Bagerhat on Google ‘Heritage on the Edge’ collection

Google's 3D scans recreated Bangladesh's Mosque City of Bagerhat as part of its recreation of world's historical sites that are at risk of vanishing due to the adverse effects of climate change.  

Bagerhat's Nine Dome Mosque and Gereza Fort in Tanzania will be displayed as mobile-only augmented reality Pocket Galleries for inside views the locations.  

Google is launching a "Heritage on the Edge" collection of Arts & Culture that will include over 50 exhibitions illustrating the effect of an evolving climate on historical landmarks, including five locations recreated in detailed 3D (with a total of 25 models) using a mix of scans, photogrammetry and drone footage, Yahoo news reported.

One can also see vivid depictions of Bangladesh's Mosque City of Bagerhat, the statues at Easter Island's Rapa Nui, the old and new towns of Edinburgh, the trading port of Kilwa Kisiwani in Tanzania and Peru's ancient city of Chan Chan.

Watch the video: Google's 3D scans of Bagerhat  

These models of the sites will not prevent the locations from succumbing to rising sea levels or fiercer rainfall. Google is no doubt hoping they will spur attempts to mitigate climate change, though.

And, if nothing else, these will ensure there is a digital record of what these historical sites looked like before they crumbled away.

Google created the models through help from ICOMOS and the archival non-profit CyArk, and is making a point of publishing the data.

It is also helping site managers both conserve their historical treasures and present their efforts to the public.

Bagerhat 

The ancient city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It contains several mosques built during the Bengal Sultanate in the 15th-century, of which the Sixty Dome Mosque is the largest.

Other mosques include the Singair Mosque, the Nine Dome Mosque, the Tomb of Khan Jahan, the Bibi Begni Mosque and the Ronvijoypur Mosque.

The site was a "mint town" of the Bengal Sultanate. Bagerhat has one of the largest concentrations of sultanate-era mosques in Bangladesh.  

What are the most harmful climate issues affecting the city?

The ancient city, extends for over 50 square kilometers with 360 buildings including mosques, mausoleums and bridges, is at risk of flooding. 

Among the most insidious climate change impacts in coastal Bangladesh and at Bagerhat is the problem of rising water and soil salinity.

The increasing impacts of sea-level rise and changes in salinity making much of the water undrinkable.

Besides, the increased salinity is damaging structures through a process called efflorescence- migration of a salt to the surface of a porous material, where it forms a coating.