Digital Archaeologists Embark on Stealth Mission Inside the British Museum to Scan 2,500-Year-Old Elgin Marbles

Digital archeologists from the Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology have secretly scanned the Parthenon Marbles, dating back to 2,500 years, inside the British Museum to create the perfect replica. The team hopes that 3D replicas will lead to the eventual repatriation of the marbles back to Greece.

After the museum refused the team's formal request, the team took detailed 3D imaging scans in a covert stealth mission.

Stealth Mission: 3D Scans of the Elgin Marbles

Digital archeologists used technology embedded in the latest iPads and smartphones to scan half a dozen sculptures known as the Elgin Marbles. The files would be used to program a robotic sculptor that would carve out perfect replicas, reports DailyMail.

Experts hope that the marble blocks can be created using metal chisels, much like they were initially developed in ancient Greece by renowned architect Phidias in roughly 447-438BC.

During their prime, the marbles were once part of the iconic Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens; however, they were stripped and shipped off by the British when Lord Elgin arrived in Greece during the early 1800s.

After the successful stealth mission, the British Museum has said that they are deploy concerned by the recent disclosure of unauthorized scans of the Elgin Marbles, reports The Times.

Roger Michel, the executive director of ISA, scanned the statues after security staff from the museum ignored him. He assumed that the staff didn't give him official permission because they didn't want to participate in the team's project. He hopes the ISA can complete the Elgin marble replicas within three months.

Three months is also the exact time it took for his robotic sculptor to recreate the now destroyed Arch of Triumph in Palmyra, Syria, unveiled in 2016 at London's Trafalgar Square. He adds that the Elgin Marbles will be recreated with much finer details, unlike Palmyra arches, down to the millimeter.

With his colleague Dr. Alexy Karowska, the technical director of ISA, Michel fused various Lidar technology and photogrammetry in creating the Elgin Marble 3D scans. Lidar technology, which was recently added to Apple's iPhone, uses a laser to create 3D representation by measuring the distances down to a fraction of a millimeter. On the other hand, photogrammetry works by taking a number of individual images and composting them together.

The Story of the Elgin Marbles

The Parthenon of Athena is a classic temple built by the ancient Greeks. However, in 1799, when Thomas Bruce, the seventh Earl of Elgin, became the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, the temple was in shambles and dilapidated conditions. As an art lover, Bruce said that the statue would be better placed back in England., reports VOI.

After negotiating, the statue was transported to London. The British Parliament paid 350,000 pounds of sterling in 1816 for the Parthenon Marbles, and thus a new house was found in the British Museum.

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