by David Gura

In The Observer yesterday, Paul Gallagher reported on "a revolutionary project to record three-dimensional models of world heritage sites so that they can be recreated if they fall victim to climate change, natural disaster, war or terrorism." First up: Mt. Rushmore.

CyArk, the American company with whom six British scientists are collaborating, "has identified several other 'at-risk' sites, including the Acropolis in Athens, threatened by acid rain, and Machu Picchu in Peru, which suffers from excessive tourism.

Pollution, over-expansion and deforestation may have already permanently damaged Tikal National Park in Guatemala, one of the largest archaeological remains of the pre-Columbian Maya civilisation. CyArk's ultimate aim is to create 3D models of 500 sites around the world. Work began this year on scanning the underworld of Rome, 170km of winding catacombs dating back two millennia, and the Zapotec capital of Monte Alban, in Mexico. Other sites proposed for digital mapping include Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the Khmer temple complex built for King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century, Thebes in Egypt and Pompeii, the Roman town buried by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Somewhere, The Old Man of the Mountain sheds a single granite tear...