{"id":125032,"date":"2012-12-04T10:00:53","date_gmt":"2012-12-04T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"\/gazette\/?p=125032"},"modified":"2019-03-20T11:16:55","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T15:16:55","slug":"an-ancient-statue-re-created","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","title":{"rendered":"An ancient statue, re-created"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t
\"\"

Joseph Greene (right), assistant director of Harvard's Semitic Museum, and Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, re-create a ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in Nuzi. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image.<\/p>

Photos by Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tArts & Culture\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t

\n\t\tAn ancient statue, re-created\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\tAlvin Powell\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\tHarvard Staff Writer\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t

\n\t\t\tThrough technology, museum augments shards of ceramic lion\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\t\t

As part of a repair job 3,300 years in the making, Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum<\/a> is seeking to undo some of the destruction wrought when Assyrians smashed the ancient city of Nuzi in modern-day Iraq, looting the temple and destroying artifacts.<\/p>\n

In a high-tech project that would have been impossible even four years ago, technicians are attempting to re-create a 2-foot-long ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in long-ago Nuzi, which is the modern archaeological site of Yorghan Tepe. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image, which likely sat on Ishtar\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t

\"\"
Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, carefully examines a piece of the model.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n

Museum assistant director Joseph Greene said the project is partly driven by the desire to re-create the damaged lion and partly by a commitment to use the latest technology to probe the thousands of artifacts in the museum\u2019s collection in search of new data from them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to devote our time and attention to objects we have in our collection and to apply the latest techniques, techniques not dreamed of when [the artifacts] were dug up,\u201d Greene said. \u201cThere\u2019s a continual curiosity: What more can we learn? What hasn\u2019t been tried so far? Can we wring new data from objects that have been in our basement for 80 years?\u201d<\/p>\n

The museum holds just two pieces of the fragmentary lion, its front paws and a larger chunk of rump and back legs. Technicians from an outside contractor, Learning Sites Inc.,<\/a> visited the museum Friday to take digital photographs of the fragments to augment more than 120 images taken of the intact statue.<\/p>\n

According to Donald Sanders, Learning Sites president, the 3-D models are made using the digital photos and sophisticated computer software that knits the images together. The images can be taken with ordinary cameras and even cellphone cameras, but they have to overlap, so that the software can sort and match the images to create the model. The more overlap there is, he said, the more data points the software has, and the more detailed the model can be. By taking more than 120 images of a relatively small statue like the lion, the resolution can be less than a millimeter.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t

\"\"
A detail from the face of one of the statues. The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to Adam Aja.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n

The result, Sanders said, is a 3-D image that can be called up on a computer screen, rotated, zoomed in and out, and examined in detail by scholars off-site, providing accurate access to a museum artifact that they might otherwise have had to visit Cambridge to see. For display purposes, the digital models can be \u201cprinted out\u201d on sophisticated, 3-D machines that sculpt from high-density foam.<\/p>\n

The software will attempt to use the 3-D model of the intact lion to re-create the missing parts for the broken one. The intact original will be returned to its owner, the University of Pennsylvania, next year when the Semitic Museum\u2019s second-floor exhibition hall is closed for renovation.<\/p>\n

The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to assistant curator Adam Aja.<\/p>\n

The two standing statues, owned by the Harvard University Art Museums, and the crouching lions have been on display at the Semitic Museum since 1998, the first time they\u2019ve been together since the late Bronze Age destruction of the temple, Aja said.<\/p>\n

Nuzi was inhabited by people called Hurrians near modern-day Kirkuk in Iraq. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians sometime between 1350 and 1300 B.C. Lions, which once roamed the area, were considered symbols of power, and reliefs depict rulers going on lion hunts.<\/p>\n

