NEWPALMYRA - News

🏛 NEWPALMYRA VERSION 3 REBRAND

2026-06-11T00:00:00+00:00
After modernizing newpalmyra.org on Zola and bringing community photos, models, and uploads onto this site, we are updating how the project presents itself.
The public project name is now NEWPALMYRA — without the leading #</code> hash — with 🏛 as our site-wide icon for cultural heritage and the architecture we reconstruct together. Historical news and press items keep their original wording for the archive.
The legacy Fabricatorz newsletter signup is retired. In its place, a personalized image queue: enter your email today and we will generate a NEWPALMYRA image for you when that service launches. The homepage uploader now matches the fields from our legacy Artifaq uploader: title, description, drag-and-drop image upload, and a clear CC0 notice.
Our mission is unchanged: open reconstruction of Palmyra, community-contributed reference photos, and freely shared 3D models. Browse the Palmyra Photo Archive</a>, read the full story on About</a> and History</a>, or upload your own</a>.


Artifaq Acquired; #NEWPALMYRA Content Now Lives Here
2026-06-10T00:00:00+00:00
Artifaq, the cultural heritage platform launched by #NEWPALMYRA in 2019, was acquired and merged with Scale Publishing</a>.</p>


Have you been to Palmyra? We want your photos.
2021-09-27T00:00:00+00:00
Have you been to Palmyra before? Did you take photos? If so, please share them with us as we can use these photos and a process called "photogrammetry</a>" to generate 3D models of now destroyed artifacts from Palmyra.</p>


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[Upload Your Palmyra Photos](/models/theater/)
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Join the #NEWPALMYRA Panel at Creative Commons Global Summit 2021
2021-09-16T00:00:00+00:00
Join the Creative Commons Global Summit panel with Barry Threw, Dorotea Gucciardo, and Jon Phillips on a discussion about the project, its history and what is the latest.</p>
The panel is Tuesday September 21 3-4 PM UTC (Tue Sep 20 10-11 am St. Louis).</p>


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[Join the Panel Discussion](/models/theater/)
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Student Contributes to Palmyra's Roman Theater
2021-01-15T00:00:00+00:00
Thanks to Vassili Pommier our earlier 2016 work on Palmyra's Roman Theater has been improved. Pommier says, "I am just beginning and already added some details" He is working on this model and next will work on texturing and high-polygon modeling. Any feedback for Vassili? Contributions to the model? Head over to our platform Artifaq to continue.


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[Read more about the model](/models/theater/)
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We Accept Monuments.
2020-10-21T00:00:00+00:00
We Accept Monuments in all forms. Do you have a monument that you do not know what to do with? Please get in touch. Do you want to make a monument? Let us know. Do you have a 3D scan of a monument? Let's work together.</p>


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[I want to know more.](/models/theater/)
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Upload #NEWPALMYRA 3D Models to Wikipedia
2020-08-31T00:00:00+00:00
Asad Al-lat, the Lion, was the first 3d model on Wikipedia. There are 7 more models that need uploading to Wikipedia. Get the social credit of uploading them and name recognition as a contributor to #NEWPALMYRA.</p>
I want to help.</a></p>


UCSD Reconstructs Palmyra's Temple of Bel
2020-08-25T00:00:00+00:00
Saint Louis, Missouri — University of California San Diego's Library digitally reconstructed Palmyra's Temple of Bel using photos from #NEWPALMYRA that people contributed over the last few years along with sources from the Roman Society, Oxford University and other found images from the web.
Read the UCSD News about the milestone</a>. The work is documented on the UCSD Library website</a>. Thanks to the work of UCSD Digital Media Lab Manager Scott McAvoy, the digital point cloud of constructed imagery is available on the web for viewing.</p>
View 3D Model</a></p>


#NEWPALMYRA LAUNCHES THE ARTIFAQ PLATFORM TO COLLECT INFORMATION ON ALL CULTURAL HERITAGE
2019-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

