Last month, an archaeological preservation project launched an online English and Arabic-language database to raise awareness and urge state officials in affected countries to take protective measures. The project, called Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East and North Africa (EAMENA), has developed a spatial database which provides the level of risk the site is facing and its historical background.

Founded in 2015, the project is based at the universities of Oxford, Leicester and Durham, and is supported by charitable fund Arcadia, which since 2002 has awarded 75 grants for a combined $207 million to “preserve endangered culture.”

With the rise of the Islamic State and extremism throughout the region, the need for such cultural preservation is palpable. According to a 2014 report from right-wing think tank the Gatestone Institute, called “The Destruction of the Middle East,” the heritage of centuries has been wiped out in little more than a year.

However, since many of these regions of at-risk ruins are located in war zones, according to a press release, “the project uses satellite imagery to rapidly record and make available information about archaeological sites and landscapes which are under threat.”

According to the EAMENA website, “Whilst not all damage and threats to the archaeology of the MENA region can be prevented, they can be monitored and mitigated.”