The statues and their re-created models will be taken off display next year when the gallery is renovated, but will be public again when the work is completed, probably in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":105622744,"featured_media":125038,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"gz_ga_pageviews":22,"gz_ga_lastupdated":"2020-02-25 04:09","document_color_palette":"crimson","author":"Alvin Powell","affiliation":"Harvard Staff Writer","_category_override":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1360],"tags":[2662,2960,3753,7629,18261,19936,21434,21805,26022,30577,30920,36402],"gazette-formats":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-125032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-humanities","tag-3-d-scans","tag-adam-aja","tag-alvin-powell","tag-ceramics","tag-iraq","tag-joseph-greene","tag-learning-sites-inc","tag-lion","tag-nuzi","tag-scanning","tag-semitic-museum","tag-yorghan-tepe"],"yoast_head":"\nAn ancient statue, re-created — Harvard Gazette<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An ancient statue, re-created — Harvard Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Harvard Gazette\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-12-04T15:00:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-20T15:16:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"605\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"403\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"harvardgazette\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"harvardgazette\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/person\/78d028cf624923e92682268709ffbc4b\"},\"headline\":\"An ancient statue, re-created\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T15:00:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-20T15:16:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\"},\"wordCount\":764,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"3-D scans\",\"Adam Aja\",\"Alvin Powell\",\"Ceramics\",\"Iraq\",\"Joseph Greene\",\"Learning Sites Inc.\",\"lion\",\"Nuzi\",\"Scanning\",\"Semitic Museum\",\"Yorghan Tepe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Arts & Culture\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2012\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\",\"name\":\"An ancient statue, re-created — Harvard Gazette\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T15:00:53+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-20T15:16:55+00:00\",\"description\":\"Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\",\"width\":605,\"height\":403},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/\",\"name\":\"Harvard Gazette\",\"description\":\"Official news from Harvard University covering innovation in teaching, learning, and research\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The Harvard Gazette\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Harvard_Gazette_logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Harvard_Gazette_logo.svg\",\"width\":164,\"height\":64,\"caption\":\"The Harvard Gazette\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/person\/78d028cf624923e92682268709ffbc4b\",\"name\":\"harvardgazette\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An ancient statue, re-created — Harvard Gazette","description":"Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An ancient statue, re-created — Harvard Gazette","og_description":"Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.","og_url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","og_site_name":"Harvard Gazette","article_published_time":"2012-12-04T15:00:53+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-20T15:16:55+00:00","og_image":[{"width":605,"height":403,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"harvardgazette","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/"},"author":{"name":"harvardgazette","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/person\/78d028cf624923e92682268709ffbc4b"},"headline":"An ancient statue, re-created","datePublished":"2012-12-04T15:00:53+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-20T15:16:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/"},"wordCount":764,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","keywords":["3-D scans","Adam Aja","Alvin Powell","Ceramics","Iraq","Joseph Greene","Learning Sites Inc.","lion","Nuzi","Scanning","Semitic Museum","Yorghan Tepe"],"articleSection":["Arts & Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2012","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","name":"An ancient statue, re-created — Harvard Gazette","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","datePublished":"2012-12-04T15:00:53+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-20T15:16:55+00:00","description":"Harvard\u2019s Semitic Museum is employing a high-tech response to the destruction of 3,300-year-old figures, using 3-D scanning to repair a ceramic lion that was damaged by the Assyrians.","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","width":605,"height":403},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/","name":"Harvard Gazette","description":"Official news from Harvard University covering innovation in teaching, learning, and research","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#organization","name":"The Harvard Gazette","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Harvard_Gazette_logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Harvard_Gazette_logo.svg","width":164,"height":64,"caption":"The Harvard Gazette"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/#\/schema\/person\/78d028cf624923e92682268709ffbc4b","name":"harvardgazette"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"An ancient statue, re-created","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/12\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg?w=150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg"},"articleSection":"Arts & Culture","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"harvardgazette"}],"creator":["harvardgazette"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Harvard Gazette","logo":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Harvard_Gazette_logo.svg"},"keywords":["3-d scans","adam aja","alvin powell","ceramics","iraq","joseph greene","learning sites inc.","lion","nuzi","scanning","semitic museum","yorghan tepe"],"dateCreated":"2012-12-04T15:00:53Z","datePublished":"2012-12-04T15:00:53Z","dateModified":"2019-03-20T15:16:55Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"An ancient statue, re-created\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.harvard.edu\\\/gazette\\\/story\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.harvard.edu\\\/gazette\\\/story\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/an-ancient-statue-re-created\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.harvard.