#assessingpalmyra

The structure was built in the very center of a semicircular colonnaded piazza which opens up to the South Gate of Palmyra. The main characteristics of the theatre are:

the unfinished cavea (steps) measuring 92 metres in diameter, consistsing only of an ima cavea, the lowest section of the cavea, surrounding the orchestra.

the eleven cunei (wedges) of twelve rows each composing the ima cavea, which faces north-northeast towards the cardo maximus.

the theatre's aditus maximi (passages below seats), its main entrances, are 3.5 metres in width

the stone-paved orchestra with a diameter of 23.5 metres. 

the circular wall with a diameter of 20.3 metres bounding the orchestra.

the columns at the stage, decorated in Corinthian order.

In the 1950s the theater was cleared from the sand and underwent extensive restoration works in the early 1990’s. Before the Syrian conflicts in this place were hosted folk music performances for the annual Palmyra festival.

Figure 1 & 2: drone pictures taken in 2016. At the time the structure was intact.

It was occupied by Daesh in May 2015 and recaptured by the government forces in March 2016 with the support of Russian airstrikes. At that time drone footage showed that the theatre still remained largely intact. Daesh took control of Palmyra once again in December 2016. During this second occupation the facade of the theater was completely destroyed.

Figure 3 & 4: drone pictures taken in April 2017, after the second occupation of Daesh.

In partnership with the DGAM, ICONEM team was the first one to be in Palmyra the two times ISIS lost the control of the city, first time in April and July 2016, and the last time in April 2017. In this way we managed to take several hundreds of drone pictures to the theater before and after the destructions inflicted by Daesch. After the Temple of Bel gate, the theater is another important masterpiece of Roman architecture in Palmyra that we digitized according to the aims of #AssessingPalmyra project.

Exploiting the visual documentation collected we started building 3D models of the theatre in order to show how this historical building was originally and to localize every alteration/destruction after the attacks.

Figure 5: superimposed orthophotographs of the theatre before and after the attacks. The cavea remained intact but the facade is destroyed.

Image 1: the tetrapylon from aerial view. Drone picture.

Each of the four groups of pillars supported a solid cornice.  Generally the tetrapyla (its plural form) had a gate on each of the four sides of the cube: the perfect shape to be placed in crossroads.

Image 2: particular of the tetrapylon columns.

Indeed, this monument was the point of intersection between via pretoria and an orthogonal street called via principalis, that in its northern part reached the perimetral wall of the Temple of Allat. The tetrapylon of Palmyra represented a monumental entrance to the city.

Image 3: the tetrapylon viewed from the columed via.

They could be a single structure or multiple, separate ones. For instance, another important tetrapylon with a different structure is the one at Jerash in Jordan.

Image 4: the tetrapylon at Jerash, Jordan (II c BCE).

It was reconstructed after 1963 by the Directorate of Antiquities of Syria, that replaced fifteen of the sixteen columns with new ones, leaving only an authentic column standing. The monument has been damaged in January, 2017. Two of the four groups of four pillars are now completely destroyed with the other two groups severely damaged.

Image 5: drone picture taken in January, 2017. 

In partnership with the DGAM, we’ve been in Palmyra before and after the destructions of the site, being in this way able to collect an enormous amount of visual documentation.

Exploiting the data (ground pictures, drone pictures) we started building the 3D model of the tetrapylon to show its original structure, to localize every alteration/destruction after the attacks, and to save its memory for future generations.

The 3D model of the Tetrapyla before destruction was not made by Iconem but by the New Palmyra Project. We deeply thank them for their amazing job.

