A damaged, historic piece of architecture in Syria will soon get recognition in New York City and London. A team of archeologists are looking to build replicas of the arch at the Temple of Bel in Palmyra in Syria, The Guardian first reported.
ISIS destroyed most of the 2,000 year-old temple in August this year, shortly after they had captured the city of Palmyra. All that remained was a single arch.
The replica project has been proposed by the Institute for Digital Archeology(IDA) - a collaborative project between Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Museum of the Future in Dubai, which calls for the use of 3D printing and digital imagery in the field of archeology and preservation.
To create the replicas, which will be located in Times Square in New York and Trafalgar Square in London, the IDA will use 3D printing techniques. Over the past few months, the IDA has collaborated with UNESCO and handed out 3D cameras to a bunch of willing photographers to take images of monuments and objects, particularly in war torn areas, that are in danger of being destroyed.
The replicas will be built off-site and then assembled at their respective locations. They are set to be unveiled in April as part of World Heritage Week. The Temple of Bel was built in 32 AD and was dedicated to the Mesopotamian God, Bel. The Temple was subsequently converted into a church during the Byzantine period and into a mosque during the 12th Century. The Temple attracted 150,000 tourists each year before the civil war broke out in Syria.
· Palmyra arch that survived Isis to be replicated in London and New York [Guardian]
· Palmyra Temple Was Destroyed by ISIS, U.N. Confirms [New York Times]
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