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg?w=150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.harvard.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/12\\\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\"},\"articleSection\":\"Arts & Culture\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"harvardgazette\"}],\"creator\":[\"harvardgazette\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Harvard Gazette\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.harvard.edu\\\/gazette\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/12\\\/Harvard_Gazette_logo.svg\"},\"keywords\":[\"3-d scans\",\"adam aja\",\"alvin powell\",\"ceramics\",\"iraq\",\"joseph greene\",\"learning sites inc.\",\"lion\",\"nuzi\",\"scanning\",\"semitic museum\",\"yorghan tepe\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2012-12-04T15:00:53Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-12-04T15:00:53Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-20T15:16:55Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/news.harvard.edu\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","has_blocks":true,"block_data":{"0":{"blockName":"harvard-gazette\/article-header","attrs":{"blockColorPalette":"","coloredHeading":"","creditText":"Photos by Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer","displayDetails":"","displayTitle":"","categoryId":1360,"mediaAlt":"","mediaCaption":"Joseph Greene (right), assistant director of Harvard's Semitic Museum, and Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, re-create a ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in Nuzi. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image.","mediaId":125038,"mediaSize":"full","mediaType":"image","mediaUrl":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg","poster":"","title":"An ancient statue, re-created","subheading":"Through technology, museum augments shards of ceramic lion","centeredImage":true,"className":"is-style-full-width-text-below","mediaHeight":403,"mediaWidth":605,"backgroundFixed":false,"backgroundTone":"light","coloredBackground":false,"displayOverlay":true,"fadeInText":false,"isAmbient":false,"mediaLength":"","mediaPosition":"","posterText":"","titleAbove":false,"useUncroppedImage":false,"lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img alt=\"\" height=\"403\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\" width=\"605\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">Joseph Greene (right), assistant director of Harvard's Semitic Museum, and Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, re-create a ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in Nuzi. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image.<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Photos by Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","innerContent":["<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img alt=\"\" height=\"403\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\" width=\"605\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">Joseph Greene (right), assistant director of Harvard's Semitic Museum, and Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, re-create a ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in Nuzi. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image.<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Photos by Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n"],"rendered":"<header\n\tclass=\"wp-block-harvard-gazette-article-header alignfull article-header is-style-full-width-text-below centered-image\"\n\tstyle=\" \"\n>\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img alt=\"\" height=\"403\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_030_605main.jpg\" width=\"605\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p class=\"wp-element-caption--caption\">Joseph Greene (right), assistant director of Harvard's Semitic Museum, and Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, re-create a ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in Nuzi. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image.<\/p><p class=\"wp-element-caption--credit\">Photos by Kris Snibbe\/Harvard Staff Photographer<\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\t<div class=\"article-header__content\">\n\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\tclass=\"article-header__category\"\n\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/arts-humanities\/\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\tArts & Culture\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t<h1 class=\"article-header__title wp-block-heading \">\n\t\tAn ancient statue, re-created\t<\/h1>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<div class=\"article-header__meta\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-post-author\">\n\t\t\t<address class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"author wp-block-post-author__name\">\n\t\tAlvin Powell\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-post-author__byline\">\n\t\t\tHarvard Staff Writer\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/address>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<time class=\"article-header__date\" datetime=\"2012-12-04\">\n\t\t\tDecember 4, 2012\t\t<\/time>\n\n\t\t<span class=\"article-header__reading-time\">\n\t\t\t4 min read\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-header__subheading wp-block-heading\">\n\t\t\tThrough technology, museum augments shards of ceramic lion\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\n<\/header>\n"},"2":{"blockName":"core\/group","attrs":{"templateLock":false,"metadata":{"name":"Article content"},"align":"wide","layout":{"type":"constrained","justifyContent":"center"},"tagName":"div","lock":[],"className":"","style":[],"backgroundColor":"","textColor":"","gradient":"","fontSize":"","fontFamily":"","borderColor":"","ariaLabel":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\t\t<p>As part of a repair job 3,300 years in the making, Harvard\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.semiticmuseum.fas.harvard.edu\/icb\/icb.do\">Semitic Museum<\/a> is seeking to undo some of the destruction wrought when Assyrians smashed the ancient city of Nuzi in modern-day Iraq, looting the temple and destroying artifacts.