Dubai Future Foundation’s 3D-Printed Palmyra Arch Wins Prestigious Award At University Of Oxford

The 3D-printed replica of Palmyra’s Arch of Triumph, which was created by the Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) to immortalize the historical gateway to the ancient Syrian city, has won the Public Engagement with Research Award, sponsored by the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford.

The replica is the fruit of a strategic partnership between DFF, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the British Institute for Digital Archaeology, and the Universities of Oxford (UK) and Harvard (USA). The international project seeks to document at-risk archaeological sites around the Middle East region using 3D imaging, and then reconstructing them using 3D-printing technology. The end goal is to safeguard the region’s rich history and cultural heritage from vandalism and destruction.

“This initiative is a direct implementation of the UAE leadership’s forward-thinking vision, which calls for utilizing the technologies of the future to preserve our region’s ancient heritage,” said DFF’s Acting CEOHis Excellency Abdulla bin Touq. “Receiving Oxford University’s Public Engagement with Research Award demonstrates the global recognition of our success with the Palmyra Arch of Triumph replica. It is an acknowledgement of the soundness of DFF’s Dubai Future Agenda. The Foundation is a trailblazer when it comes to tapping cutting-edge technologies to preserve human and cultural heritage for future generations.”