Meet the scientists immortalizing African heritage in virtual reality

By Chris Giles, CNN

Updated 1146 GMT (1946 HKT) April 5, 2018

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The Zamani Project digitally records<strong> </strong>cultural and historic sites across Africa to preserve them for future generations. The models can be experienced in virtual reality, where users can<strong> </strong>"walk through" the sites. This model is the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

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The Cape Coast, Ghana – The Zamani Project digitally records cultural and historic sites across Africa to preserve them for future generations. The models can be experienced in virtual reality, where users can "walk through" the sites. This model is the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana.

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The Cape Coast Castle was visited by American president Barack Obama in 2009. It was used by<strong> </strong>the British to hold people in slavery before they were forced onto ships across the Atlantic in the 17th and 18th centuries.<strong> </strong>

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The Cape Coast, Ghana – The Cape Coast Castle was visited by American president Barack Obama in 2009. It was used by the British to hold people in slavery before they were forced onto ships across the Atlantic in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Djenné, Mali – The Zamani Project traveled to the town of Djenné in Mali to document the distinctive architecture.

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The Great Mosque of Djenné<strong> </strong>dates from the 13th century, and is the first mosque built at the complex in Mali's Niger Delta region. The adobe-style building, made from earthen bricks and mud plaster, fell into disrepair, and was reconstructed in 1907.<strong> </strong>The Great Mosque was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988 and is the largest earthen mud building in the world.

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Djenné, Mali – The Great Mosque of Djenné dates from the 13th century, and is the first mosque built at the complex in Mali's Niger Delta region. The adobe-style building, made from earthen bricks and mud plaster, fell into disrepair, and was reconstructed in 1907. The Great Mosque was designated as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988 and is the largest earthen mud building in the world.

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Meroe, Sudan – In the Nile Valley, these pyramids and structures in Sudan date back to the Kingdom of Kush, from the 8th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.

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A World Heritage Site, the pyramids are generally smaller than those found in Egypt. Receiving few tourists each year, the architecture demonstrates proof of contact between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean and Middle East, say UNESCO.

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Meroe, Sudan – A World Heritage Site, the pyramids are generally smaller than those found in Egypt. Receiving few tourists each year, the architecture demonstrates proof of contact between Sub-Saharan Africa and the Mediterranean and Middle East, say UNESCO.

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Yemrehana Krestos Church, Ethiopia – A 3-D model scan of an 11th century Ethiopian Orthodox church, constructed of wood and stone.

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A pilgrim in robes walks past Yemrehana Krestos Church, which is in a cave and said to be<strong> </strong>"floating"<strong> </strong>on a floor of reeds.

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Yemrehana Krestos Church, Ethiopia – A pilgrim in robes walks past Yemrehana Krestos Church, which is in a cave and said to be "floating" on a floor of reeds.

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Story highlights

The project aims to preserve heritage sites for future generations
Using high-tech lasers and drones the team record sites

Meet the innovators and inventors who are driving Africa's tech revolution.

(CNN)The archaeological wonders of the world offer a rich window into the past. But many are crumbling, weed-laden and victim to vandalism and conflict.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites, such as those in Libya and Mali, have been caught in the crossfire of regional disputes.

Concerned with the decay of African heritage sites, The Zamani Project, based at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, is seeking to immortalize historic spots in three-dimensional, virtual reality-ready models.

Professor Heinz Ruther steers the project. He ventures up and down the continent -- visiting Ghana, Tanzania, Mali, Ethiopia, Kenya and elsewhere -- recording in remarkable detail the structure and condition of tombs, churches and other buildings.

"I've seen how sites are deteriorating visibly," Ruther told CNN.

The project's aim is to build a database of complex, lifelike 3-D models. Presently, they've mapped around 60 sites including Lalibela in Ethiopia, Timbuktu in Mali and Kilwa in Tanzania.

Digital landscapes

The Zamani Project team in Meroë, Sudan

The project's been running for 10 years and the team have digitally archived locations in all corners of the continent. Its mission is a worthy one: to preserve sites for future generations.

Each site can take the team months to document. They travel to unsafe, hostile regions with high-tech laser scanners and drones. "(People) are suspicious as they think it is for military use," Ruther says.

To record the archaeological structures, they position the scanner at various angles around the building, sending a laser which records around 10,000 points per second.

"We use GPS measurements and try to cover every single aspect of the sites, that is every single corner. We go to areas which are not very attractive -- we cover everything," Ruther explains.

Back at the university they collate all the spatial data to create the finished product, which can be experienced in virtual reality.

"If you put Oculus glasses on you can walk through the sites we generate," Ruther says. He claims The Zamani Project is the only African-based organization 3-D mapping cultural heritage sites.

3-D preservation of history

The reconstruction of Triumphal Arch at Palmyra in London.

World heritage sites have not only been mapped in 3-D, but also built using 3-D printers.

Palmyra's Triumphal Arch, which was destroyed by ISIS in Syria to global condemnation, was reconstructed using 3-D printing technology based on images previously captured of the structure.

The project was undertaken by Oxford's Institute of Digital Archaeology, created to express solidarity with Syrians and the effort to preserve archaeological sites under threat.

The future of the past

There is a perennial threat to heritage sites from human activity and nature.

"A slow deterioration (can happen) as vegetation grows over the side (of buildings). People also use the stones of the buildings to build their houses. It's a wide range of things, including terrorism," Ruther tells CNN.

As of 2017, Africa has 138 UNESCO World Heritage Sites -- a small number given the amount of important historical and cultural landmarks on the continent.

While efforts increase to bring recognition to African heritage, safeguarding this past could depend on high-tech methods used by Ruther and his team.