Increasingly sophisticated technology allows us to make close-to-perfect copies of everything from paintings to burial chambers. Can a replica bring artefacts to new audiences?
A burnt ancient manuscript at the Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research, in Timbuktu.
Benoit Tessier/Reuters
The ICC sentence against Al-Mahdi for destroying ancient artifacts at Timbuktu sends the right message that the international community will not tolerate the destruction of heritage sites.
The 1,200 year old Umayyad Mosque – also known as the Great Mosque of Aleppo – lost its minaret (on left) in 2013 after continued heavy gunfire between rebels and Syrian government forces.
Reuters
It is important to prosecute militants who destroy antiquities. But ‘everyday’ development - from dams flooding towns to the impact of mining on Indigenous rock art – does vastly more damage to heritage than war.
Death and destruction are a daily reality in Syria as the civil war drags on.
Reuters/SANA
Conflict involving Islamic State has raised the prospect of the destruction of Palmyra, a World Heritage site in Syria. It’s not the first time the region has been invaded, but it may well be the last.