Tomb of the Unknowns Story

Digital Restoration: Tomb of the Unknowns

The Story:
The Tomb of the Unknowns, also known as The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier but has never officially been named, was first erected in 1921 as the burial site of an unidentified American serviceman from World War I. It was placed in front of the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater near the center of the Arlington National Cemetery with the intent of building a larger structure atop the Tomb.

In 1931 the tomb was carved from 4 slabs of marble, weighing over 50 tons, by the Piccirilli Brothers who had previously carved the Lincoln Statue for the Lincoln Memorial from the same material. The marble had to be shipped from Colorado to Arlington, Virginia.

The Tomb honors unidentified American service members who have died fighting for their country. Unidentified Soldiers from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War have been buried beside the Tomb. The soldier from the Vietnam War has been identified and buried in his hometown in St. Louis, Missouri in 1998. Due to advances and DNA testing, no soldiers who have been accounted for have been unidentifiable since.

Cracking and erosion have caused concern for the long-term preservation of the tomb. The cracks extend all the way around the tomb in a seam of the marble and have been patched previously. It has raised concerns that it takes away from the national symbol of pride which attracts four million visitors each year. The Arlington National Cemetery had a dilemma on their hands as to how to proceed into to the future: to repair the tomb or replace it with a new digitally restored version. return to full slide show

The Challenge:
Direct Dimensions was asked to capture the tomb in its current condition and create a restored replica as it would have looked upon dedication in 1932. There are no original drawings or construction information in existence to work from.
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The Solution:

Digitally capture and measure the Tomb on-site at Arlington National Cemetery
Create a high resolution 3D models of the detailed areas from the scan data
Create a CAD model of the tomb using the measurement data
Analyze early photos of the details to aid in digital reparation
Digitally sculpt high resolution 3D models to remove crack and restore the details of the tomb to their original condition
Combine repaired high resolution models with CAD data to create a digitally restored replica of the original tomb
Create a half-scale model from a highly compressed wood resin for inspection

The data has not been used to create a replica of the tomb and instead it has been repaired. The East panel and a wreath from the north/south panels were replicated to test the milling technology on the delicate marble. Efforts are being made to restore, rather then replace, the original tomb. return to full slide show

Applications

Digital Molds
3D Archiving
Digital Sculpting
Restoration
Replicas and Editions
Enlargements and Reductions
Crating and Exhibits
Research and Analysis
Fundraising

Services

3D Scanning
3D Modeling
Visualization
Fabrication
Project Management