The African Rock Art Digital Archive (ARADA) under the Rock Art Research Institute (RARI) at the University of the Witwatersrand has a substantial collection of historical documents, photographs, redrawing's, negatives, Hasselblad's, artistic rendering, stitched digital images, tracings and slides. Over time, many of the older slides started to change colour and deteriorate in quality, prompting a programme to preserve the historical documents, photographs, and slides in RARI's possession and reduce their handling by researchers and visitors.
Preservation was possible by digitising the collections and making them available on a database, thereby reducing physical handling while facilitating access to images and documents. The laboratory had the daunting task of digitising all the existing archives at RARI as well as providing a database from which the archives could be accessed and viewed. The African Rock Art Digital Laboratory started its digitisation process in August 2002. During the course of digitisation, RARI realised that it could use the expertise and equipment it has access to record other important collections, both private and institutional.
During this period, the project originally known as South African Rock Art Digital Archive (SARADA) changed its name to the African Rock Art Digital Archive (ARADA). The name change reflected the project’s growth — it expanded beyond South Africa to include collections from other parts of Africa, as well as materials held in some European institutions (see the list of stakeholders below). Since then, over 300,000 images from more than 7,000 rock art sites have been digitised and added to the archive, forming a significant part of ARADA’s collection today.
A resource that includes institutional collections owned by the Analysis of Rock Art of Lesotho (ARAL) project, Iziko Museums of South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal Museum, National Museum of South Africa, University of Cape Town (UCT), University of South Africa (UNISA), Rock Art Research Institute (RARI), Albany Museum, University of Rome La Sapienza, University of Cologne, Naprstek Museum, AFEBAT, National Museum of Cultural History, National Museum of Namibia, Mariannhill Monastery, Weltmuseum Wien, Ukhahlamba Rock Art Mapping Project, National Heritage Conservation Commission of Zambia, Malawi Department of Antiquities, Ditsong Museums of South Africa.
Private collections include; Jean-Loïc Le Quellec, Cornelia Kleinitz, Janette Deacon, Victor Biggs, Gerald Newlands, Kurt Petz, Jurgen Schadeberg, Stephen Townley Bassett, Benjamin Smith, Fabrizio Mori, Conraad De Rosner, Cornelia Kleinitz, Alison Gans, Pieter Jolly, Lucas Smits, John Hone, Helmut Reuning, Heinrich Roth, Elwin Jenkins, Ellenberger Family, Renee Rust and Tommy Topp.
ARADA is registered as a Section 21 company not for financial gain, but with the sole purpose of furthering research, education, and site management, thereby helping promote the development and reconstruction of Southern Africa's history.