Experts from Oxford University in the UK and Harvard University in the US plan to take 3D photographs of every artefact under threat from the dreaded Islamic State militant group in an attempt to recreate them.
The initiative comes against a backdrop of widespread destruction by the terrorists of historical monuments, most recently the temples in the ancient city of Palmyra in Syria.
The latest plan will see archaeologists flooding the area under ISIL threat with cameras taking 3D images of every artefact under threat.
Should the artefacts be destroyed, the 3D imagery will be used to make exact replicas.
Oxford-based Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) will see thousands of cheap 3D cameras being sent to the areas most under threat, The Times reported.
"If ISIL is permitted to wipe the slate clean and rewrite the history of a region that defined global aesthetic and political sensibilities, we will collectively suffer a costly and irreversible defeat," said Roger Michel, IDA director.
According to the Institute, which is working with UNESCO, as many as 20 million images could be compiled by 2017.
