Digital Archaeology and the Response to Terrorism

One of the most important elements of Digital Archaeology is its ability to preserve and restore the past. Through digital imaging, archaeologists can build up houses, monuments, sites, and cities, based on the limited data that survive (See, for example, my previous post on Paris: Past & Present). Usually, these sites have been ruins for centuries or millennia, and the reconstructions are based on our best interpretations of the evidence that is currently available. In the last few decades, however, it has become necessary to reproduce sites, artefacts, and cities that are being purposefully destroyed by terrorist groups who believe that these remnants of the past are idolatrous. These reconstructions are based on an amalgamation of digital photographs that had been taken before the attacks. The images allow 3D models to be recreated and shared, or digital projections to restore what once remained. While the new models serve to bring back a memory of cultural heritage, they cannot replace the originals. Instead, in some cases, the remains of the destruction have become protected, and serve as a reminder for the present and the future.

In 2001, the Buddha statues of Bamiyan were destroyed by the Taliban. The remains are now protected as part of the World Heritage Site. Above these, in the recesses of the walls where these giant statues once stood, digital light projections have taken the place of the ancient monuments. The site serves as a powerful message and reminder, and the projections have provided relief to some of the individuals who were most impacted by the tragic destruction. A bike repair man named Mirza Hussain was forced by the Taliban to help destroy the Buddha statues, as he related to the BBC in an interview in March 2015. About his part in the destruction he stated, “I regretted it at that time, I regret it now and I will always regret it. But I could not resist, I didn’t have a choice because they would have killed me.” He is one of many who is moved to see the new projections partially restoring these incredible pieces of culture and history.

More recently, ISIS has destroyed many archaeological sites and artefacts in museums throughout the Middle East, including the famous site of Palmyra, where they also executed the head of antiquities, Khaled al-Assad. In a previous article, I wrote about the digital printing of the Triumphal Arch, which is to be distributed among a number of prominent cities to help share this history, and serve as a reminder of the atrocities being carried out.  In 2015, Isis also shared a video of their members destroying artefacts in the Mosul Museum. Since then, a number of groups have come together to try and digitally restore as many of the objects as possible. Rekrei, previously known as digital mosul, uses crowdsourcing to draw together images of the artefacts to create 3D models that can be shared around the globe. One of their members, Chance Coughenour, gave a Tedx talk in Hambourg, Germany, about the process and the results that the group has so far put together (see above Youtube video).

3D printed King Uthal by Moreshin Allahyari

An American-Iranian artist named Morehshin Allahyari has also been working on digital reconstructions of these objects. In her project, “Material Speculation: ISIS”, she has 3D printed 12 artefacts from Hatra and Nineveh. Within each one is a flash drive that contains research about the objects, their history, and actions of ISIS that led to their destruction. On her website, it states that the purpose of the project is to create “a practical and political possibility for artifact archival, while also proposing 3D printing technology as a tool both for resistance and documentation. It intends to use 3D printing as a process for repairing history and memory”. In addition to the exhibition of these objects, she has made a file containing her research and the 3D model of the statue of King Uthal freely available, allowing the rest of the world to participate in her movement. It is part of a Rhizome project called The Download, that “considers posted files, the act of downloading, and the user’s desktop as the space of exhibition.” (You can download the files yourself from Rhizome, or by clicking here.)

The outpouring of support for these projects, and the involvement of the public, demonstrates the close connection that people from all over the world feel for cultural heritage. It shows the desires of individuals to try and make a difference in some small way, and show their defiance in light of these terrorist acts. Such projects also reveal the fundamental importance of Digital Archaeology, and its significant, central position in today’s society.