Photogrammetry+Virtual Reality (VR)+3D Printer

team up to recover ISIS-destroyed antiquities in Mosul from oblivion

The Economist writes “In February 2015, Islamic State militants posted a video online showing the destruction of antiquities in and around the city of Mosul in Northern Iraq. For our first virtual reality project and 360° video, we have built a virtual museum to house those destroyed objects. This reconstruction of the Mosul Museum in Iraq was commissioned by The Economist Media Lab in association with Project Mosul” ¹.

The Economist adds “Project Mosul was founded...by...two archaeology PhD students who wondered whether it might be possible to crowdsource images and use them to reconstruct the destroyed items using a technique called photogrammetry. This involves feeding multiple images of an object, taken from different angles, into a piece of software that combines them to form a three-dimensional model. Thousands of photographs have since been uploaded to the Project Mosul site by local people, tourists, and even American soldiers…[the project included] physical reconstructions of some items, produced using 3D printing" ². Note that high-end 3D printers can accommodate multiple material cartridges, which, besides synthetics, also offer natural/organic materials including ceramic, glass, stone & wood (typically in powdered form that’s glue/heat-melted upon application), while modelling software can accommodate multi-material builds, & the printers themselves can print objects as large as a house.

The Economist project mini-documentary can be viewed as a YouTube 360°/VR video. For the YouTube link following, on a computer running Chrome or Firefox browser, click the link to view the mini-doc as a 360° video; on a Smartphone, touch the link to automatically launch the link in the stand-alone YouTube app to view as a 360°/VR video - the latter in VR Mode via a Google Cardboard VR headset.

● RecoVR: Mosul, a collective reconstruction

● “Indiana Jones with a 3-D camera? Hi-tech fight to save antiquities from ISIS” - CNN: Article

● “Archaeological Victims of ISIS Rise Again, as Replicas in Rome" - NYTimes: Article

● “ISIS destroys Temple of Bel in Palmyra, Syria, U.N. reports...One of the most culturally significant pieces of architecture in the world has been destroyed, the United Nations said on Monday...The U.N....confirmed the Temple of Bel -- which for nearly 2,000 years has been the center of religious life in Palmyra, Syria -- was no longer standing [includes Reuters video].” - CNN: Article

● National Geographic Channel series Explorer season 8 episode 10 "Blood Antiquities": “Some experts are calling it the worst crime against cultural heritage since World War II...Syria’s ancient treasures are being plundered by Islamic State militants and sold on the posh private markets of Western Europe...journalist Inigo Gilmore investigates...who is buying them and inadvertently funding the Islamic State’s campaign of terror [includes video of Temple of Bel destruction]” - NGC Europe Limited: (full documentary) Dailymotion: Video

Footnotes: ¹ The Economist YouTube Channel “RecoVR: Mosul...” video description. ² The Economist blog

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