Laser Scanning the Past for the Future: Baalbek Temple

This paper analyzes the use of 3D recording techniques as a basis for the generation of a risk preparedness strategy (RPS) for Baalbek (Lebanon) as a UNESCO World Heritage Property. Both laser scanning and photogrammetric techniques were adopted in a project that was financed by UNESCO's regional office in Lebanon under the framework of capacity building of human resources for digital documentation of world heritage sites affected by the 2006 war in Lebanon. The project was executed by a multidisciplinary group of experts from Lebanon, Taiwan, and Belgium and underlines the appropriate identification and understanding of hazards and threats affecting the significance and integrity of Baalbek's archaeological site by means of a three-dimensional survey of the site.