A local expert in the emerging field of space archaeology will be a guest speaker at an international heritage conference in Adelaide this weekend.

Two hundred Australian and international delegates will attend the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) Fabric Conference 2015 from 5-8 November.

Sustainability, Environment and Conservation Minister Ian Hunter said the conference concentrated on the importance of heritage in maintaining the fabric of society.

“Guest speaker Dr Alice Gorman from Flinders University is a recognised expert in space archaeology, which is a fascinating and quite new field of archaeological study,” he said.

“Dr Gorman will speak at the conference dinner on Saturday night, looking at the way the shadows at the Apollo landing site on the moon contribute to the site’s cultural significance.

“Other delegates will present nearly 70 papers, and the sheer breadth of information on heritage that will be shared before the weekend is over is astounding.

“They will cover topics as diverse as Cornish mining in Australia, preserving Japanese wooden temples, caring for the Marble Hill ruins in the Adelaide Hills, using social media to remember lost heritage, war memorials, conserving heritage through 3D laser scanning, and ancient water spout systems in Nepal.”

Keynote speakers will include the Getty Conservation Institute’s Head of Field Projects Susan Macdonald, ICOMOS Canada President Julian Smith and Australian Cultural Heritage Management Principal Heritage Consultant Dr Neale Draper.

The conference will also show off some of Adelaide’s key heritage sites, including the historic Adelaide Gaol, Port Adelaide and the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Dr Gorman is also involved in a major International Astronautical Congress to be held in Adelaide in 2017. She will also speak at the annual Flinders University Investigator Lecture at Adelaide Festival Theatre on Wednesday 18 November. For more information go here.