<\/p>\n<p>In a high-tech project that would have been impossible even four years ago, technicians are attempting to re-create a 2-foot-long ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in long-ago Nuzi, which is the modern archaeological site of Yorghan Tepe. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image, which likely sat on Ishtar\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n\t\t<p>As part of a repair job 3,300 years in the making, Harvard\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.semiticmuseum.fas.harvard.edu\/icb\/icb.do\">Semitic Museum<\/a> is seeking to undo some of the destruction wrought when Assyrians smashed the ancient city of Nuzi in modern-day Iraq, looting the temple and destroying artifacts.<\/p>\n<p>In a high-tech project that would have been impossible even four years ago, technicians are attempting to re-create a 2-foot-long ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in long-ago Nuzi, which is the modern archaeological site of Yorghan Tepe. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image, which likely sat on Ishtar\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n\t\t<p>As part of a repair job 3,300 years in the making, Harvard\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.semiticmuseum.fas.harvard.edu\/icb\/icb.do\">Semitic Museum<\/a> is seeking to undo some of the destruction wrought when Assyrians smashed the ancient city of Nuzi in modern-day Iraq, looting the temple and destroying artifacts.<\/p>\n<p>In a high-tech project that would have been impossible even four years ago, technicians are attempting to re-create a 2-foot-long ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in long-ago Nuzi, which is the modern archaeological site of Yorghan Tepe. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image, which likely sat on Ishtar\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"none","id":125041,"caption":"Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, carefully examines a piece of the model.","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_001_500.jpg","alt":"","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_001_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125041\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, carefully examines a piece of the model.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_001_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125041\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, carefully examines a piece of the model.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_001_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125041\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, carefully examines a piece of the model.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>Museum assistant director Joseph Greene said the project is partly driven by the desire to re-create the damaged lion and partly by a commitment to use the latest technology to probe the thousands of artifacts in the museum\u2019s collection in search of new data from them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to devote our time and attention to objects we have in our collection and to apply the latest techniques, techniques not dreamed of when [the artifacts] were dug up,\u201d Greene said. \u201cThere\u2019s a continual curiosity: What more can we learn? What hasn\u2019t been tried so far? Can we wring new data from objects that have been in our basement for 80 years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The museum holds just two pieces of the fragmentary lion, its front paws and a larger chunk of rump and back legs. Technicians from an outside contractor, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.learningsites.com\/\">Learning Sites Inc.,<\/a> visited the museum Friday to take digital photographs of the fragments to augment more than 120 images taken of the intact statue.<\/p>\n<p>According to Donald Sanders, Learning Sites president, the 3-D models are made using the digital photos and sophisticated computer software that knits the images together. The images can be taken with ordinary cameras and even cellphone cameras, but they have to overlap, so that the software can sort and match the images to create the model. The more overlap there is, he said, the more data points the software has, and the more detailed the model can be. By taking more than 120 images of a relatively small statue like the lion, the resolution can be less than a millimeter.<\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>Museum assistant director Joseph Greene said the project is partly driven by the desire to re-create the damaged lion and partly by a commitment to use the latest technology to probe the thousands of artifacts in the museum\u2019s collection in search of new data from them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to devote our time and attention to objects we have in our collection and to apply the latest techniques, techniques not dreamed of when [the artifacts] were dug up,\u201d Greene said. \u201cThere\u2019s a continual curiosity: What more can we learn? What hasn\u2019t been tried so far? Can we wring new data from objects that have been in our basement for 80 years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The museum holds just two pieces of the fragmentary lion, its front paws and a larger chunk of rump and back legs. Technicians from an outside contractor, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.learningsites.com\/\">Learning Sites Inc.,<\/a> visited the museum Friday to take digital photographs of the fragments to augment more than 120 images taken of the intact statue.<\/p>\n<p>According to Donald Sanders, Learning Sites president, the 3-D models are made using the digital photos and sophisticated computer software that knits the images together. The images can be taken with ordinary cameras and even cellphone cameras, but they have to overlap, so that the software can sort and match the images to create the model. The more overlap there is, he said, the more data points the software has, and the more detailed the model can be. By taking more than 120 images of a relatively small statue like the lion, the resolution can be less than a millimeter.