This TED Talk features cultural heritage protector, Chan's Kokenauer, recorded live at TEDx Hamburg, 2016.

Why do people deliberately destroy cultural heritage? By doing so, do they believe they're erasing our history, our cultural memory?

It's true that we are losing cultural heritage to erosion and natural disasters,

but this is something that is simply difficult to avoid.

I'm here to show you today how we can use pictures, your pictures,

to reclaim the history that is being lost

using innovative technology and the effort of volunteers.

In the early 20th century,

archaeologists discovered hundreds of statues and artifacts at the ancient city of Hattra in northern Iraq.

Statues, like this one, were found in fragments, some of them missing their heads or arms.

Yet, the clothing that they are wearing and their pose can still tell us their story.

For example, we believe that by wearing a knee-length tunic and open bare feet,

this was representative of a priest.

However, with a closer look at this particular piece,

we can see that this tunic being worn was elaborately decorated,

which has led many researchers to believe

this was actually a statue of a king performing his religious functions.

When the Mosul Cultural Museum opened in 1952 in northern Iraq,

this statue, as well as others, were placed there

to preserve them for future generations.

Following the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003,

a few statues and artifacts were relocated to Baghdad,

...