CHW’s Historical Research

Satellite-Based historical research

The Past is the Key to Understanding the Present

CHW recognizes that the cultural heritage of Nagorno-Karabakh and Nakhichevan/Nakhchivan has already suffered multiple waves of destruction in its recent history. We are actively engaged in several forensic research projects to document aspects of past episodes of destruction using declassified and public-domain satellite imagery, and will release these reports on our website as they become available.

The methodology for our archival work entails identifying suitable images in existing repositories (e.g. declassified Cold War-era satellite imagery and aerial photographs) and working to document substantial changes to cultural heritage sites from the late Soviet period to the years following the first Nagorno-Karabakh war.