Sketchfab Viewer API example

Switch between April 2016 and April 2017 var iframe = document.getElementById( 'api-frame' ); var version = '1.0.0'; //var urlid = '240f716462b8408ea7c4f3e9966e954f'; //'82b74a33787341f8881aec33c933a6f0'; var urlid = 'c17bc13761904764a7ab21e8d02b75f5'; var client = new Sketchfab( version, iframe ); var theApi; var show_before = true; client.init( urlid, { success: function onSuccess( api ){ theApi = api; api.start(); api.addEventListener( 'viewerready', function() { console.log( 'Viewer is ready' ); Util.SwitchBeforeAfter(); } ); }, error: function onError() { console.log( 'Viewer error' ); } } ); var Util = { getNodeMap: function(theApi) { theApi.getNodeMap( function( err, nodes ) { if ( !err ) { console.log( nodes ); } } ); }, ShowMeshByPattern: function(theApi,pattern,doshow) { theApi.getNodeMap( function( err, nodes ) { if (err) { console.log('Error getting nodes'); return; }; var keys = Object.keys(nodes); //the node array is a set of numbered objects. Here we get an array of keys to those objects var isOption; for (var n = 0; n < keys.length; n++) { var node = nodes[keys[n]]; //show or hide the meshes which match the pattern isOption = node.name && (node.name.indexOf(pattern) !== -1) && (node.type === 'MatrixTransform'); if (isOption) { if (doshow) { theApi.show(node.instanceID); }else{ theApi.hide(node.instanceID); } } } }); }, SwitchBeforeAfter: function() { before_name = 'Avant'; after_name = 'Apres'; if (true) { if (show_before) { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Avant', true); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Apres', false); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'OUTLINE', false); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Modelisation_Tetra', true); } else { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Avant', false); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Apres', true); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'OUTLINE', true); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Modelisation_Tetra', false); } } else { if (show_before) { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, before_name, show_before); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, after_name, show_before); } else { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, after_name, !show_before); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, before_name, show_before); } } show_before = !show_before; } } console.log('util defined');

All credit for the 3D model of the Tetrapyla before destruction goes for New Palmyra Project (Licence Creative Commons, CC0)

Ground pictures and several hundreds of drone pictures allowed to craft a very detailed digitization of the monument. This model represents first of all a documentation of the cultural heritage in its integrity and degraded, to be transmissed to future generation according to the main aim of #AssessingPalmyra project.

Secondly, it is a scientific tool that support experts in making appropriate decisions about the restoration of the monument. Since the monument is now almost entirely destroyed (see The tetrapylon, third focus of #AssessingPalmyra project) it’s essential to have the possibility to observe it as it was before the attacks to recompose it. Indeed, from the 3D reconstruction we can get very important information, both architectural and artistic.

Nevertheless, the blast of the explosion seriously damaged its structure. In order to assess the conservation state of the monument, Iconem and the DGAMS carried out several field surveys. The following 3D model and the resulting technical plans that we’re showing you below, are providing valuable clues to study the conditions of the monument. We underlined in red the all the parts of the monument that have been altered during the conflicts as visible or enlarged cracks and missing stone blocks.

Porte de Bêl - Palmyra (Syria) by Iconem on Sketchfab

Click on the player to view the 3D model made by Iconem. Like and share it if you want to support our work!

Image 1: the front side of the door.

Nel caso del tetrapilo, come per il teatro Romano, l’elaborazione di un modello 3D dettagliato è stata possibile grazie alla documentazione fotografica raccolta sul sito dopo la distruzione del monumento.

Al contrario, il modello 3D del tetrapilo nella sua integrità non è stato elaborato da Iconem ma dal progetto New Palmyra Project, i quali ringraziamo per il magnifico lavoro.

