In 1995, David West Reynolds learned that the original filming locations for the Tatooine scenes in A New Hope were essentially lost. He set out to find them.
Reynolds learned that film crew from A New Hope didn't have much in the way of records as to the specific locations of the scenes they shot in Tunisia. He interviewed everyone he could to get what little information was available. Then, using his skills as an archaeologist, he found each location that was in the movie. Some of the places were out in the desert, such as "Jawa Rock" and "R2's Cave". Others were part of inhabited areas, still with original set pieces where they were left almost 20 years earlier. He even found the Krayt Dragon skeleton lying in the desert sands, essentially untouched.
Reynolds wrote about his journey in The Star Wars Insider, and eventually ended up working for Lucasfilm. He wrote several of the Visual Dictionaries and Incredible Cross-Sections books that most of us are familiar with. He also landed a job as a location scout for the prequel movies. (The Krayt Dragon was still there when the Attack of the Clones crew found it.)
Today Reynolds is looking to recap his journey in a documentary he is putting together using video footage of his 1995 Tunisian expedition. He recently started a Kickstarter campaign, and within a few days he exceeded his goal. The campaign is still active, and offers "perks" for donors of varying levels. Unfortunately, the vial of "Dune Sea" sand perk is sold out!
Check out the short video on the Kickstarter page to get a peek into the project.