🌍See where we are in this week’s #HeritageFromAbove 🛰️ Today we zoom to an important site that has historically been regarded as the capital of a successor state… 🔎but do you know its name? Send your answer in the comments ⬇️ #AfricanHeritage #GoogleEarth #Wherearewe

Tata structures in Senegal continued... These defensive structures became widespread in Senegal and were central to the socio-political and economic interests of pre-colonial West African states. A prime example is the tata of Maba Diakhou Bâ. #GroundingHeritage #Tata #SenegalArchaeology

Today we journey to a place that has transformed our understanding of human evolution. This remarkable landscape preserves some of the world's oldest evidence of our ancestors, with fossils and ancient stone tools dating back millions of years... 🔎 Send your answer in the comments

📢Fieldwork in action! The MAEASaM team with #DBNMM conducted a 10 day field #rockart recording trip to the renowned #TsodiloHills in northern Botswana. #Collaboration #AfricanHeritage #Botswana #Dstretch #Fieldwork

🌍See where we are in this week’s #HeritageFromAbove 🛰️ Today we zoom to a unique site, the most massive stone-walled construction in West Africa dating back the early 16th Century…🔎but do you know its name? Send your answer in the comments ⬇️ #GoogleEarth #AfricanHeritage #Didyouknow

Bara perimeter wall is one of several defensive earthworks associated with Oyo-Ile, the former capital of the Oyo Empire, southwestern Nigeria. The enclosure dates between c. AD 1620 and 1837 and formed part of the broader defensive landscape of the Oyo capital. #GroundingHeritage #Didyouknow #Oyo

MAEASaM Project held a three-day archival digitisation workshop at NMK and BIEA (27–29 May 2026),bringing together participants from Kenya, Tanzania,and Ethiopia.The training focused on digitisation workflows,metadata, digital preservation,and the management of archaeological and heritage archives.

Last week, MAEASaM's Friederike Jürcke joined the CLARE CoHeRe workshop at the University of Cologne, discussing #climate change impacts on heritage and how heritage can inform adaptation policies. She also led a #QGIS session on data management and visualisation. #MAEASaM #CulturalHeritage

See where we are in this week’s #HeritageFromAbove Today we zoom to an important site that houses many fine-line rock paintings made by, but do you know its name? Send your answer in the comments. Stay tuned to find out more! #HeritageQuiz #Satelliteimagery #GoogleEath #Africanheritage #Rockart

Loopholed structures around Mount Fura in Zimbabwe are linked to the Mutapa State (ca. AD1450–1900). Built along rugged ridges and hilltops, these stone enclosures may have served as fortifications during periods of conflict and political instability.

Ready for this week’s #HeritageFromAbove? 🌍 Can you spot the feature… 🔎 These unique funerary features stand out in the wider region. Let us know your answer below — bonus points if you can name the site! #GoogleEarth #AfricanHeritage #WhereAreWe Image credits: © IFAN and ©Photo L. Laporte

Level up your GIS and digital heritage skills with the MAHSA & MAEASaM YouTube channel 🗺️💻 Explore our growing collection of playlists designed to build foundational knowledge in digital heritage management: www.youtube.com/@mahsa_maeas... @maeasamproject.bsky.social

A step-by-step guide of #digitising the #UNESCO site of Gorée Island: 1. georeferencing a historical map onto satellite imagery, 2. delineating the property boundary and buffer zone, 3. digitizing the sub-sites, 4. linking to metadata, and saving the data. Explore tdb.maeasam.org for Gorée Island

The week has flown by, which can only mean one thing…time for #HeritageFromAbove This site forms part of four larger archaeological sites in two countries, collectively featuring 93 stone circles...know where we are? Answer in the comments and good luck! Photo credit: Ikiwaner, 2008, CC-BY-SA-3.0

📢 Fort Bullen of The Gambia Part of #UNESCOWorldHeritageSite of Kunta Kinteh Island and Related Sites, Fort Bullen is in Barra, near the Gambia River mouth and built in 1826 as part of the abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade. #AfricanHeritage #Archaeology #DefenceStructure

It's Friday...time for #HeritageFromAbove! Do you know where we are today? Remember to answer in the comments, and as always good luck!! #Heritagefromabove #Googleearth #DRC #Quiz

Using NDVI, we mapped vegetation-based visibility thresholds across 12 MAEASaM countries to identify where archaeological survey conditions are obscured, seasonal, partial, or highly visible. The project uses MODIS NDVI, Google Earth Engine, and QGIS workflows. #Encodingheritage #Googleearth

