About
Located in modern-day Syria, the ancient city of Palmyra was once renowned as the Jewel of the Desert for its distinctive art and architecture, with magnificent temples blending traditions from the East and the West. While much of the city was well preserved until modern times, ISIS has destroyed much of what remained.
DIGITAL PALMYRA IS A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT TO STUDY, PRESERVE, AND SHARE THIS IMPORTANT HISTORICAL CITY.
The project began in the summer of 2018 to build on the work of others, such as the #NEW PALMYRA group, to create a large-scale digital reconstruction of the city that can be experienced in immersive virtual reality.
We hope this reconstruction will serve as both a publicly available piece of scholarly work as well as a research tool, facilitating an understanding of the environment and lived space of this multifaceted city.
Our current focus is completing the south-eastern portion of the city from the Tetrapylon to the Temple of Bel, and the project now includes accurate reconstructions of the Agora, Monumental Arch, Roman Theatre, Tetrapylon, Temple of Baalshamin, Temple of Nabu, Temple of Bel, and the Great Colonnade from the Western Gate to the Temple of Bel. Our head designer has modeled most of these structures but we have also incorporated some models that were made available by other groups, like #NEW PALMYRA.
Whenever possible, we use actual images, historical sketches and archaeological records to guide our reconstruction. For example, the terrain for the reconstruction was created with satellite imagery and height maps from the site.
Please note that this is a work in progress, and the current builds are available in demo form.
We welcome collaborators! To learn more, or to inquire about working with us, please use the contact form.