Note (2026):</strong> Artifaq was later acquired and merged with Scale Publishing</a>. #NEWPALMYRA content now lives on newpalmyra.org</a>.</p>
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San Francisco, CA — Today, in the tragic wake of the burning of Paris' iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, #NEWPALMYRA launched ARTIFAQ, the latest version of its technology stack to research and remember endangered cultural heritage.</p>
"On April 15th, 2019, a tragic fire broke out at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, completely destroying the roof of the 900 year old jewel of Gothic architecture," said Executive Director of #NEWPALMYRA, Barry Threw.</p>
“#NEWPALMYRA has produced many models of monuments destroyed in Palmyra, Syria, developing a technology platform that can now be applied to other sites,” said Threw. “Most recently released was the Tetrapylon, made in collaboration with Creative Commons and re:3D, the largest 3D printed column structure in the world. #NEWPALMYRA also created the first 3D model added to Wikipedia, the Lion of Al-Lat. Our announcement today is a drive to expand the project to other cultural heritage sites, and a pledge to open up the possibility of a future space where all may collaborate.”</p>
In support of the ARTIFAQ launch, #NEWPALMYRA has partnered with the UCSD Digital Media Lab and CalIT2m to provide technology expertize and machine learning and artificial intellegnce capabilities to improve remodeling.</p>
"But, you can help! Thankfully Notre Dame is one of the most photographed sites in the world, and together all of our images can help reconstruct 3D models of the building and all of its architectural features," said Threw.</p>
The techonology developed by #NEWPALMYRA for the reconstruction of the endangered Syrian site, vastly destroyed by ISIS since 2015, can also be applied to other cultural heritage sites such as Notre Dame. ARTIFAQ is the engine that powers this work, with your submissions allowing researchers worldwide to study and rebuild the world's vital cultural heritage.</p>


Community Photo Archive Opens on Flickr
2018-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records during the site modernization.</p>
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In 2018</strong>, NEWPALMYRA organized a mass donation of more than 3,000 reference photographs</strong> of Palmyra from tourists, heritage professionals, and researchers. The images — spanning four decades, with many from the early 2000s and 2010s — were published as an open archive on Flickr</strong> for reconstruction and research.</p>
That collection supports photogrammetry and forensic modeling work, including later collaborations with university libraries. Browse albums on the Palmyra Photo Archive</a> page and learn about the #PALMYRAVERSE</a> webring.</p>


First 3D Model Uploaded to Wikimedia Commons
2018-02-13T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from Wikimedia Foundation records during the site modernization.</p>
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On 13 February 2018</strong>, the Asad Al-lat</strong> (Lion of Al-lat) model became the first 3D model officially uploaded to Wikimedia Commons</strong>, released in memory of Bassel Khartabil.</p>
The Wikimedia Foundation collaborated with NEWPALMYRA on the upload when Commons began accepting three-dimensional models. The mesh was created by Georges Dahdouh with optimization by Jim Ellis as part of the #rsssd (Re-Sculpting Syrian Statues Digitally) effort.</p>
Explore the model on Asad Al-lat</a> and on Wikimedia Commons</a>.</p>


NEWPALMYRA Mourns Bassel Khartabil
2017-08-03T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from contemporaneous press coverage during the site modernization.</p>
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In August 2017</strong>, NEWPALMYRA and the global open-culture community mourned Bassel Khartabil</a> after reports that he had been executed by the Syrian government following five years in detention.</p>
Bassel began documenting Palmyra in 2005</strong> and his vision — open, shareable reconstruction of Syrian heritage — shaped the project that launched publicly as NEWPALMYRA in 2015</strong>. The community continues that work in his memory.</p>
Contemporaneous coverage appears throughout the Press</a> archive. See also History & known gaps</a>.</p>


