Virtual Reconstruction of Ptolemy II Philadelphus'Tent in Alexandria

Virtual Skené: a Virtual Reconstruction of Ptolemy IIPhiladelphus’ Tent in Alexandria

[email protected] ToffaloriPhD History and Computing, Università di Bologna

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April, 7th 2010, CAA - Granada, Spain

Virtual Skené: a Virtual Reconstruction ofPtolemy II Philadelphus’Tent in Alexandria

Elena Toffalori, Università di Bologna

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What is the project about?

1) Virtual reconstruction of an archaeological buildingPtolemy II Philadelphus’Tent was an ephemeral building; it was built in Alexandria royalgardens to last for just one year (around 280 b.C.)

2) Virtual model as a scientific publicationA philological model, restricted to architecture and some hints on historical arrangement,will be realized as graphical counterpart of the traditional scholarly article. It will adress anacademic audience, mainly concerning the reconstruction process, and it will be hostedby institutional channels - scientific networks for authoring, validation and distribution ofVirtual Heritage (such as 3D repositories)

3) Educational applicationsA more suggestive and narrative version, focused on the reconstruction of historicalevents, therefore including characters and storytelling techniques, will be addressed todissemination through educational platforms (a web museum?)



Focus and goals

• Use of open source resources

• Effective evaluation of adopted communication strategies

• Focusing on communicationThe project will focus mainly on web museums and the way of promoting culturalcontents on the web, both through scientific boards and networks, and througheducational platforms in a more didactic way



People and institutions involved in the project:

• Elena Calandra (Ministero per i Beni Artistici e Culturali, Italy) Archaeologist, she published the study on which I based my reconstruction

• Antonella Guidazzoli (VisIT lab, CINECA supercomputing centre, Italy) CINECA has given technological and network support

• prof. Francesca Bocchi (Università di Bologna) my PhD advisor



NUME Nuovo Museo Elettronicodi Bologna (1999)F. Bocchi et al., The 4D Virtual Museum of the City of Bologna- Italy, ACM SIGGRAPH, Los Angeles, 1999, pp.8-11

Salomon’s Temple in Jerusalem (2002)J.Schwartz, Issues in Reconstructing a Site for WhichArchaeological Evidence is Lacking: The Second Temple inJerusalem (Herodian Phase), 2007, in A.Coralini,D.Scagliarini,“Ut Natura Ars”, University Press, Bologna,2007, pp. 59-69

Porsenna’s Mausoleum (2002)F.Niccolucci, F.Cantone, Legend and Virtual Reconstruction:Porsenna’s Mausoleum in X3D, in M.Doerr, M.Sarris, “TheDigital Heritage of Archaeology”, Athens, Archive ofMonuments and Publications, 2003, pp.57-62

Previous reconstruction of non conserved architectures



Before the virtual model: graphical hypotheses



BLENDER

Open Source (extensible throughPython scripting)Integrated (3d modeling,rendering, OSG export…)Rendering Farm at Cineca

Reconstruction tools: modeling with Blender



VISMAN (Cineca)

Open SourceAllows connection to database /urlInteractive navigationAllows constructions of tours andviewpoints

Reconstruction tools: a Visual Scenarios Manager (ViSMan) Software



J.A.Barceló, Visualizing what Might Be: an Introduction to VIrtual Reality Techniques in Archaeology, inJ.A.Barceló, M.Forte, D.H.Sanders (editors), Virtual Reality in archaeology, Oxford, Archaeopress, 2000F.Bocchi, M.E.Bonfigli, M.Ghizzoni, R.Smurra, F.Lugli The 4D Virtual Museum of the City of Bologna -Italy, ACM SIGGRAPH, Los Angeles, 1999E.Calandra L’occasione e l’Eterno: la tenda di Tolomeo Filadelfo nei palazzi di Alessandria. Parte Prima:Materiali per la ricostruzione, LANX 1, 2008E.Calandra L’occasione e l’Eterno: la tenda di Tolomeo Filadelfo nei palazzi di Alessandria. ParteSeconda: Una proposta di ricostruzione, LANX 2, 2009A.Coralini, D.Scagliarini (editors), Ut Natura Ars. Virtual Reality e archeologia, Bologna, UniversityPress, 2007M.Forte et al. Multiuser Virtual Reality Museum Application for Cultural Heritage: the Ancient viaFlaminia project, VAST, 2007P.Müller et al., Populating Ancient Pompeii with Crowds of Virtual Romans, VAST, 2007F.Niccolucci, F.Cantone, Legend and Virtual Reconstruction: Porsenna’s Mausoleum in X3D, in CAA,2002D.Scagliarini Corláita, A.Guidazzoli, T.Salmon Cinotti et al., Archeologia virtuale e supporti informaticinella ricostruzione di una Domus di Pompei, Archeologia e Calcolatori, 14, 2003J.Schwartz, Issues in Reconstructing a Site for Which Archaeological Evidence is Lacking: The SecondTemple in Jerusalem (Herodian Phase), in A.Coralini, D.Scagliarini, Ut Natura Ars, Bologna, UniversityPress, 2007

References



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Thank you!

Elena Toffalori, Università di [email protected]

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Technology

Virtual Reconstruction of Ptolemy II Philadelphus'Tent in Alexandria