3 minute read
Bringing Heritage Back to Life
BY MADDI ANDREWS
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– Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova
Our world is becoming increasingly digital. This fact has become even clearer amidst the global pandemic, where we attend meetings, classes, and appointments entirely online. It is no surprise that digital tools are being used globally to preserve our cultural heritage sites. There have been advances in three-dimensional modelling and printing that present new opportunities for cultural heritage preservation, both in the virtual and physical world.
Today, many technologies offer unique possibilities to reconstruct heritage sites accurately. Some efforts to document heritage sites utilize drones with laser scanners, which are able to quickly scan vast expanses of land. Afterwards, researchers transform the collected data into dynamic and life-like three-dimensional models. Iconem, a French startup founded in 2013, has popularized this type of work. Their team travels the globe, digitizing vulnerable heritage sites, such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, to ensure they are protected for future generations.
Alternatively, photogrammetry is an exciting new technology used for modelling. This technique requires high-resolution photographs of a monument, with significant overlaps between each image from every angle possible.
These photographs are then digitally connected to create a three-dimensional version. Consequently, cultural heritage sites, whether vulnerable to war damage or natural disasters, have the potential to exist digitally. This potential would not have been possible a decade ago and demonstrates the intellect, creativity, and innovation of humankind.
The Great Mosque of Aleppo in Syria validates the importance of digital tools for the preservation of monuments. For millennia, Aleppo witnessed immense cultural exchange, as it is situated at a crossroads between trade routes. Aleppo passed between the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes, and Ottomans. This rich diversity was reflected in the Great Mosque of Aleppo, which was constructed under both Shia and Turkic Sunni rulers, and contained inscriptions in multiple languages. The minaret, constructed in 1090, towered above Aleppo for nearly one thousand years and became an emblem within the city’s physical landscape.
In April 2013, the minaret of the Great Mosque of Aleppo was reduced to rubble, becoming another casualty in the ongoing Syrian Civil War. This multi-sided conflict, which began in 2011, has lasted over nine years. Many estimates believe that 400,000 lives have been lost, with over five million people displaced. Although this conflict has produced a significant cultural loss, this destruction does not outweigh the loss of human life and ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Hope is not lost for the Great Mosque of Aleppo. Although wiped from the physical landscape, the minaret was virtually reconstructed using imaging technologies. Thankfully, previous research efforts, including a photogrammetry expedition led by Professor Gabriele Fangi, had thoroughly documented the Great Mosque of Aleppo, which resulted in detailed three-dimensional models. The people of Aleppo have decided to rebuild the Mosque. Efforts to reconstruct the minaret and repair other damage began in February 2018. The documentation efforts provided more detailed, accurate virtual reconstructions, which have proven invaluable for physical reconstruction efforts.
To many Aleppo citizens, the Great Mosque was the heart of the city, part of their history, culture, and religion. This sentiment is reflected in accounts of people visiting the destroyed minaret, people who wept and collectively mourned for its loss. For nearly a millennium, the minaret called Muslims across Aleppo to worship five times each day, where they shared cultural practices and fostered community. Without these reconstruction efforts, the Great Mosque of Aleppo would have been lost forever, existing only in our memories. For the people of Aleppo, the reconstruction of the minaret is most significant as it represents the enduring strength of their culture and its ability to survive conflict.
Ultimately, digital tools can prolong our cultural heritage’s life expectancy, and in some cases, even bring sites back to life. Should damage occur, these virtual models are invaluable tools for reconstruction efforts, providing vital information for conservators and architects. Still, there is an even greater significance when documenting heritage: increasing access. Digitally reconstructing monuments inevitably means more people will appreciate and learn about new cultures. Many museums and galleries have begun digitizing their collections, making them accessible to the greater public, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic preventing direct access. I have personally toured the Musée d’Orsay and the Rijksmuseum, all from the comfort of my couch. The same must occur for monuments and heritage sites. Here I am, joining the chorus of voices advocating for more documentation of monuments around the world. We all deserve access to cultural heritage, something that has the power to bring people together, despite our differences.
