Editorial: Digital heritage futures

Digital heritage is no longer a niche at the edge of cultural heritage practice. It has become a central arena where preservation, interpretation, and public engagement are negotiated through computation, interfaces, and media. As digital tools mature, the challenge shifts from adopting technology to shaping how technology mediates cultural meaning, whose perspectives are prioritized, and what kinds of futures these systems enable. This Research Topic, Digital heritage futures, called for work at the intersection of cultural heritage, architecture, new media, archaeology, museology, and computer science, with a specific focus on human media interaction and methodological innovation. The four contributions in this Research Topic, three original research articles and one perspective, reflect that ambition and show a field moving from tool-centered development toward questions of experience, interpretation, and accountability.