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 (IS) 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 the Islamic State.
“We know the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums are leading the effort to survey the site currently. They’re working very closely with UNESCO as the site is a world heritage site and there are a range of other stakeholders who it’s very important that we talk to, consult with, and they need to make the decisions about how the reconstruction process progresses. But we are on hand if you like, and we have a huge amount of enthusiasm coming back to us from the region about what we can offer and we very much hope we can make a contribution,” said Alexy Karenowska, a physicist at the University of Oxford.
For the artists, the prospect of their work standing alongside the original relics, is one to relish.
“I will be very proud of this and I will be very happy if this goes in this direction and I hope the Syrian people will appreciate this thing and it’s a good point to start to live again,” said Giacomo Massari.
