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UNESCO-backed exhibit in Rome features 3 destroyed treasures

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A detail of a defaced bust dating back to the 2nd and 3rd century is displayed inside the Colosseum as part of an exhibit titled "Reborn from the Destructions" which will run from Oct. 7 to Dec. 11, in Rome, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2016. The two damaged busts were recovered by the functionaries of the Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums of Damascus in the Museum of Palmyra, after the liberation from the Islamic State group armed forces. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

ROME – Three archaeological treasures damaged or destroyed by fighting in Syria and Iraq have been reproduced for a UNESCO-sponsored exhibit at the Colosseum.

The exhibit, which opened Thursday, features life-size replicas of the Temple of Bel at Palmyra, the human-headed bull at Nimrud and the Royal Archives at Ebla.

Three Italian companies, guided by archeologists and art historians, used technologies including 3-D printers and materials mimicking sandstone and marble to reconstruct the artifacts. They will be on display until Dec. 16.

Islamic State militants destroyed ruins of the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel in Palmyra in August 2015 and bulldozed the archaeological site at Nimrud, in Iraq, a few months earlier. The Royal Archives at Ebla, including thousands of cuneiform tablets, have suffered extensive damage during Syria’s war.

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