It’s Friday…time for #HeritageFromAbove 👀 Do you know where we are today? Hint: Once a 19th-century German fortress on the Swahili coast, the coral stone walls now house a luxury retreat. Can you guess where we are? Can you figure out where we are? Drop your answer in the comments below. #Quiz

Celebrating #Africa’sWorldHeritageDay 🌍 MAEASaM team share personal African heritage connections by choosing objects, places, or ideas that represent identity, memory, and tradition. These symbols connect us to ancestors, preserve stories, and pass cultural knowledge across generations. #MAEASaMteam

The Old Fort in #StoneTown #Zanzibar, with its thick coral stone walls, rounded bastions, crenellations, and grand entrance gateway, was not constructed for defence. Instead, it was built to control trade and display power. Explore more on the MAEASaM Demo database - tdb.maeasam.org

Time for #HeritageFromAbove Where are we? Do you know Hint: Not all of Sudan’s heritage lies on land. This protected site is home to coral reefs, sea turtles, dugongs, and the Red Sea’s only atoll-like reef system. Any guesses? Can you figure out where we are? #Africanarchaeology #Quiz

In the Rift I like to stay, Where ancient tools still shout “we’re here today!” Handaxes nap in dusty ground, While factory hums make modern sound. White powder drifts, old secrets mix— Can you name this spot? It’s quite the fix! #Heritagefromabove #HumanOrigins #AfricanArchaeology #Riftvally

#SiyuFort on Pate Island is part of the Swahili coast, an African network of settlements shaped by trade and cultural exchange. Built by local communities to resist Omani expansion, it reflects indigenous architecture, autonomy, and resistance along the coast. #SiyuFort #SwahiliCoast#Museumsofkenya

Time for #HeritageFromAbove Where are we? Do you know One of the last remaining examples of primary high forests in Nigeria. Attests to the once common practice of constructing sacred groves outside all settlements. Can you figure out where we are? #Heritagefromabove #Africanarchaeology #Quiz

Join us for #AfricanWorldHeritageDay2026! 🎉 On May 7, enjoy a hybrid event with flash talks and a guest lecture by Dr. Siyakha Mguni. Register now to secure your spot: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/maeasam-di... #MAEASaMAnnualLecture #Africanarchaeology #AfricanHeritage

What does it take to transform a forgotten landscape into structured archaeological data? At the German Fort site in Gashaka Gumti National Park, Taraba State, the process begins with LiDAR sensor data, capturing millions of elevation points across a heavily vegetated terrain.

It’s Friday… time for #HeritageFromAbove 👀 Do you know where we are today? Hint: The site is a tradition regional centre of the second millennium AD. Can you guess where we are? drop your answer in the comments below and as usual Good luck! #Heritagefromabove #Africanheritage #Quiz

Maputo Fortress, built by the Portuguese in the 18th century, began as a trading post in Catembe before moving to Maputo Bay. It faced repeated looting due to European rivalries over trade and control. Today, it serves as a military museum and hosts cultural events. #Mozambique #AfricanArchaeology

It’s Friday… time for #HeritageFromAbove 👀 Do you know where we are today? The site known for its sophisticated irrigation and cultivation system that built by a farming community Can you guess where we are? #Heritagefromabove #Africanheritage #satelliteimegary #Googleearth #Quiz

Moving Day with MAHSA & MAEASaM - Cambridge Big move for MAHSA & MAEASaM! We’ve settled into our new office in the McDonald Institute, bringing our teams closer as we continue mapping and protecting archaeological heritage. New space, fresh energy, and the same commitment to uncovering the past.

We brought mapping to the masses last weekend at the fantastic Cambridge Festival Family Weekend. Over 1,000 visitors joined us at the University Centre where our project teams joined the department to share interactive archaeological experiences with families.

MAEASaM researchers-BIEA, Cindy Waweru and Keith Murangiri digitised and georeferenced historical maps using QGIS, converting Arc 1960 to WGS84. This enables alignment with modern data, supporting landscape analysis, site relocation, and heritage monitoring. 🔗 Learn more: maeasam.org/georeferenci...

