So let's go into the background on this site shall we, courtesy of my capstone paper:
Palmyra is located in the center of the Syrian desert, approximately half way between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates river. This pivotal location made the desert oasis a key caravan stop on the silk road for nearly 4,000 years. The name Palmyra derives from the Latin word for “palms”. Palmyra has been occupied since the Neolithic era, however there is very little archaeological evidence that provides any information about the people who lived at the site. During the Bronze age, there are mentions of Palmyra as “Tadmor” in a variety of records. The earliest dates to the 19th century BCE from Cappadocia. Tadmor is also referenced in the Mari archives as well as the 11th century BCE annals of Tigleth Pileser. Palmyra reached the height of its power during the Roman Era. As a Roman Province, Palmyra functioned independently. As an important part of the Silk Road, Palmyra had exotic goods streaming in from Persia, Arabia, and India . During this period, a Roman garrison was established in Palmyra. There are records of the soldiers trained at Palmyra being stationed in the farthest points of the empire, including Egypt and Britain. Rome continued to control Palmyra until the Byzantine Era. Christianity spread during this period and the temple of Bel and Baalshamin were converted into Christian churches. The Ottoman Empire’s rise marked the final, swift decline for Palmyra. The converted temples were converted to mosques for the Arab population and served as a place of worship up until excavations began in 1929. In 1401 CE, the once great city of Palmyra was again a small village, at the mercy of nomadic tribes which surrounded it .
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| Artifacts from the Tower Tombs at Palmyra, British Museum,London |
Palmyra was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 and was a popular tourist destination. The Polish Excavations continued until 2011 when all excavations seized at the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. In 2013 UNESCO placed Palmyra on the Watch List for sites in danger of destruction. In May 2015, ISIS invaded Palmyra and maintains control of the town. The terrorist organization has used the ruins of Palmyra as the backdrop for numerous atrocities such as the mass executions of prisoners of war. In August, 2015 ISIS murdered the 82-year-old retired director of antiquities Khaled Al-Assad for refusing to divulge where many of the antiquities had been sent to for safe keeping. ISIS is an iconoclast organization. They destroy ancient sites and artifacts because they believe that the images are blasphemous. This campaign of iconoclasm reached Palmyra in August, 2015. The Temple of Bel, Baalshamin, and the Tower Tombs were destroyed. Although for the near future, archaeologists will be unable to excavate Palmyra, the destruction of the site has begun a campaign to save other sites like Palmyra from destruction. One of these campaigns is the Million Image Project sponsored by The Institute for Digital Archaeology and Oxford University. Their plan is to send 5,000 easy to use cameras into areas of conflict. These cameras are connected to satellites and from these images, archaeologists can create 3-D reconstructions of these sites for future study even if they are destroyed.
Ok, enough with the history. So what's going on with Palmyra today? In March 2016, the village was retaken by Syrian and Russian armed forces and an extensive survey was taken to assess the damage ISIS had inflicted upon the archaeological site. While some of the archaeological features remained, nothing but rubble was left of the temple of Bel, Baalshamin, and other parts of the site. Here's where some cool technology comes in. The Institute for Digital Archaeology began work to create a full scale reproduction of the site's Triumphal Arch. The Arch was first displayed in Trafalgar Square in London and last week it came to the Big Apple.
The arch is created from Egyptian marble and was created in Italy using 3-D imaging and scans. People were free to touch the arch, walk through it, take pictures, etc. This was the first full scale reproduction and the Institute for Digital Archaeology has made plans to help do on site reproductions at the site of Palmyra in the future, rebuilding what ISIS has destroyed.
I was beyond thrilled I got the chance to see the arch. I almost cried no joke. To me it represents how technology can preserve cultural heritage for the future. When an archaeological site is destroyed, a piece of everyone's history is destroyed. It doesn't matter if you're Syrian, American, Chinese, or French. We are all humans and history is the story of us, how we came to be. Sites like Palmyra preserved part of an ancient way of life and through modern technology we can return Palmyra to its glory, allowing future generations to learn about archaeology, history, and culture.
