A replica of a 2,000-year-old monument in Palmyra, Syria, that apparently survived an Islamic State (ISIS) bombing campaign will be erected in Trafalgar Square during World Heritage Week in April 2016.
The Institute of Digital Archaeology plans to re-create the 15-metre (49-foot) replica of the ancient arch using 3D technology and photographs of the monument.
The arch is said to be all that remains of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, which is considered to be one of the most important religious buildings of the 1st century AD in the Middle East. Satellite imagery revealed that the temple was almost entirely destroyed by ISIS in late August 2015. Founded in AD32, the temple was converted into a Christian church during the Byzantine era, and later into a mosque when Islam arrived in the region.
The arch will stand in the shadow of Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square in a gesture of defiance in the face of ISIS's attempts to erase the Middle East's pre-Islamic history.
The institute’s technical director Alexy Karenowska told Mashable: "The aim of the planned installation on Trafalgar Square, which will run for around one week, is to draw international attention to the global crisis surrounding the looting and despoliation of cultural heritage objects and architecture and the importance of celebrating the beauty and significance of these objects to the everyday lives of modern people."
In order to reconstruct the arch, photographs of the monument will be fed into 3D imaging software to create a template. 3D printers and computer-guided machining will then be used to create the finished product in sections.
During World Heritage Week 2016, small and large versions of the Palmyra arch will be erected in high visibility sites, schools, and museums around the world. There are also plans for an arch to be erected in Times Square, New York.