Ancient Rome Is Revived and Rebuilt
Pastor Dale Morgan
Jun 11, 5:12 PM EDT
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Ancient Rome Is Revived and Rebuilt *
By ARIEL DAVID
Associated Press Writer
ROME (AP) -- Computer experts on Monday unveiled a digital reproduction
of ancient Rome as it appeared at the peak of its power in A.D. 320 -
what they called the largest and most complete revival of a historic
city ever created.
Visitors to virtual Rome will be able to do even more than ancient
Romans did: They can crawl through the bowels of the Colosseum, filled
with lion cages and primitive elevators, and fly up for a detailed look
at bas-reliefs and inscriptions atop triumphal arches.
"This is the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which
our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and
many other great cities around the world," said Bernard Frischer of the
University of Virginia, who led the project.
The $2 million simulation will be used by scientists to run experiments
- such as determining the crowd capacity of ancient buildings - and as a
scholarly journal that will be updated at each new discovery of one of
Rome's marvels.
Frischer also said students and tourists can also use the program to
learn about ancient Rome.
The simulation reconstructs some 7,000 buildings at the time of emperor
Constantine, when Rome was a vibrant and cosmopolitan city of about 1
million people, said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who
led the project.
Guided by laser scans of modern-day Rome and advice from archaeologists,
experts have rebuilt almost the entire city within its original
13-mile-long wall using the same computer programs architects use to
plan new constructions, he said.
It even includes the interiors of about 30 buildings - among them the
Senate, the Colosseum and the basilica built by the emperor Maxentius -
complete with frescoes and decorations.
The simulation shows statues and monuments as they would appear without
the dark smudges left by pollution. The computer experts also were able
to accurately recreate buildings that are now almost in ruins, such as
the temple dedicated to the goddesses Venus and Roma and the Meta
Sudans, a fountain that stood near the Colosseum, Frischer said.
The program was created over 10 years by an international team of
archaeologists, architects and computer specialists from the University
of Virginia and UCLA, as well research institutes in Italy, Germany and
Britain, he said.
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