Artist Uses 3D Printing to Preserve Antiquities Lost to ISIS

Credit: Andy Wood

We've posted before about artists using 3D Scanning and Printing to recreate antiquities damaged by ISIS and to digitally catalog priceless exhibits.  Another effort is being undertaken by an Iranian artist in Mosul, Iraq.

Morrehshin Allhyari is working on an exhibition of 3D printed replicas of artifacts destroyed at the Nineveh Museum in Mosul, Iraq by ISIS. Taking images and 3D scans of the museum’s collection, Morrehshin is able to replicate the lost artifacts with 3D printers: “The more files that are saved on people's computers, even if they’re never printed, the number of PDF files that are read or kept, the more that history that was initially removed by ISIS will be saved.” The exhibition is titled “Material Speculation” and is widely seen as an act of historic preservation, political activism, and art, simultaneously. It also makes a great point of the pragmatism of using 3D scanning and printing technology for museum collections and historic exhibitions. 

3D Printed Iceman Heats Up Museum Display

Photo Credit: 3Dprintingindustry.com

One popular application of 3D printing is creating exact reproductions of antiquities.  As is often the case, museums want to display artifacts but face challenges making priceless objects available to the public.  The latest example of this technique is the recreation of the Iceman.  

Ötzi - the Iceman, the oldest European mummy, was replicated by Additive Manufacturing. Two 3D replicas have been made for display at the South Tyrol Museum in Italy. Using CAT scans taken of Ötzi, the models were rendered and printed using 3D engineering and manufacturing techniques. Once printed and assembled, a rubber mold was applied to the replicas, which were then sculpted and painted. Because Ötzi needs to be preserved, he will be stored in stable conditions while visitors of the museum can see these identical models.

3D Printing Lets Visitors Enjoy Ancient Ruins Without Ruining Them

Image Credit:  3dprintingindustry.com

Weeks before the Egyptian Revolution, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to visit Cairo.  When I visited the pyramids, I was shocked to see so many people climbing all over them.  I had imagined we wouldn't be allowed to touch, let alone scale, something so ancient and valuable.  

Such access has taken a toll on another Egyptian site:  the burial chamber of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun.  

"It was the constant changes, caused by the humidity of the breath and temperature of the visitors that had started to make the paint on the walls crack, and the plaster to fail.

It was decided that if something wasn't done, the chamber would deteriorate to the point where valuable artifacts would be lost."

Fortunately, 3D printing has come to its rescue.  A Spanish-based 3D printing company undertook a five-year project to thoroughly 3D scan the tomb's interior and 3D print an exact replica.

Perhaps one of the most extensive examples of using additive manufacturing to preserve history, the Egyptian project is just one of many such efforts.  For years, the Smithsonian Institution has also been scanning and printing a number of its artifacts:  Smithsonian X 3D allows individuals to remotely "navigate, explore and manipulate 3D collection objects"  And other museums have begun to reproduce valuables to make exhibits more interactive and accessible.