Sack of Jerusalem, in this part of Titus' triumphal procession on the Arch of Titus in Rome, the treasures of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem are displayed to the Roman people.
When we tell the story of the present to the future, how will we do it? If we go back far enough in the past we rely on the mute stones of archaeology to teach us how cities and civilizations met their doom. As the written word took hold, history was often fortunate enough to have a chronicler who could share the drama of the past through vivid descriptions of the ruin of cities, whether by the hand of God or Man. The quality and accuracy of such accounts vary depending on the level of knowledge and experience of the author and their political motivation. Consider Josephus' (Book 6) description of the sack of Jerusalem by the Roman forces of Titus in 70 A.D. as compared to the more glorious depiction on the Triumphant Arch of Titus.
But when they went in numbers into the lanes of the city, with their swords drawn, they slew those whom they overtook, without mercy, and set fire to the houses wither the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them, and laid waste a great many of the rest; and when they were come to the houses to plunder them, they found in them entire families of dead men, and the upper rooms full of dead corpses, that is of such as died by the famine; they then stood in a horror at this sight, and went out without touching anything.
Words of despair penetrate the soul of the reader. Text mingles with the psyche of Josephus' audience to paint a picture of the tragedy. Unfortunately, the simple reality is that when Josephus wrote in the 1st century A.D., few people could read and few books were copied and distributed. Certainly, stories of the siege were circulated orally for a time, but as ages passed, the carvings on Titus' Arch probably touched more people than the words of Josephus. Such knowledge slipped into the recesses of world events to be pondered mostly by historians, classicists, archaeologists, and Biblical scholars. As powerful as the written word is, it does not have the reach of the image.
Other visual media such as mosaics, frescoes, and paintings continued to evolve and appear in ever more diverse settings; however, one of the turning points in history was the introduction of printing. By the 16th century, presses employing woodcuts and plate engraving provided a means for the mass production of images to complement the printed word. The new form of media communicated the harsh reality of war and disasters.
Paralleling the revolution of the Guttenberg press was the development of Realism as a school of art mostly seen in oil on canvas works. Art opens a window into events, at least as envisioned by the artist.
Means of visualizing the suffering of humanity and destruction of our artifices added another pen to the desk of history with the advent of photography. Realism could now be captured in a frozen moment of time.
Perhaps the most dramatic change came with the introduction of video. It became possible to record the most horrific events of history on moving film. General Dwight Eisenhower, a man of amazing foresight, recognized the importance of documenting the horrors of the Holocaust in photos and with the most powerful form of media, the movie. Newsreels, documentaries, and archives allow us, the descendants of the Greatest Generation, to experience the horror they encountered when they liberated the Nazi Concentration camps much as they saw it (caution, the video footage below includes graphic images of human suffering and death). Still, the 2-dimensional and black-and-white experience forms a wide barrier between the past and present. The new processes of colorization help, but they do not fully penetrate that temporal wall.
We now enter a new world of virtual reality that, in the future, will be a standard means for experiential communication. But, should we subject our future to the horrors we have so routinely inflicted upon our brothers and sisters? As in ancient times, nations have failed to beat their swords into ploughshares and instead use them to demolish the lives and edifices of their neighbors. Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and most saliently now, Ukraine face devastating attacks and massive destruction. Photos and videos of the process arrive on an hourly basis. The question I pose here is, should we make more of an effort to engage with the technology of the future. Will students of history, military strategy, and human rights benefit from the opportunity to be immersed within a virtual world of the destruction wrought by the human-made catastrophe of war? If young students are given the virtual reality experience of the destruction and loss inflicted on our fellow humans by war, will they grow into adults with stronger morals than their parents? Can we raise the next generation to be more dedicated to the value of peace than we have been?
This one sketch below is the only 3D model I have thus far seen of the destruction in Ukraine. Although of limited quality, it is a start and I suspect and hope there will be more to come. The future is depending on us to share the wounds of the present to guard them against the perils of our hyper-militarized world. This virtual medium is, perhaps, the harbinger of a new model for the nations of our world.
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