Sofia Pescarin
Sofia Pescarin is an Archaeologist, PhD in History and Computing, specialist in Virtual Museums and landscape recostruction. She is a researcher at the Institute of Technologies applied to Cultural Heritage of the National Council of Researches in Rome (CNR ITABC), in the Virtual Heritage Lab (VHLab). She has been project coordinator of V-MusT.net Network of Excellence, financed by the European Community under the FP7 (2011-2015), involved in other EU projects such as 3D-ICONS, ARIADNE and currently in REVEAL, in which she is the coordinator of dissemination activities and game design for theforum of Augustus videogame. She has directed the Italian School of Virtual Archaeology. She is the scientific director of Archeovirtual exhibition events and is involved in the steering committee of Digitial Heritage World Congress, that she co-chaired at its first edition in 2013. She wrote the books “Rome: archaeological guide to the eternal city” (1997), “Reconstructing archaeological landscape” (2009), "2013Digital Heritage International Congress", vol 1 and 2, IEEE, Eds. Addison, De Luca, Guidi, Pescarin (2013), "Keys To Rome. Roman Culture, Virtual Museums" (2014).
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The article propose a theoretic explicit approach to reconstruct Roman ancient landscape and test the theory in the reconstruction of the potential landscape of the north part of Rome, during the 2nd century AD
Why reconstructing the past? What does it mean reconstructing archaeological and ancient landscape? What can we really reconstruct? How and which kind of technology can help us in this process? and which technological and epistemological approach, if any, can contribute to gather better results? This chapter will go into these concepts, trying to explain the beginning phase in the reconstruction of an archaeological landscape; available data typologies in the case of different landscapes, such as urban or extra-urban contexts; possible approaches and methodologies, such as VR open source web-based systems, and their pro and contra. Finally some case studies of Roman landscapes interpretation and reconstruction will be analyzed, together with some possible future further developments in the creation of new systems, useful for dynamic shared web-based landscape reconstruction. What does it mean reconstructing an ancient or archaeological landscape? What can we really reconstruct? How and which kind of technology can help in this process? These topics are animating the scene, in last years, of international conferences and discussions (Forte, 2003). What we observe today is that traces of ancient landscapes are disappearing every day more and more rapidly, in a process often persistent and irreversible. The risk of losses of entire historical and archaeological patrimonies in many parts of the world is due also to natural events and, above all, to human actions and influences. This risk is perceived as a worldwide problem, and many international entities 1 are starting projects such as rescue, conservation, restoration actions. Two main motivations encourage these actions: to keep this vanishing memory of the past and to understand past events. And these motivations are also the source of any " reconstructive attraction " , both for academic-expert community and worldwide community. Reconstruct to collect and remember, reconstruct to understand, reconstruct to learn. We aim to understand how ancient civilizations 1 http://portal.unesco.org, http://whc.unesco.org/
Structurally, the DigitalHeritage Expo is divided in 6 sections, so that similar applications and projects can be grouped in terms of technology used, scope of the work, and types of communication style. The chapters of this catalog are order in a similar manner: (1) Immersive Environments; (2) Digital Heritage @ Work; (3) Virtual Museums; (4) Edutainment; (5) Art and Creativity; (6) Multivision
Papers
Between the 15th of September 2005 and the 15th of November 2005, an exhibit on virtual and Roman archaeology was organized in Rome inside the Trajan's Market Museum. The event, " Building Virtual Rome " (" Immaginare Roma Antica "), was a great opportunity to show, inside an ancient monument, and for the first time together, many different projects, applications and installations about VR and Cultural Heritage. The uniqueness of the event was at the same time an occasion both for visitors and organizers to live a new experience, and to face some problematic aspects due, mainly to the meeting of high technological projects (some of them still at research level), cultural contents and also archaeological " containers ". During the exhibit we tried to observe visitors and make some interviews, aimed at understanding their expectations at the beginning, their experience during their visit and finally their satisfaction/ dissatisfaction, learning, feedback, and interaction level during and after the visit. The preliminary results of this analysis are showing that the embodiment and the diverse difficulties to use different devices and software depend on many factors and that " communicating " the virtual is not a technological issue, but an epistemological question.