Sketchfab Viewer API example

Switch between April 2016 and April 2017 var iframe = document.getElementById( 'api-frame' ); var version = '1.0.0'; //var urlid = '240f716462b8408ea7c4f3e9966e954f'; //'82b74a33787341f8881aec33c933a6f0'; var urlid = 'c17bc13761904764a7ab21e8d02b75f5'; var client = new Sketchfab( version, iframe ); var theApi; var show_before = true; client.init( urlid, { success: function onSuccess( api ){ theApi = api; api.start(); api.addEventListener( 'viewerready', function() { console.log( 'Viewer is ready' ); Util.SwitchBeforeAfter(); } ); }, error: function onError() { console.log( 'Viewer error' ); } } ); var Util = { getNodeMap: function(theApi) { theApi.getNodeMap( function( err, nodes ) { if ( !err ) { console.log( nodes ); } } ); }, ShowMeshByPattern: function(theApi,pattern,doshow) { theApi.getNodeMap( function( err, nodes ) { if (err) { console.log('Error getting nodes'); return; }; var keys = Object.keys(nodes); //the node array is a set of numbered objects. Here we get an array of keys to those objects var isOption; for (var n = 0; n < keys.length; n++) { var node = nodes[keys[n]]; //show or hide the meshes which match the pattern isOption = node.name && (node.name.indexOf(pattern) !== -1) && (node.type === 'MatrixTransform'); if (isOption) { if (doshow) { theApi.show(node.instanceID); }else{ theApi.hide(node.instanceID); } } } }); }, SwitchBeforeAfter: function() { before_name = 'Avant'; after_name = 'Apres'; if (true) { if (show_before) { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Avant', true); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Apres', false); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'OUTLINE', false); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Modelisation_Tetra', true); } else { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Avant', false); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Thetra_Apres', true); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'OUTLINE', true); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, 'Modelisation_Tetra', false); } } else { if (show_before) { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, before_name, show_before); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, after_name, show_before); } else { Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, after_name, !show_before); Util.ShowMeshByPattern(theApi, before_name, show_before); } } show_before = !show_before; } } console.log('util defined');

Tutti i crediti per il modello 3D prima della distruzione sono del New Palmyra Project (Licenza creative commons, CC0). 

Fotografie a livello del suolo e centinaia di immagini aeree scattate dal drone hanno permesso di crerare una dettagliata riproduzione digitale del monumento.

Questo modello rappresenta in primo luogo una documentazione dei beni culturali sia nella loro interezza che nello stato alterato: una nuova fonte storica da trasmettere a future generazioni secondo gli obbiettivi del progetto #AssessingPalmyra.

In secondo luogo è uno strumento di supporto agli esperti per effettuare decisioni che riguaradno il restauro del documento. Il tetrapilo è oggi quasi interamente distrutto (per maggiori informazioni vi rimandiamo al primo post sul Tertrapilo, arte e contesto storico recente) ed è quindi di estrema importanza poter osservare il monumento com’era antecedentemente alla guerra. E’ cosi’ che dal modello 3D possiamo risalire a informazioni molto importanti, sia architettoniche che artistiche.

Image 1 : vue aérienne du tétrapyle. Photographie drone.  

Chaque groupe de colonnes supporte une corniche sculptée. Généralement, les tétrapyles avaient une entrée sur chaque coté de la structure: une configuration idéale pour être située aux carrefours des voies.

Image 2 : détail des colonnes du tétrapyle.

De fait, à Palmyre, nous retrouvons ce monument au point d’intersection entre la via pretoria et la via principalis, laquelle dans sa partie plus occidentale s’allongeait jusqu’au mur du temple d’Allat.

Image 3 : Vue du tétrapyle depuis une voie à colonnades

Les tétrapyles pouvaient avoir une structure simple ou plusieurs structures indépendantes. Par exemple, un autre tétrapyle très connu se trouve dans la ville de Jerash en Jordanie.

Image 4 : le tétrapyle de Jerash, Jordanie (II c BCE).

A Palmyre, le monument avait été restauré en1963 par la Direction Générale des Antiquités et des Musées. Ainsi, une seule de ses seize colonnes était originale. Le monument a été détruit en janvier 2017. Deux ensemble de colonnes sont complètement abattus et deux autres sévèrement endommagés.

Image 5 : photographie de drone prise en janvier 2017.

Grâce à la DGAM, Ionem s’est rendu sur le site avant et après les destructions, afin de collecter une énorme quantité de documentation visuelle.

Exploitant une solide documentation composée d’images au sol et d'images drones, nous avons commencé à construire le modèle 3D du tétrapyle pour montrer sa structure d’origine, documenter avec précision les altérations et sauver sa mémoire pour les générations futures..