Tetrapylon 3D Print Unveiled at Creative Commons Summit
2017-04-28T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records during the site modernization.</p>
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Toronto, CA — Together with re:3D</a> and NEWPALMYRA, Creative Commons</strong> unveiled a 200-pound, 7.5-foot</strong> 3D rendering of a Palmyra Tetrapylon</strong> at the Creative Commons Global Summit, 28–30 April 2017</strong>.</p>
The print brought open cultural heritage work into physical space at the summit, connecting the commons movement with community-led reconstruction of monuments ISIS had destroyed in Palmyra earlier that year.</p>
Read more on the Creative Commons Global Summit 2017</a> event page and explore the ongoing Tetrapylon</a> model.</p>


Palmyra Models Shown at Venice Architecture Biennale
2016-05-28T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records during the site modernization.</p>
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NEWPALMYRA contributed reconstructed Palmyrene heritage work to “A World of Fragile Parts”</strong>, an exhibition curated by Brendan Cormier for the Victoria & Albert Museum at the 2016 Venice Architecture Biennale</strong>.</p>
Modeling by Anne Schneider and Jim Ellis included a Palmyrene column reconstruction; chroming was by NewFantaChrome</a>. The show examined how copies, reconstructions, and digital preservation respond when originals are threatened or destroyed.</p>
See the Venice Biennale</a> event page for credits and documentation.</p>


Arch of Triumph Released for Global 3D Print Sprint
2016-01-18T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from the original Print Sprint announcement during the site modernization.</p>
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San Francisco, CA — NEWPALMYRA publicly released its digitally recreated Arch of Triumph</strong> for download and 3D printing on 18 January 2016</strong>, inviting makers worldwide to print and share the monument under open licenses.</p>
“The Arch of Triumph is a symbol of the indestructible cultural spirit of Syria,” said Interim Director Barry Threw. The release was supported by partners including Sketchfab, Hubs, and Type A Machines, with community prints documented under #3DPRINTSPRINT</strong> and #ARCHOFTRIUMPH</strong>.</p>
Prints from the sprint were exhibited at Protocultural Taipei, and the open model remains available on the Arch of Triumph</a> page and the Print Sprint</a> event archive.</p>


NEWPALMYRA Launches Online
2015-10-21T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records and contemporaneous press coverage during the site modernization.</p>
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San Francisco, CA — NEWPALMYRA</strong> launched publicly in October 2015</strong> as an online community to virtually reconstruct Palmyra and share the results under open licenses.</p>
The project continued the Palmyra documentation Bassel Khartabil</a> began in 2005, after his 2012 arrest left the original files unavailable. With the Islamic State's capture of Palmyra and destruction of major monuments that same year, the community focused on preserving what could be rebuilt from photographs, archaeology, and collective modeling work.</p>
Global press coverage followed immediately — see the Press</a> archive — and the first open models began appearing on newpalmyra.org/models/</a>.</p>


Bassel Khartabil Arrested in Damascus
2012-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records and press coverage during the site modernization.</p>
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On 15 March 2012</strong>, Syrian open-source advocate and Palmyra documentarian Bassel Khartabil</a> was arrested in Damascus. He had been photographing and modeling Palmyra since 2005 with Al-Aous Publishers</a>.</p>
Bassel's detention interrupted the original project and the primary digital assets from 2005–2012 were lost</strong>. In the years that followed, collaborators, modelers, and archaeologists rebuilt the effort as a global open community — work that led to the public launch of NEWPALMYRA in October 2015.</p>
See History & known gaps</a> for how the archive documents this period.</p>


Bassel Khartabil Begins Documenting Palmyra
2005-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

Archive note (2026):</strong> This milestone item was added to the news archive from project records during the site modernization.</p>
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Bassel Khartabil</a> began photographing and modeling the ancient city of Palmyra, Syria</a> in 2005</strong>, working with Al-Aous Publishers</a> on an effort to document and digitally reconstruct Syrian heritage.</p>
That early work — photographs, research, and the first 3D experiments — is the foundation of what later became NEWPALMYRA. The original source files from this period were lost after Bassel's arrest in 2012, but the mission he started continues through community re-creation and open publishing today.</p>
Learn more on the History</a> page and in the Al-Aous Publishers</a> community project archive.</p>