Categories and Subject Descriptors: J.5 [Arts and Humanities]; J.4 [SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES]; H.5 [INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION]
application, with front-end and back-end on line solutions, for the interpretation, reconstruction and 3d exploration of
archaeological and potential past landscapes of Rome. The purpose is the creation of a three-dimensional open source 3d
environment, available on line, embedded into a eb-browser, where final users can interact dynamically in the 3d reconstructed space and activate different behaviours in order to enhance their understanding of the territory. The back-end
version, in progress, is developed as to involve different researchers in the complex activity of landscape reconstruction. What is already available on line is the reconstruction of the archaeological and ancient landscape of Rome (resolution 10-100 Mt), with a more detailed reconstruction of some areas in the north, south and center of the city (via Flaminia, via Appia and Imperial Fora, at resolution of 20 cm). Sites, monuments and archaeological areas are connected with their context and are reconstructed in accordance with real and hypothetical topography both for the actual and for the past. The presentation will be focused on two main aspects: contents and software development. The methodological approach to ancient landscape reconstruction will also be analysed: from natural environment to the creation of virtual ecosystems
based on different aspects (human, architectural, natural, etc.). In fact, through the convergence of several disciplines, such as palaeobotany, archaeology, architecture, geology, pedology, allows to design a landscape, whose exact aspect is
impossible to know, it is possible to reconstruct general, and in some case also specific, features. In order to let users, simply through their browsers, to explore dynamically these reconstructions and multimedia contents connected to them, a web plug-in has been developed. With this cross-platform and cross-browser plug-in, OSG4WEB, based on OpenSceneGraph library, it is possible to explore interactively the entire archaeological territory of Rome, as it appears today, and to switch to the 2nd century AD potential landscape. The 3d navigation allows a continuous exploration: from an holistic view of the territory (fly) to a detailed investigation of the archaeological sites (walk).
The paper discusses also some problematic aspects that “Virtual Rome” on line application had to face, both from
archaeological and ICT points of view: reliability of reconstructed past landscape; reconstruction as open and scientific process; large territory dataset on line management (32 GB of high resolution aerial images); different coordinate systems and data resolutions integration; 3d models complexity and dimension (texture and geometry) integration and efficient exploration; vegetation integration; continuous interaction for inter and intra-site browsing; plug-in integration in most diffused browser. Proposed solutions and final results will be analysed and presented. Virtual Rome web-lab, in the next future, is planning to further develop the back-end VR webGIS builder, in order to allow a continuous modification of the landscape and the integration of different 3d project, as a 3d cooperative environment and a reference point for virtual communities.
Furthermore, thanks to the use of technology will not only be possible to guarantee the conservation of the past, but also to
bring back to life, through virtual reality systems, the magnificence of Imperial Rome, on line.
The article propose a theoretic explicit approach to reconstruct Roman ancient landscape and test the theory in the reconstruction of the potential landscape of the north part of Rome, during the 2nd century AD
Why reconstructing the past? What does it mean reconstructing archaeological and ancient landscape? What can we really reconstruct? How and which kind of technology can help us in this process? and which technological and epistemological approach, if any, can contribute to gather better results? This chapter will go into these concepts, trying to explain the beginning phase in the reconstruction of an archaeological landscape; available data typologies in the case of different landscapes, such as urban or extra-urban contexts; possible approaches and methodologies, such as VR open source web-based systems, and their pro and contra. Finally some case studies of Roman landscapes interpretation and reconstruction will be analyzed, together with some possible future further developments in the creation of new systems, useful for dynamic shared web-based landscape reconstruction. What does it mean reconstructing an ancient or archaeological landscape? What can we really reconstruct? How and which kind of technology can help in this process? These topics are animating the scene, in last years, of international conferences and discussions (Forte, 2003). What we observe today is that traces of ancient landscapes are disappearing every day more and more rapidly, in a process often persistent and irreversible. The risk of losses of entire historical and archaeological patrimonies in many parts of the world is due also to natural events and, above all, to human actions and influences. This risk is perceived as a worldwide problem, and many international entities 1 are starting projects such as rescue, conservation, restoration actions. Two main motivations encourage these actions: to keep this vanishing memory of the past and to understand past events. And these motivations are also the source of any " reconstructive attraction " , both for academic-expert community and worldwide community. Reconstruct to collect and remember, reconstruct to understand, reconstruct to learn. We aim to understand how ancient civilizations 1 http://portal.unesco.org, http://whc.unesco.org/
