Restoring and sharing our work

Restoring temples, buildings and shrines

The Digital Archaeology Foundation is digitally preserving buildings and artifacts to share with everyone. Using our imagery and 3D reconstruction people will be able to see and feel how buildings once were. We also collect color data enabling artists to help replicate tones and hues to replicate the original building or artifact.

Replicating a stupa digitally

While Nepal’s 2015 earthquake enlightened us on the lack of restoration or documentation there is more threatening Nepal’s heritage than natural disasters. Fire, floods, pollution, environmental damage, age, theft and civil strife can all destroy or damage items of cultural value.

With our preservation techniques people can view full 360 degree angles of a building or artifact. They can zoom in close and see precise details. Colors are clear enabling them to be replicated. 3D models can even be printed to help architects and engineers to examine stress issues.

Further, as an example, organizations like the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust, who have made great strides in the restoration of Nepal’s temples, could use this data to speed up their reconstruction efforts. Likewise the Department of Archaeology in Nepal or other organizations involved in restoration, rebuilding and preservation in Nepal can also use this data.

Kathesimbhu Stupa being reconstructed in 3D by The Digital Archaeology Foundation

Finally in terms of future reconstruction and maintenance. 3D models of temples today can show how well a temple has been physically reconstructed, restored or maintained. It’s very easy to compare a 3D model of how a temple used to look and compare it to how a temple was recently restored.

This is a valuable asset when it comes to ensuring that those who’ve been tasked to repair or maintain Nepal’s heritage are doing so at the highest standards that these buildings deserve.