Digital reconstruction and visualization in archaeology: Case-study drawn from the work of the Swedish Pompeii Project

Abstract

The Swedish Pompeii Project started in 2000 as a research and fieldwork activity initiated by the Swedish Institute in Rome. The aim was to record and analyze an entire Pompeian city-block, Insula V 1. Since autumn 2011 a new branch of advanced digital archaeology, involving 3D reconstructions and documentation methods, was added to the project agenda. The insula was completely digitized using laser scanner technology and the raw data were employed to develop different research activities in the area of digital visualization. This paper presents the recent results of the 3D interpretation of the house of Caecilius Iucundus. This research activity was developed employing a large variety of historical and archaeological sources such as: archaeological reports, historical image documentation (printed as well as in edited material) and analysis of the in situ structures. This work was characterized by the experimentation of a new workflow of data development, where the elaboration of the interpreted structures took place directly in virtual space, using the scanned model as geometrical reference. This method easily connected all the historical and archaeological sources collected for the interpretation, opening a new discussion about different possible interpretation of the house. Moreover, a Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) was used in different occasions as platform where the different hypotheses could be discussed in the context given by the actual state of the archaeological structures. The use of an accurate and resolute replica of the site as a backdrop for the virtual reconstruction allowed a high level of control on the proposed hypotheses during the interpretation process. This study enabled the acquisition of new and important information about the house, thus, bringing a significant contribution to the archaeological analysis of Insula V 1, suggested as pilot project for wider use.