xanthos Nereid Monument, based on an approximately one-minute social media video and processed through a Structure from Motion (SfM)–based workflow. Rather than demonstrating the technical feasibility of social media–based 3D modelling, the primary aim of this study is to reveal how easily and with how little oversight such data can be produced, and to critically examine the ethical and conceptual implications of this accessibility for cultural heritage protection, representation, and accessibility. The results indicate that limited and uncontrolled visual datasets are capable of producing digitally meaningful formal representations, while simultaneously carrying inherent structural risks, including contextual loss, incomplete coverage, and representational illusion. The study further argues that production practices already possible with current technologies foreshadow increasingly complex ethical and conservation-related challenges as more advanced digital and computational tools continue to emerge.

Özet

Dijital görüntüleme ve fotogrametri teknolojilerindeki gelişmeler, kültürel mirasın belgelenmesini giderek daha erişilebilir ve düşük eşikli bir sürece dönüştürmektedir. Günümüzde, sosyal medyada paylaşılan kısa ve plansız bir video kaydı kullanılarak, anıtsal nitelikteki kültürel miras eserlerinin büyük ölçüde üç boyutlu modellerinin üretilebilmesi teknik olarak mümkün hâle gelmiştir. Bu çalışma, sosyal medyada yayımlanmış yaklaşık bir dakikalık bir video kaydından hareketle, Xanthos Nereidler Anıtı’na ait üç Nereid heykelinin Structure from Motion (SfM) tabanlı bir iş akışıyla 3B modellenmesini konu alan bir vaka analizine dayanmaktadır. Çalışmanın amacı, sosyal medya temelli 3B modellemenin teknik uygulanabilirliğini kanıtlamaktan ziyade, bu tür verilerin ne denli kolay ve denetimsiz biçimde üretilebildiğini ortaya koyarak, bunun kültürel mirasın korunması, temsili ve erişilebilirliği açısından doğurduğu etik ve kavramsal sorunları tartışmaktır. Bulgular, sınırlı ve kontrolsüz bir veri setinin biçimsel olarak anlamlı dijital temsiller üretebildiğini; ancak bağlam kaybı, kapsama eksiklikleri ve temsil yanılsaması gibi yapısal riskler barındırdığını göstermektedir. Çalışma, günümüz teknolojileriyle mümkün hâle gelen bu üretim pratiklerinin, gelecekte daha gelişmiş teknolojilerle birlikte kültürel mirasa ilişkin etik ve koruma temelli tartışmaları daha da karmaşık hâle getireceğini vurgulamaktadır.

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Cite This Article

Uzunel, Ö., Uzunel, A. T. (2026). From Social Media to Digital Memory: Opportunities and Limitations in the 3D Representation of Cultural Heritage. Akdeniz İnsani Bilimler Dergisi, Cilt: 16 Sayı: 1, 157–177. https://doi.org/10.13114/mjh.1892073

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