Rome Reborn

Rome Reborn is a collaborative project between the UCLA Cultural Virtual Reality Laboratory (CVRLab), the UCLA Experiential Technology Center (ETC), the Reverse Engineering (INDACO) Lab at the Politecnico di Milano, and the Institute for Advanced Technologies in Humanities (IATH) at the University of Virginia in order to create a digital 3D model of ancient Rome as it appeared in late antiquity. The notional date of Rome Reborn is June 21, 320 A.D. An example screenshot of the Rome Reborn 3D model is shown below.

The main objective of the project was to spatialize and present information and theories about how ancient Rome looked at this particular moment in time. Spatialization and presentation involve: (a) the knowledge used to digitally reconstruct the topography, urban infrastructure (streets, bridges, aqueducts, walls, etc) and individual buildings and monuments and (b) the sources of archaeological information behind the digital reconstructions. Furthermore, the 3D model consists of two types of materials (a) highly detailed models of buildings that can be reconstructed on the basis of reliable archaeological evidence and (b) buildings and other features that are known only by type and frequency in the particular region of ancient Rome.

More information:

http://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/