The rebirth of a Roman Forum - The case study of the Flavian Forum of Conimbriga

Authors

Abstract

The Flavian Forum of Conimbriga was located on the highest point of the ancient Roman city of Conimbriga (one of the largest of the west of the Iberian Peninsula). The municipality built the Flavian Forum, dedicated to imperial cult, during the reign of Flavius Vespasianus. Due to its architecture and location within the city, the Forum was one of the most important places in most Roman cities.

This paper presents a virtual model of the Flavian Forum of Conimbriga. It is common to question the accuracy of this type of architectonic model. However, this virtual model was built in accordance with the reliable blueprints in possession of Museu Monográfico de Conimbriga, from the time of the excavations.

The basic use of VRML to elaborate this work, allowed us to fine-tune some of the more problematic points related with historical reconstructions in virtual format:

- Accessible to a wide public over the Internet;
- Easy to use;
- File size (always a problem): small, very small;
- Performance via optimization techniques.

You can make your own 'visit� to this historical place in http://lsm.dei.uc.pt/forum.

Subject

Virtual Reality

Conference

Enter the past - The E-way into the four Dimensions of Cultural Heritage, April 2003