Preparation for the restoration of building structures of Palmyra’s architectural monuments in Syria affected by the war

DOI: 10.37153/2618-9283-2023-3-8-31

Authors:  
Rubric:     Monitoring and certification of seismic constructions   
Key words: architectural monuments, Palmyra, temple of Baalshamin, temple of Bel, Monumental (Triumphal) arch, Great colonnade street, theater, tetrapylon, 3D reconstruction
Annotation:

Introduction. The historical architectural monuments of world significance of the city of Palmyra in Syria, which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as the Monumental (Triumphal) Arch, the Temple of Bel, and the Temple of Baalshamin are described. The history of their creation in the city of Palmyra, their significance for the inhabitants of Palmyra of that period and destruction from past earthquakes and during hostilities since 2015 are given. The importance of these monuments for the country and the world community is indicated, which was the reason for their choice as objects for research.

Aim. The research is intended to contribute to the restoration of these masterpieces of world architecture, which have existed for a little less than two millennia.

Materials and methods. A kind of certification of architectural monuments on the territory of Palmyra was carried out using the visual method of studying the state of objects. A detailed description and characteristics of the above-mentioned objects built as a synthesis of Greco-Roman and ancient Near Eastern architecture are given. The distinctive features and dimensions of building structures are described, plans, sections and photographs of objects before and after destruction are given for their subsequent reconstruction virtually in 3D. To improve the accuracy of three-dimensional models, various projects of 3D models of Palmyra’s architectural monuments, created by various scientists and organizations, were collected.

Results. The states of the architectural monuments of Palmyra before and after the destruction were recorded, followed by their reconstruction in 3D for future restoration.

Conclusions. Conclusions are drawn about the expediency of restoring the architectural monuments of Palmyra, since they are of great importance for the entire world community, and many of them are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Used Books:

1.     Afanas’eva V.K. et al. General history of architecture. In 12 volumes. Moscow: Stroyizdat, 1970, vol. 1, 512 p. [In Russian]

2.     Amy Robert. Premieres restaurations de l'Arc monumental de Palmyre. In: Syria. Tome 14, fascicule 4, 1933. pp. 396–411. [In French]

3.     Aruz Joan, et al. Palmyra: Mirage in the Desert, Publisher: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2018.160 p.

4.     Aseev Yu.S. et al. General history of architecture. In 12 volumes. Leningrad. Moscow: Stroyizdat, 1966, vol. 3, 687 p. [In Russian]

5.     Auguste Choisy. History of architecture; trans. from Fr., add. and comment. V.D. Blavatsky / / under the general. editorship A.A. Sidorova and others. Moscow: Publishing House of the All-Union Acad. of Architecture, 1935, vol. 2, 694 p. [In Russian]

6.     Belash T.A., Aldrebi Z. A. Analysis of the damage of the architectural monuments of Syria resulted from earthquakes and hostilities. Earthquake Engineering. Constructions Safety. 2016, no. 5, pp. 58–63. [In Russian]

7.     Bunny A., Al-As'ad kh. Palmyra. Story. Monuments. Museum. Translation from English Sedov A.V. Moscow: publishing house “The State Museum of the East”, 2016, 208 p. [In Russian]

8.     Bykov V.E. et al. General history of architecture. In 12 volumes. Moscow: Stroyizdat, 1973, vol. 2, 712 p. [In Russian]

9.     Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM). Available at: URL: http://dgam.gov.sy/ (accessed 12.05.2023).

10. Gros Pierre. “LE TEMPLE DE BÊL A PALMYRE.” Revue Archéologique, no. 1, 1981, pp. 97–102. [In French]

11. Kersten T.P. et al. Automatic 3D Object Reconstruction from Multiple Images for Architectural, Cultural Heritage and Archaeological Applications Using Open-Source Software and Web Services. Photogramm. Fernerkundung - Geoinf. 2012, pp. 727–740.

12. Kersten T.P., & Lindstaedt, Moscow, 2012: Image-Based Low Cost Systems for Automatic 3D Recording and Modelling of Archaeological Finds and Objects. EuroMed 2012 – Int. Conference on Cultural Heritage. M. Ioannides et al. (Eds.), Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS), Volume 7616, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, 2012: pp. 1–10.

13. Kersten T.P., Combination and Comparison of Digital Photogrammetry and Terrestrial Laser Scanning for the Generation of Virtual Models in Cultural Heritage Applications. M. Ioannides et al. (Eds.). 7th International Symposium on Virtual Reality, Archaeology and Cultural Heritage, VAST 2006: pp. 207–214.

14. La collection numérique “Grands sites archéologiques” est produite par le musée d'Archéologie nationale-Domaine national de Saint-Germain-en-Laye Available at: URL: https://archeologie.culture.gouv.fr/palmyre/fr/mediatheque (accessed 13.05.2023).

15. Lapatin Kenneth, Rubina Raja (eds.), Palmyra and the East. 2022, 181 p. ISBN: 978-2-503-59825-3.

16. Remondino F. et al., Turning images into 3-D models. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 25 (4), 2008, pp. 55–65.

17. Rubina Raja, Yon J.-B., Steding J. Steding. (eds.) Excavating Palmyra. Harald Ingholt’s Excavation Diaries: A Transcript, Translation, and Commentary 2021, 2 vols, 1846 p. ISBN: 978-2-503-59531-3.

18. Sommer Michael. Palmyra: A History (Cities of the Ancient World), 1st Edition, Publisher: Routledge, 2020. 284 p. ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0367593940.

19. Veyne Paul, Palmyra: An Irreplaceable Treasure, Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2017. 284 p. ISBN-13: ‎ 978-0226427829.

20. Vinogradov Yu.A., Vasiliev S.A., Stepanova K.N. (executive editors). The past of humankind as seen by the Petersburg archaeologists at the dawn of the millennium (To the Centennial of the Russian Academic Archeology). St. Petersburg: Petersburg Oriental Studies, 2019. 420 p.: ill. ISBN 978-5-85803-525-1. [In Russian]

21. Voronina V.L. et al. General history of architecture. In 12 volumes. Moscow: Stroyizdat, 1969, vol. 8, 491 p. [In Russian]