<\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>Museum assistant director Joseph Greene said the project is partly driven by the desire to re-create the damaged lion and partly by a commitment to use the latest technology to probe the thousands of artifacts in the museum\u2019s collection in search of new data from them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to devote our time and attention to objects we have in our collection and to apply the latest techniques, techniques not dreamed of when [the artifacts] were dug up,\u201d Greene said. \u201cThere\u2019s a continual curiosity: What more can we learn? What hasn\u2019t been tried so far? Can we wring new data from objects that have been in our basement for 80 years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The museum holds just two pieces of the fragmentary lion, its front paws and a larger chunk of rump and back legs. Technicians from an outside contractor, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.learningsites.com\/\">Learning Sites Inc.,<\/a> visited the museum Friday to take digital photographs of the fragments to augment more than 120 images taken of the intact statue.<\/p>\n<p>According to Donald Sanders, Learning Sites president, the 3-D models are made using the digital photos and sophisticated computer software that knits the images together. The images can be taken with ordinary cameras and even cellphone cameras, but they have to overlap, so that the software can sort and match the images to create the model. The more overlap there is, he said, the more data points the software has, and the more detailed the model can be. By taking more than 120 images of a relatively small statue like the lion, the resolution can be less than a millimeter.<\/p>\n"},{"blockName":"core\/image","attrs":{"sizeSlug":"full","align":"none","id":125042,"caption":"A detail from the face of one of the statues. The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to Adam Aja.","blob":"","url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_021_500.jpg","alt":"","lightbox":[],"title":"","href":"","rel":"","linkClass":"","width":"","height":"","aspectRatio":"","scale":"","linkDestination":"","linkTarget":"","lock":[],"metadata":[],"className":"","style":[],"borderColor":"","anchor":""},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_021_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125042\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A detail from the face of one of the statues. The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to Adam Aja.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t","innerContent":["\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_021_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125042\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A detail from the face of one of the statues. The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to Adam Aja.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"],"rendered":"\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_021_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125042\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A detail from the face of one of the statues. The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to Adam Aja.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t"},{"blockName":"core\/freeform","attrs":{"content":"","lock":[],"metadata":[]},"innerBlocks":[],"innerHTML":"\n<p>The result, Sanders said, is a 3-D image that can be called up on a computer screen, rotated, zoomed in and out, and examined in detail by scholars off-site, providing accurate access to a museum artifact that they might otherwise have had to visit Cambridge to see. For display purposes, the digital models can be \u201cprinted out\u201d on sophisticated, 3-D machines that sculpt from high-density foam.<\/p>\n<p>The software will attempt to use the 3-D model of the intact lion to re-create the missing parts for the broken one. The intact original will be returned to its owner, the University of Pennsylvania, next year when the Semitic Museum\u2019s second-floor exhibition hall is closed for renovation.<\/p>\n<p>The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to assistant curator Adam Aja.<\/p>\n<p>The two standing statues, owned by the Harvard University Art Museums, and the crouching lions have been on display at the Semitic Museum since 1998, the first time they\u2019ve been together since the late Bronze Age destruction of the temple, Aja said.<\/p>\n<p>Nuzi was inhabited by people called Hurrians near modern-day Kirkuk in Iraq. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians sometime between 1350 and 1300 B.C. Lions, which once roamed the area, were considered symbols of power, and reliefs depict rulers going on lion hunts.<\/p>\n<p>The statues and their re-created models will be taken off display next year when the gallery is renovated, but will be public again when the work is completed, probably in 2014.<\/p>\n","innerContent":["\n<p>The result, Sanders said, is a 3-D image that can be called up on a computer screen, rotated, zoomed in and out, and examined in detail by scholars off-site, providing accurate access to a museum artifact that they might otherwise have had to visit Cambridge to see. For display purposes, the digital models can be \u201cprinted out\u201d on sophisticated, 3-D machines that sculpt from high-density foam.<\/p>\n<p>The software will attempt to use the 3-D model of the intact lion to re-create the missing parts for the broken one. The intact original will be returned to its owner, the University of Pennsylvania, next year when the Semitic Museum\u2019s second-floor exhibition hall is closed for renovation.<\/p>\n<p>The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to assistant curator Adam Aja.<\/p>\n<p>The two standing statues, owned by the Harvard University Art Museums, and the crouching lions have been on display at the Semitic Museum since 1998, the first time they\u2019ve been together since the late Bronze Age destruction of the temple, Aja said.<\/p>\n<p>Nuzi was inhabited by people called Hurrians near modern-day Kirkuk in Iraq. