Vatican
City, 4 April 2013
(VIS) – Today,
the Vatican Museums inaugurated a virtual reality installation that
reconstructs the famous Regolini-Galassi tomb of the Sorbo necropolis
of Cerveteri, Italy, the grave goods of which are now located in the
Gregorian Etruscan Museum of the Vatican Museums.
The
installation is part of Etruscanning 3D, “a European project
(Culture 2007 framework) that explores the possibilities of new
visualization techniques in order to re-create and restore the
original context of the Etruscan graves.” The project is the result
of collaboration between: the Allard Pierson Museum (the
archaeological museum of the University of Amsterdam); the National
Museum for Antiquities in Leiden, Holland; the Gallo-Roman Museum in
Tongeren, Belgium; the CNR-ITABC of Rome, Italy; and Visual Dimension
of Ename, Belgium. Support was also given from the Vatican Museums
and the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Etruria
Meridionale (archaeological superintendency of Southern Etruria).
Discovered
still intact in 1836, the actual tomb can only be visited by
appointment. Its 3D reconstruction at the Vatican Museums presents it
as it probably existed in the Etruscan Age (mid 7th
century BC), shortly before it was sealed. The grave goods, which
make the tomb one of the most interesting of the Etruscan period,
have been virtually reconstructed within the installation. Their
placement, however, was not a simple task since—at the time of the
tomb's discovery—the archaeological dig was not systematically
documented. Drawings and representations of what was found were all
recreated after the objects had been removed. It was therefore
necessary to recover and interpret the various iconographic and
documentary sources in order to achieve a plausible reconstruction.
In this case, the 3D process was not used merely as a means of
communication and dissemination but also as a tool for verification
and interpretation.
Like
the tomb, the grave goods that are now housed in the Vatican Museums
were reconstructed in 3D through photogrammetry and computer imaging.
Although, for the most part, the objects are well preserved, they
were subjected to a careful digital restoration based on observation,
study of sources, and the analysis of comparative case studies. Some
of the uncertain decorations have been reinstated with a good degree
of reliability and the materials have been virtually returned to what
was most likely their original state.
According
to a press release from the Vatican Museums, the installation's most
innovative element is its interactivity. “Based upon the use of
natural interaction interfaces, the public has the opportunity to
explore the virtually rebuilt space, to get closer to the objects,
which are laden with symbolic meaning, to touch them and to listen to
the narration of the deceased” (a woman of royal rank and a
cremated man). This is all possible without the use of a joystick,
mouse, keyboard, or console, simply by walking though the area in
front of the projection. The projection is displayed on a large,
high-definition holographic screen that is about 3 metres wide. It
has two main “viewports”: the larger one dedicated to exploring
the tomb and its interior objects and the second one that has a
dynamic menu of the objects closest to the visitor while they are
moving through the virtual space.
“The
soundscape was composed specifically for this application and
combines ancient sounds with a contemporary musical language with …
purely evocative intentions. The musical timbres are partly real (eg.
flutes recorded live) and partly synthetic (bells and drums),
interspersed with sounds echoing real life … (chariots, horses
galloping, fire, etc.).”
The
application won the first Archeovirtual Award for best natural
interaction at the international ArcheoVirtual exhibition organised
by the Virtual Heritage Lab at CNR-ITABC in Paestum, Italy last
November. The award was conferred by recognition of both the public
in attendance as well as an international scientific panel.
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