Have you ever had the wild desire to experience ancient Rome? Thanks to a project called Rome Reborn, you might just have the chance. The Rome of 320 A.D., when the city was at the zenith of its power, has been digitally recreated in 3D. The massive undertaking comes from the Virginia Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. It’s been 10 years in the making, using scans of the Plastico di Roma Antica model kept at Rome’s Museum of Roman Civilisation. More than 7,000 buildings in the model were scanned and digitally reproduced, while archaeologists offered advice on how statues would have looked in the period. Additionally, maps of Rome at the time were used to reconstruct houses, apartment buildings and even brothels. More than that, the interiors of some 30 buildings have been recreated, including the Senate (right down to frescoes on the walls) and the Colosseum, allowing virtual tours. In 320 A.D, Rome was under the rule of the Emperor Constantine, a massive city with over a million inhabitants, and arguably at the height of its power, the center of an empire that ranged from Britain to Asia Minor. However appealing a digital ancient Rome might be, you won’t be able to buy it. It will be used by scholars to study the city and the period. “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,” announced Bernard Frischer of the Virginia Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities. However, the Institute has begun talk with Linden Labs which might make the complete digital ancient Rome available on Second Life. And that would make quite a world to explore.