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians sometime between 1350 and 1300 B.C. Lions, which once roamed the area, were considered symbols of power, and reliefs depict rulers going on lion hunts.<\/p>\n<p>The statues and their re-created models will be taken off display next year when the gallery is renovated, but will be public again when the work is completed, probably in 2014.<\/p>\n"],"rendered":"\n<p>The result, Sanders said, is a 3-D image that can be called up on a computer screen, rotated, zoomed in and out, and examined in detail by scholars off-site, providing accurate access to a museum artifact that they might otherwise have had to visit Cambridge to see. For display purposes, the digital models can be \u201cprinted out\u201d on sophisticated, 3-D machines that sculpt from high-density foam.<\/p>\n<p>The software will attempt to use the 3-D model of the intact lion to re-create the missing parts for the broken one. The intact original will be returned to its owner, the University of Pennsylvania, next year when the Semitic Museum\u2019s second-floor exhibition hall is closed for renovation.<\/p>\n<p>The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to assistant curator Adam Aja.<\/p>\n<p>The two standing statues, owned by the Harvard University Art Museums, and the crouching lions have been on display at the Semitic Museum since 1998, the first time they\u2019ve been together since the late Bronze Age destruction of the temple, Aja said.<\/p>\n<p>Nuzi was inhabited by people called Hurrians near modern-day Kirkuk in Iraq. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians sometime between 1350 and 1300 B.C. Lions, which once roamed the area, were considered symbols of power, and reliefs depict rulers going on lion hunts.<\/p>\n<p>The statues and their re-created models will be taken off display next year when the gallery is renovated, but will be public again when the work is completed, probably in 2014.<\/p>\n"}],"innerHTML":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\">\n\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\r\n\t\n\t\r\n\n\n<\/div>\n","innerContent":["\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide\">\n\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\r\n\t","\n\t\r\n","\n\n<\/div>\n"],"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignwide has-global-padding is-content-justification-center is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n\n\n\t\t<p>As part of a repair job 3,300 years in the making, Harvard\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.semiticmuseum.fas.harvard.edu\/icb\/icb.do\">Semitic Museum<\/a> is seeking to undo some of the destruction wrought when Assyrians smashed the ancient city of Nuzi in modern-day Iraq, looting the temple and destroying artifacts.<\/p>\n<p>In a high-tech project that would have been impossible even four years ago, technicians are attempting to re-create a 2-foot-long ceramic lion that likely flanked an image of the goddess Ishtar in a temple in long-ago Nuzi, which is the modern archaeological site of Yorghan Tepe. The project will blend fragments of the original statue held by the museum with pieces created through 3-D scans of its intact mirror image, which likely sat on Ishtar\u2019s other side.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_001_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125041\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Adam Aja, assistant curator of collections, carefully examines a piece of the model.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>Museum assistant director Joseph Greene said the project is partly driven by the desire to re-create the damaged lion and partly by a commitment to use the latest technology to probe the thousands of artifacts in the museum\u2019s collection in search of new data from them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to devote our time and attention to objects we have in our collection and to apply the latest techniques, techniques not dreamed of when [the artifacts] were dug up,\u201d Greene said. \u201cThere\u2019s a continual curiosity: What more can we learn? What hasn\u2019t been tried so far? Can we wring new data from objects that have been in our basement for 80 years?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The museum holds just two pieces of the fragmentary lion, its front paws and a larger chunk of rump and back legs. Technicians from an outside contractor, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.learningsites.com\/\">Learning Sites Inc.,<\/a> visited the museum Friday to take digital photographs of the fragments to augment more than 120 images taken of the intact statue.<\/p>\n<p>According to Donald Sanders, Learning Sites president, the 3-D models are made using the digital photos and sophisticated computer software that knits the images together. The images can be taken with ordinary cameras and even cellphone cameras, but they have to overlap, so that the software can sort and match the images to create the model. The more overlap there is, he said, the more data points the software has, and the more detailed the model can be. By taking more than 120 images of a relatively small statue like the lion, the resolution can be less than a millimeter.<\/p>\n\r\n\t\n\n\t<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignnone size-full is-resized\"><img src=\"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/113012_nuzi_021_500.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-125042\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A detail from the face of one of the statues. The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to Adam Aja.\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\t\n\t\r\n\n<p>The result, Sanders said, is a 3-D image that can be called up on a computer screen, rotated, zoomed in and out, and examined in detail by scholars off-site, providing accurate access to a museum artifact that they might otherwise have had to visit Cambridge to see. For display purposes, the digital models can be \u201cprinted out\u201d on sophisticated, 3-D machines that sculpt from high-density foam.<\/p>\n<p>The software will attempt to use the 3-D model of the intact lion to re-create the missing parts for the broken one. The intact original will be returned to its owner, the University of Pennsylvania, next year when the Semitic Museum\u2019s second-floor exhibition hall is closed for renovation.