Structurally, the DigitalHeritage Expo is divided in 6 sections, so that similar applications and projects can be grouped in terms of technology used, scope of the work, and types of communication style. The chapters of this catalog are order in a similar manner: (1) Immersive Environments; (2) Digital Heritage @ Work; (3) Virtual Museums; (4) Edutainment; (5) Art and Creativity; (6) Multivision
Between the 15th of September 2005 and the 15th of November 2005, an exhibit on virtual and Roman archaeology was organized in Rome inside the Trajan's Market Museum. The event, " Building Virtual Rome " (" Immaginare Roma Antica "), was a great opportunity to show, inside an ancient monument, and for the first time together, many different projects, applications and installations about VR and Cultural Heritage. The uniqueness of the event was at the same time an occasion both for visitors and organizers to live a new experience, and to face some problematic aspects due, mainly to the meeting of high technological projects (some of them still at research level), cultural contents and also archaeological " containers ". During the exhibit we tried to observe visitors and make some interviews, aimed at understanding their expectations at the beginning, their experience during their visit and finally their satisfaction/ dissatisfaction, learning, feedback, and interaction level during and after the visit. The preliminary results of this analysis are showing that the embodiment and the diverse difficulties to use different devices and software depend on many factors and that " communicating " the virtual is not a technological issue, but an epistemological question.
Categories and Subject Descriptors: J.5 [Arts and Humanities]; J.4 [SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES]; H.5 [INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION]
application, with front-end and back-end on line solutions, for the interpretation, reconstruction and 3d exploration of
archaeological and potential past landscapes of Rome. The purpose is the creation of a three-dimensional open source 3d
environment, available on line, embedded into a eb-browser, where final users can interact dynamically in the 3d reconstructed space and activate different behaviours in order to enhance their understanding of the territory. The back-end
version, in progress, is developed as to involve different researchers in the complex activity of landscape reconstruction. What is already available on line is the reconstruction of the archaeological and ancient landscape of Rome (resolution 10-100 Mt), with a more detailed reconstruction of some areas in the north, south and center of the city (via Flaminia, via Appia and Imperial Fora, at resolution of 20 cm). Sites, monuments and archaeological areas are connected with their context and are reconstructed in accordance with real and hypothetical topography both for the actual and for the past. The presentation will be focused on two main aspects: contents and software development. The methodological approach to ancient landscape reconstruction will also be analysed: from natural environment to the creation of virtual ecosystems
based on different aspects (human, architectural, natural, etc.). In fact, through the convergence of several disciplines, such as palaeobotany, archaeology, architecture, geology, pedology, allows to design a landscape, whose exact aspect is
impossible to know, it is possible to reconstruct general, and in some case also specific, features. In order to let users, simply through their browsers, to explore dynamically these reconstructions and multimedia contents connected to them, a web plug-in has been developed. With this cross-platform and cross-browser plug-in, OSG4WEB, based on OpenSceneGraph library, it is possible to explore interactively the entire archaeological territory of Rome, as it appears today, and to switch to the 2nd century AD potential landscape. The 3d navigation allows a continuous exploration: from an holistic view of the territory (fly) to a detailed investigation of the archaeological sites (walk).
The paper discusses also some problematic aspects that “Virtual Rome” on line application had to face, both from
archaeological and ICT points of view: reliability of reconstructed past landscape; reconstruction as open and scientific process; large territory dataset on line management (32 GB of high resolution aerial images); different coordinate systems and data resolutions integration; 3d models complexity and dimension (texture and geometry) integration and efficient exploration; vegetation integration; continuous interaction for inter and intra-site browsing; plug-in integration in most diffused browser. Proposed solutions and final results will be analysed and presented. Virtual Rome web-lab, in the next future, is planning to further develop the back-end VR webGIS builder, in order to allow a continuous modification of the landscape and the integration of different 3d project, as a 3d cooperative environment and a reference point for virtual communities.
Furthermore, thanks to the use of technology will not only be possible to guarantee the conservation of the past, but also to
bring back to life, through virtual reality systems, the magnificence of Imperial Rome, on line.