Reconstructing Syria: Russian Scientists Create 3D Model of Damaged Palmyra

ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — Scientists from the Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences are about to finish creating a three-dimensional model of the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra and will give it to the Syrians on Saturday, the institute's deputy director said Tuesday.

"On November 18, within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum… our 3D model will be handed over to the Syrian side," the institute's deputy director Natalya Solovyova told reporters, adding that the specialists had been working on the model for about a year.

In September 2016, the Russian specialists took aerial photographs of the ancient city and subsequently began creating the 3D model, which also help determine the level of damage the city has sustained.

The ancient city of Palmyra in Syria was destroyed by Daesh in 2015. The destruction of the ancient city of Palmyra symbolises the suffering of the Syrian people at the hands Daesh terrorist group. Palmyra was a largely Roman city located in a desert oasis on a vital crossroad, and "one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world."

Palmyra's monuments are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. The occupation by Daesh (outlawed in Russia) terrorist group during the civil war in the Middle Eastern nation has caused severe damage to many of Palmyra's ancient buildings.