Reviving Palmyra in Multiple Dimensions: Images, Ruins and Cultural Memory

This book provides a visual reconstruction of Palmyra, a World Heritage Site situated in Syria, which flourished in Greco-Roman times. Palmyra is situated in a desert oasis and served as a vibrant caravan station on the Silk Road connecting the Roman world with the East. It has been called 'the Queen of the Desert' and 'Venice of the Sands'. In 2015-2016 the city was conquered by ISIS who destroyed its monuments and museum, also killing several of its inhabitants. Their aim was to erase the memory and identity of the place, its people and our common heritage. However, through the use of modern technology including photogrammetry, digital imagery and 3D modelling, it has been possible to recreate the documented monuments, thus overcoming to some extent the trauma, cultural destruction and loss. The book unveils the rediscovery of the site by the West and revives and reconstructs the ancient city through images and history. The reader is taken through the spectacular city and its past by providing the information to follow the roots and development of the site, its monuments and its people through the ages, including rulers such as Queen Zenobia. The combination of visualization and written accounts interlink the environment and its people, the monuments and archaeological small finds by using ancient written sources, old photographs, new imagery, 3D models and 3D printing. Thus this ancient site and its past is revived in multiple dimensions. Monuments are visualized as digitally reconstructed ruins or as complete virtual models. This text is therefore the perfect guide for readers who wish to immerse themselves visually in the history of the area and to discover more about the archaeology and its preservation using diverse methods employing modern technology.

Adjunct Professor Minna Silver, the principal author of the book, is a professional archaeologist, GIS expert and historian who has lived in the Near East and worked in the district of Palmyra under the Palmyra Museum for over a decade. Professor Gabriele Fangi is an engineer specializing in photogrammetry, geomatics and digital modelling. He has digitally documented and modelled ancient sites in the Near East, especially in Syria, including Palmyra. Both Silver and Fangi belong to the UNESCO’s Syria roster of experts. Professor Ahmet Denker is an electrical engineer living in the Near East with a specialisation in digital modelling, virtual reconstruction and 3D printing. He has worked on the archaeological sites such as Ephesos in Turkey virtually reconstructing its monuments.