A step towards the preservations of archaeological sites has been in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the first time in Pakistan. The Directorate of Archaeology and Museums KPK has begun the procedure of digital conservation of all the archaeological sites via 3D scanning. The digital preservation will be carried out at the Julian Stupa and monastery of Khanpur, and UNESCO’s World Heritage Site of Takht Bhai in Mardan.
A team of conservation experts from the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and officials from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Directorate of Archaeology and Museums will join efforts to use 3D images of the stupa and monastery at Julian, Khanpur in Haripur. The teams will create a virtual tour of the site and publish them online. The information was revealed by Dr Abdul Samad, Director of Archaeology and Museums Directorate.
The team will use a laser scanner with an accuracy of about 1.3 to 6.3mm which is appropriate for this kind of detailed conservation work. Dr Samad said:
The conservation team is using a laser scanning camera that produces highly accurate photos by capturing multiple points of the structure. I have high hopes that this initiative will have a ripple effect and that soon all monument sites in the province, small or large, will be conserved in the best possible manner.
The Director believes that the virtual tour will not only assist for recreational purposes, it will also be useful for the conservation efforts to maintain the stupa and the monastery. The technological advancements are allowing archaeologists to use alternative methods to preserve old relics, said Dr Samad. He said that the same methods were being employed throughout the world to restore monuments and artefacts to their current conditions and present them throughout the globe.
Dr Murtaza Taj, Assistant Professor at LUMS, said that he along with Atiq Hashmi and Wajiha Arshad from the university, and Nauman Anwar and Amir Umar officials from the department are working together to create the virtual tour of both archaeological places. He said that archaeologists and scientists will be able to use the digital imagery to create elevations, cross-sections and study the sites’ structural data with far more detail and accuracy. The 3D images will also let international archaeologists and conservationists work without having to come to the actual monuments.
Azam Khan, Secretary KP Department of Sports, Tourism, Archaeology and Youth Affairs said that modern techniques are being used in KPK to preserve and conserve archaeological monuments and relics. Initially, only two sites have been chosen to be preserved as digital tours of the monuments.
via Dawn
Great work KPK…and we have Punjab Gov. that is destroying our heritage for trains and metros.
#ThankYouRaheelShareef
So they should make a 3d model of the sites before demolishing them in favor of metro track? Metro bus was a farce. Train is actually useful. F heritage. Great cities are built on fossils of ancient people like you.
F hertigage, F environment, Build Metro, F in Metro, BS in Metro.
Great step taken by KPK gov.
Tabdeeli a nahi rahi, tabdeeli a gai ha. Glad to see positive news starting like “First of It’s kind in Pakistan” coming from KP. This province was known as “ilaaq -e- ghair” and most corrupt province of Pakistan just 3 years back