US, UK to create replica of ancient Syrian arch attacked by IS

A replica of a 2,000-year-old arch in the Syrian city of Palmyra that survived attempts by Islamic State militants to destroy it is to be erected in London and New York using the world's biggest 3D printer.

The 15-metre-high arch is one of the few remaining parts of the Temple of Bel in the Syrian city. It was almost completely destroyed by IS militants as they systematically destroyed Palmyra over the past year.

The construction of a replica will be the centre-piece of a series of events around World Heritage Week, planned for April, with a theme of replication and reconstruction, The Guardian reported.

The pieces will be made in China using the world'sbiggest 3D printer and then assembled in place in TrafalgarSquare in London and Times Square in New York.

It has also been characterised as a gesture of defianceagainst the attempts by religious extremists to erase the pre-Islamic history of the Middle East.

Founded in AD32, the Temple of Bel was consecrated to the ancient Mesopotamian god Bel and formed the centre of religious life in Palmyra.

Known as the Pearl of the Desert, Palmyra -- which means city of Palms -- lies 210 km north-east of Damascus. Before the Syrian conflict erupted in 2011, more than 150,000 tourists visited the city every year.

The Temple of Bel was considered among the best preserved ruins at Palmyra, until news of the destruction in August.

Building a copy of the temple's entrance arch has been proposed by the Institute for Digital Archaeology, a joint venture of HarvardUniversity, the University of Oxford and Dubai's Museum of the Future that promotes the use of digital imaging and 3D printing in archaeology and conservation.

In collaboration with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, the institute earlier this year began distributing 3D cameras to volunteer photographers to capture images of threatened objects in conflict zones throughout the Middle East and North Africa.

The images are to be uploaded to a 'million image database' that, it is hoped, can be used for research, heritage appreciation, educational programmes and eventually 3D replication -- including full-scale rebuilding.

The destruction of the Temple of Bel came too soon for the site to be included on the IDA's database, but researchers have been able to create 3D approximations of the damaged site through thousands of two-dimensional photographs.

Alexy Karenowska, the IDA's director of technology, said the renderings would be used to recreate the arch through a combination of 3D printing computer-controlled machining techniques.