PESHAWAR: The Directorate of Archaeology and Museums, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has initiated a digital conservation and 3D scanning at Julian Stupa and monastery of Khanpur and Unesco’s World Heritage Site of Takht Bhai in Mardan district.

Preliminarily, the department selected two archaeological heritage sites including Julian stupa and Monastery Khanpur and Takht Bahi to design a virtual tour of the premises which would soon be available online, said Dr Abdul Samad, the director of archaeology and museums, in a statement issued by the department.

For this purpose, a team of conservation experts from Lahore University of Management Sciences (Lums) along with Directorate of Archaeology and Museums Khyber Pakhtunkhwa officials were working on 3D images of the stupa and monastery at Julian, Haripur.

Dr Samad said that with 1.3-6.3mm accuracy the laser scanner was useful for conservation work. He expressed the hope that the initiative would have a ripple effect, that eventually, all monument sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would be conserved in the best way possible.

“Preserving the past is the way to safeguarding our distinctiveness and traditional legacy as a nation,” he said.

Dr Samad said that the virtual tour was not only meant for recreational purposes but the model of the stupa and monastery premises in digital form would be useful for conservation efforts as well. The conservation team was using a laser scanning camera that could produce highly accurate photos by capturing multiple points at the same time, he added.

Fortunately, the director said, the technological breakthroughs allowed the archaeologists to seek alternatives when it came to saving their legacy. Nowadays, he said, all around the globe, laser scanners were being used to create 3D models which would digitally restore monuments and artifacts to their current conditions and make those models available to people all over the world.

Dr Murtaza Taj, an assistant professor at Lums, said that his team mates Atiq Hashmi and Wajiha Arshad along with archaeological department officials Numan Anwar and Amir Umer were using latest laser technology to create a 3D model of the stupa and monastery that would allow people to see a virtual tour of those ancient sites online.

He said that architects and conservationists could use 3D images produced using the scanner to create elevations and cross-sections and study the site with greater accuracy. He said that with 3D images of heritage sites in need of conservation, experts could go about their work without being present at the site. The same team has also started working on the conservation of Takht Bahi in Mardan district.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2015