3D Modelling of Jerusalem’s Maghrebi Quarter

Abstract

Although Jerusalem is one of the most photographed places in the world, few works have focused on the existence of its former 800-year-old Maghrebi Quarter, located in the shadow of the Western Wall. Founded in 1193 by Saladin’s son, al-Afdal ‘Ali to house Muslim pilgrims from North Africa (today Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya), the Quarter was razed by Israeli bulldozers on the night of 10–11 June 1967’. Its 1,000 or so inhabitants were forced to flee within hours. Silenced by the occupation of East Jerusalem as part of the Six-Day War, the existence of the Maghrebi Quarter faded behind the walls of history. This research paper describes how 55 years after its razing, the selection of a corpus of archives, combined with 3D technology and Interprofessional collaborations between historians and 3D designers enable making a forgotten history accessible again. Beyond a discussion on methods and technical process, this research paper aims to highlight the potential applications of the data set and the 3D model not only for scholarly research but also for pedagogical purposes, for instance.

Keywords

• jerusalem
• maghrebi quarter
• archives
• 3d reconstruction
• open data