Lost forever, Bamiyan Buddhas (Image: Antonia Tozer/Getty)
WHEN the Taliban blew up two 6th-century statues of Buddha in Afghanistan’s Bamiyan valley in 2001, an ancient wonder was lost to the world. Modern technology can’t bring those artefacts back, but 3D laser scanning and high-resolution photography can help preserve other parts of our cultural heritage before they succumb to natural disasters, vandalism, or the ravages of age.
Since the fall of the Buddhas CyArk, a non-profit firm based in Oakland, California, has been busy creating exact digital copies of more than 70 famous sites including the Rapa Nui statues on Easter…