It’s Friday… time for #HeritageFromAbove Do you know where we are today? This massive stone structure has stood for over 2,500 years… long before many of the region’s better-known sites Its precise geometry is still clearly visible from above. Can you guess where we are?#Satelliteimagery #Quiz

Dr Khady Niang (Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar) will be giving the fourth Jennifer Ward Oppenheimer Lecture. 'Regional trajectories in the West African Stone Age: perspectives from Sahelian and Forest landscapes' 📅 Tuesday 5 May ⏰ 17:00-18:00 bit.ly/JWO2026 @maeasamproject.bsky.social

#GroundingHeritage takes us to Ethiopia’s mountains. The rock-hewn churches of Lalibela and fortified sites like Fasil Ghebbi reflect how defence, faith, and landscape intertwine in resilient heritage systems. #DefenceSystems #AfricanArchaeology #Ethiopia

It's Friday...time for #HeritageFromAbove Do you know where we are today? Remember to answer in the comments and as always good luck!! 📸 Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism. #HeritageFromAbove #Googleearth #BotswanaHeritage #Satelliteimagery #Quiz

Digitising legacy records involves several steps: assessing record condition and volume; scanning at 300–400+ DPI with 48-bit colour and TIFF format; applying consistent file naming; performing quality checks; adding metadata during post-processing; and protecting data using the 3-2-1 backup rule.

It is Friday, which means it’s time for #HeritageFromAbove! Can you guess where are we? Clue: Once nicknamed the “Palais Faidherbe” Drop your answer in the comments below, and as usual, good luck! #Heritagefromabove #UNESCO #Satelliteimagery #Archaeology #Senegal #Africanheritage #Quiz

Across Africa, communities built defensive systems such as walls, moats, and watchtowers. In Senegal, the tata of Yang-Yang, a double fortified enclosure built c.1875, protected the Djolof heartland. Similar structures exist across Africa under different local names. #Defencesystems #Senegambia

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for #HeritageFromAbove! Can you guess the name of this site? Clue: Here is a clue: this ruins were built by the terrace builders Drop your answer in the comments below, and as usual, good luck! #Heritagefromabove #UNESCO #Quiz #Africanheritage #Archaeology

Today begins the same way it does for many of us, with an early morning coffee, It may look like an ordinary routine. But within those ordinary hours, something extraordinary is happening: documenting and protecting of Africa’s endangered archaeological sites. Can you Guess our Partner Country?

🎤Coming soon on Monday, 9 March - featuring #GroundingHeritage Join us on a journey through hundreds of archaeological features in Africa from the ground up. Stay tuned for more😉 #GroundingHeritage #AfricanHeritage #Archaeology #Didyouknow #Featurethis

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for #HeritageFromAbove! Can you guess the name of this site? Clue: This contains over 1,000 stone circles and tumuli. Drop your answer in the comments below, and as usual, good luck! #Heritagefromabove #UNESCO #Quiz

🗺️ Record-breaking GIS workshop! MAHSA & MAEASaM welcomed 280 participants from 30+ countries to explore GIS in archaeology, from theory and case studies to hands-on QGIS training. Thank you to our speakers, organisers, and global community. This is just the beginning! #archaeology #GIS #QGIS

Accessibility and reuse underpin FAIR, but applying them varies across contexts. We clean, validate, and structure data with clear metadata and rights frameworks. Public data is shared under Creative Commons, with limits where needed. maeasam.org/accessing-re... #Digitalheritage #Datapolicy #Fair

It's Friday and time to play our favorite game: #HeritageFromAbove ! Can you guess the name of this site? Clue:This site is part of the Bassari-Bedik cultural landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage site. #Heritagefromabove #Unesco #Quiz #Landscape

Raymond Mauny's "Field Notebooks" (1942-1962) document the prehistorian's surveys and excavations in French West Africa. As director of the archaeology section at IFAN in Dakar, he recorded essential data on West African archaeological heritage. #AfricanHeritage #Digitisation #WestAfrica #Senegal

Happy Friday & Happy Valentine’s season ❤️ #HeritageFromAbove Can you guess where we are? Hint: This remote landscape reveals some of the world’s most important early human discoveries—ancient lake shores, dramatic badlands, and a story millions of years old. Share your guesses below! #Kenya #Origins

Data diversity brings opportunity, and challenge. Archaeology generates fragmented, global datasets that are hard to manage. The MAEASaM Project explores this responsibility. Dr. Stefania Merlo reflects in two podcasts for International Love Data Week: tinyurl.com/55hc3jj3 tinyurl.com/57kdcu72

Kipande House (1912) is one of Nairobi’s most powerful heritage landmarks. Once the centre of the colonial kipande pass system, it stands today as a reminder of Kenya’s struggle for dignity and freedom and the importance of preserving spaces that carry our collective memory. #AfricanHeritage #Kenya