that same month, i.s.i.l..destroyed num nimrud. are palmyra, an ain ancient city that had been incredibly well preserved by the sands of the desert. there doesn't seem to be a way to stop the destruction. >> it's too dangerous basically to go in and preserve things in the middle of this conflict. >> reporter: something else that will play a major role in reconstruction: technology. specifically, laser scanning. let's say there's a lays are scanning of the empire state building. that scanning would be able to take dimension of every nook and imaging. it is a useful tool for archaeologists and historians. that technology has also taken on a more urgent purpose. >> it was really shortly after the destruction at the mosul museum and added sites at northern iraq like hatra that we said we have to do something. >> reporter: nonprofit organization sciarc is working to lays ir-scan sites that are most at risk of being destroyed. that data can be turned into a blueprint or virtual model. in cases of sites already destroyed there are several