Computer Scientist and Archaeologist Unveils Salsal, a Web3-based solution

Preserving Cultural Heritage with Salsal

Computer scientist Adel Khelifi from the University of Abu Dhabi and archaeologist Mark Altaweel from University College London have jointly announced a pioneering initiative called Salsal, a Web3-based verification-as-a-service model focused on establishing the authenticity and provenance of cultural artifacts.

The core objective of Salsal is to bridge the world of historical artifacts with an on-chain validation system that cannot be manipulated or duplicated. In a recent email interview with Cointelegraph, Altaweel emphasized that Salsal would specifically cater to "cultural heritage organizations."

Addressing Missing Artifacts and Theft Concerns

The absence of a globally recognized official registry for historically significant items has long been a challenge. While most territories have laws governing the procurement, collection, trade, and selling of cultural artifacts found on public or protected land, the lack of a comprehensive registry often results in historically valuable artifacts going unaccounted for. Notable missing treasures like the Honjo Masamune and the Crown Jewels of Ireland have been lost to time and theft, while countless others have been looted from historically significant sites before experts could document them.

The Salsal project aims to address these concerns by establishing a protocol that utilizes a suite of technology tools to identify, grade, and record information about specific artifacts. Cultural heritage organizations seeking validation for their collections can upload images and descriptions to the service, where a panel of experts grades the artifacts on a five-point scale, similar to the process used by the Museums Association.

Once an artifact is deemed legitimate, the collector has the option to convert it into a Non-Fungible Token (NFT). NFTs, stored on the immutable blockchain, enable accurate documentation of ownership transfers, providing a secure and transparent method for handling provenance.