<\/p>\n<p>The temple where the lions originated likely contained at least four such statues, two standing and two crouching, flanking an image of the goddess Ishtar, according to assistant curator Adam Aja.<\/p>\n<p>The two standing statues, owned by the Harvard University Art Museums, and the crouching lions have been on display at the Semitic Museum since 1998, the first time they\u2019ve been together since the late Bronze Age destruction of the temple, Aja said.<\/p>\n<p>Nuzi was inhabited by people called Hurrians near modern-day Kirkuk in Iraq. The city was destroyed by the Assyrians sometime between 1350 and 1300 B.C. Lions, which once roamed the area, were considered symbols of power, and reliefs depict rulers going on lion hunts.<\/p>\n<p>The statues and their re-created models will be taken off display next year when the gallery is renovated, but will be public again when the work is completed, probably in 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n"}},"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":549,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2008\/09\/semitic-museum-extends-docent-deadline\/","url_meta":{"origin":125032,"position":0},"title":"Semitic Museum extends docent deadline","author":"harvardgazette","date":"September 11, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Semitic Museum is currently seeking volunteer docents for the coming year. Docents will provide guided tours to school groups and the general public on the museum\u2019s collection of archaeology of the ancient Near East.","rel":"","context":"In "Campus & Community"","block_context":{"text":"Campus & Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9006,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/05\/semitic-museum-to-host-tour-of-the-houses-of-ancient-israel\/","url_meta":{"origin":125032,"position":1},"title":"Semitic Museum to host tour of \u2018The Houses of Ancient Israel\u2019","author":"harvardgazette","date":"May 14, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The Semitic Museum will host a lunchtime tour of \u201cThe Houses of Ancient Israel: Domestic, Royal, Divine\u201d on May 21 at 12:15 p.m., offering a view of life in an ancient Near Eastern agricultural society. The exhibit \u2014 which displays family dwellings, palaces, and temples \u2014 is arranged in terms\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Campus & Community"","block_context":{"text":"Campus & Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":299747,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2020\/04\/a-new-name-for-the-semitic-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":125032,"position":2},"title":"A new name for the Semitic Museum","author":"Lian Parsons","date":"April 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Harvard Museum of Ancient Near East more \u201caccurately reflects the diversity of the collection.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Campus & Community"","block_context":{"text":"Campus & Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Image foundin the Coffin of Mut-iy-iy","src":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/011420_EgyptianCoffins_011-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/011420_EgyptianCoffins_011-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/011420_EgyptianCoffins_011-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/011420_EgyptianCoffins_011-2.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4014,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2009\/04\/israelite-bread-making-discussion-at-the-semitic-museum\/","url_meta":{"origin":125032,"position":3},"title":"Israelite bread-making discussion at the Semitic Museum","author":"harvardgazette","date":"April 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"On Thursday (April 23), the Semitic Museum will host half-hour discussions at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. (appropriate for grades three through six) on how ancient Israelites made bread \u2014 from planting to eating \u2014 and explore everyday life of the average villager 2,700 years ago. Students will also have\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Campus & Community"","block_context":{"text":"Campus & Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":105227,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2012\/03\/semitic-museum-director-wins-book-prize\/","url_meta":{"origin":125032,"position":4},"title":"Semitic Museum director wins book prize","author":"harvardgazette","date":"March 16, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cAshkelon 3: The Seventh Century B.C.,\u201d a publication co-written by Semitic Museum Director Lawrence Stager, has won the Irene Levi-Sala Book Prize.","rel":"","context":"In "Campus & Community"","block_context":{"text":"Campus & Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5579,"url":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/story\/2007\/03\/take-a-lunch-break-to-ancient-israel\/","url_meta":{"origin":125032,"position":5},"title":"Take a lunch break to ancient Israel","author":"harvardgazette","date":"March 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The Semitic Museum is sponsoring a free, docent-led tour of \"The Houses of Ancient Israel: Domestic, Royal, Divine\" on March 8 at 12:15 p.m.","rel":"","context":"In "Campus & Community"","block_context":{"text":"Campus & Community","link":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/section\/campus-community\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/105622744"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=125032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":268809,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/125032\/revisions\/268809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/125038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=125032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=125032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=125032"},{"taxonomy":"format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gazette-formats?post=125032"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.harvard.edu\/gazette\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=125032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}