A group of Italian architects are resurrecting parts of the war-ravaged ancient Syrian city of Palmyra by recreating the 2,000-year-old Triumphal
ADVERTISEMENT
A group of Italian architects are resurrecting parts of the war-ravaged ancient Syrian city of Palmyra by recreating the 2,000-year-old Triumphal Arch from the Temple of Bel – much of which was destroyed by the Islamic State (ISIL) over the past year.
The 3D robotic printers are being used to print the arch in Italy’s Carrara mountains so as to bring the historic ruins back to life. Later this month, it will go on display in London’s Trafalgar Square and New York’s Times Square before being taken to Palmyra.
Thousands of images of the ruins have been used to create 3D mapping – and alongside the latest technology, master craftsmen make the finishing touches.
“We sometimes think about if we were in the position of the Syrian people. We would like to have this. Our monuments, as Italians, also are very important for us these kind of monuments and the relation that we have with our place,” said Giacomo Massari, founder of TorArt, a contemporary art studio.
The project is managed by the Institute for Digital Archeology, a joint venture by Harvard University, the University of Oxford and Dubai’s Museum of the Future.
Once reconstructed, the arch will stand nearly six meters, but the people behind this project believe they can recreate more than just one ruin which has been destroyed by ISIL.