LONDON, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- Replicas of an arch in the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel, among the last remaining parts of an ancient Palmyra, Syria, structure demolished by the Islamic State, will be erected in London and New York.
The temple has been systematically razed, with the 50-foot-tall arch among the few remaining elements of the building still standing. The temple, dedicated in 32 A.D. to the Mesopotamian god Bel, attracted 150,000 tourists per year until 2011, when the civil war in Syria began.
The full-scale replicas, now under construction in China, will stand in London's Trafalgar Square and New York's Times Square during World Heritage Week in April 2016.
The project comes after researchers from the Institute for Digital Archeology -- an effort by Harvard University, Oxford University in Britain and Dubai's Museum of the Future -- embarked on a "Million Image Project" to obtain 3D photographic data to reconstruct the arch digitally. The full-scale models are being recreated with the world's largest 3D printer, and made of stone powder and lightweight composite materials. The structures will be temporary.
They are meant to show defiance of IS attempts to erase the Middle East's pre-Islamic history and to demonstrate how new technology can be used in archeology.
"If you destroy something we can rebuild it again. The symbolic value of these sites is enormous. We are restoring dignity," Roger Michel of the IDA said.
IS regards some of Iraq and Syria's most prominent archeological treasures to be symbolic of idolatry and pre-Muslim thought. The militant group has been selling artifacts on the black market to finance its mission. To the horror of international historians and archeologists, it has also destroyed a number of significant sites in 2015, including the ancient cities of Nimud and Hatra in Iraq, and the Shagraf shrine, the St. Elian monastery, and the Palmyra Temple of Baal and Temple of Bel in Syria.
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December 29, 2015 | 1:39am
http://nypost.com/2015/12/29/3-d-printing-to-bring-syrian-arch-dest...
The Temple of Bel (top) before it was destroyed by ISIS in August. Photo: Reuters; AP (2)
A towering arch of an ancient temple in Palmyra, Syria, that has been mostly destroyed by ISIS terrorists will be recreated by a huge 3-D printer and put on display in New York City this spring, officials said on Monday.
The life-size model of the original 2,000-year-old structure, known as the Arch of the Temple of Bel, will stand approximately 48 feet high and 23 feet wide.
It will be one of two constructed in China for exhibition likely in Times Square and London’s Trafalgar Square as part of a World Heritage Week event in April 2016, said Roger Michel, executive director for the Institute for Digital Archaeology.
His organization uses 3-D cameras to document at-risk cultural sites throughout the Middle East and North Africa through the institute’s Million Image Project.
“We hope it is viewed as a constructive response to what has happened there,” Michel said, referring to the move by ISIS soldiers to eradicate Syria’s cultural history.
The establishment of the Institute for Digital Archaeology was a joint effort by Harvard University, Oxford University in Great Britain and Dubai’s Museum of the Future.
The temple, dedicated in 32 AD to the Mesopotamian god Bel, attracted 150,000 tourists yearly until 2011, when the civil war in Syria began.
In August, ISIS soldiers razed most of the structure with a series of powerful..., leaving behind only a 50-foot arch, according to satellite photos of the historic site.
The current status of the arch is unknown.
A plan to exhibit a model of the Temple of Bel — also known as the Temple of Baal — in Times Square or Union Square is awaiting approval from the Mayor’s Office, Michel said.
“I’m sure it will turn on issues of traffic flow and security,” he told The Post. “I know it’s pending.”
The institute plans to construct approximately 1,000 such versions of the arch in cities throughout the world.
