About

This webpage is used to record the changes and improvements made to a real-time 'Virtual Heritage' visualisation of a fictional Classical Temple, the Temple of Athena at Corinth, and it's architecture, history, function and context. The visualisation is an ongoing project, and serves as a developmental 'sandbox' which enables simple experimentation on the specific use of real-time graphics in 'Virtual Heritage' to be carried out. The project has a number of small aims:

• To explore how the use of real-time graphical effects can create a positive visualisation experience that is graphically engaging in an archaeologically-positive fashion.

• To experiment how historical and archaeological information can be expressed to the viewer in subtler and interesting ways throughout the visualisation, at times minimising the reliance upon text.

• To think at all times about 'responsibility' of the imagery created. Declare and show, in a clear manner, the sources and evidence that have been used to create modelled elements at every available moment.

Visualisation Approach

The visualisation is, in essence, a linear sequence of timed scenes, made up of the following:

• Scenes displaying purely descriptive text.

• Scenes displaying a complementary mixture of text and 2D visual sources (eg. scaled plans, architectural elevations).

• Scenes that display a 3D environment, with 2D dialog descriptive panels.

• Scenes that display 3D elements that have been taken out of the 3D environment and are displayed with descriptive text(eg. when a single column is examined and dissected).

The user has no control over the direction of the visualisation or navigation of the 3D scenes (1). This was decided because i wanted to get a fairly organised framework built before having to deal with user interaction, which can be very frustrating to implement well - interaction that has not been planned in detail and tested well will, if errors occur, detract greatly from the experience of the visualisation.

It is planned that interaction will be added in (2), and that this will be purely in the form of rotateable and draggable blocks. The period in which the user can exercise control is goverened by the sequence of the program. In(3) it is anticipated that the sequence will pause to allow interaction until the user activates some form of 'activation' button or key, and the program will continue.

I intended this visualisation to be non-interactive from the outset, but user interaction is such a fundamental element of museum and education centre visualisations and exhibits, i feel it is important to investigate this in the future.

The Temple is the subject of the visualisation, but it is really more the variety of sources and evidence, presented alongside the Temple, which are the focus.

I have made a rather unusual decision in choosing to use absolutely no texturing, fancy shadows, technique shading or advanced lighting on the Temple model. The trees, votives and the terrain are modelled and textured simply, and when viewed the whole 3D environment looks too simplistic to mimic real-life. I have made all 3D elements intentionally basic, almost cartoon-like, so that the viewer does not fall into the trap of thinking 'this is exactly what it must have looked like' but rather views the scene as an illustration of the basic 'form' of the Temple and, for example, the spatial arrangment of trees and votives around it.

The sources and evidence presented alongisde the Temple and, in the case of a map, marged with the terrain (2), are displayed to firstly to make the viewer aware of the evidence; secondly, to show that the evidence matches up with the 3D elements and so understand the level of reliability to invest in the imagery they are seeing; thirdly, to encourage critical thought and awareness concerning other, similar, 'reconstruction' images.

As if Real

It may be considered that the fictionality of the Temple makes the entire visualisation a waste of time. The intention of the visualisation, as detailed above, is experimentation into the specifics of using real-time to present archaeology and history in an interesting and informative way. The fictionaility of the Temple and its associated sources, which are all the 'type' of source one would encounter if researching a Classical site, is largely irrelevent to this aim.

History and Context

This section introduces the viewer to the history of the Temple, the discovery by the esteemed fictional archaeologist B. Findspott (included so 18th Century 'discovery' sketches, in the tradition of Stewart and Revett, can be included as sources). In (2) some additional text is included describing the relationship between Corinth and the Temple.

Geography

A scaled map or plan of an archaeological site is obviously a ideal addition to a heritage visualisation. An even better idea would be to actually incorporate this map within a 3D scene, aligned to show that the modelled elements are positioned according to this map, and are thus placed accurately. To present this i made a simple timed sequence whereby the 3D scene 'fades in' behind a 2D overlay, appropriately scaled, to reveal the spatial accuracy of the scene.

I feel the use of the map here is important in such a visualisation as it informs the user of the importance of a multi-disciplinary approach in archaeology - the need to consider geographical sources in building an illustration of the local area.

Function

This section describes the function of the Temple as the sacred domain of the Goddess, the division between the inner and outer functions of the Temple, and the use of the altar and it's ceremonial importance.

Informed debate and scholarly investigation

The study of history and archaeology requires one to make informed decisions about the authenticity and level of reliability that should be attributed to a source or evidence, and as such i was keen to experiment about how i could, using real-time, present such information simply and easily within the visualisation. I decided the appearance of the cult state would be ideal to experiment with. There is much debate over the precise forms of cult statues, as often they were destroyed or melted down and the metal reused, and often scholars have only a few scant remains or must rely heavily on the reproduction of later works (often Roman), and the fragmentary descriptions from ancient writers.

An early plan of the timed sequence is as follows:

• 3.5 secs.| Camera moves into the cella and halts.(Position maintained until end of sequence.)

• 7 secs.| A drawing of a Roman reproduction thought to be a copy (to some degree) of the cult statue fades into view on the left of the screen, followed on the right by a modern outline drawing is based upon a description of the statue by an obscure ancient author. Each image is named, and, through partially-blended information boxes, the viewer is informed about supposed connections between these images and the cult statue.

• 4 secs.| Parts of the drawings are highlighted in orange (eg. a shield) and are briefly labelled.

• 3 secs.| Text appears in the centre of the screen which informs the viewer that they are now going to see the most popularly-held scholarly opinion concerning the form of the statue, based on these two images.

• 6 secs.| Parts of each dragged are 'dragged' to form a central image, an amalgamation of the two separate images. The viewer is informed of the scholarly thought behind these extra elements.

I decided against the above sequence because i felt it was too simplstic to reflect the real level of scholarly debate and investigation of artefacts that really occurs when scholars investigate such an problem.

Thus a new sequence has been planned: (though not fully complete)

• 3.5 secs.| Camera moves into the cella and halts.(Position maintained until end of sequence.)

• 3.0 secs.| A large "?" appears where the Cult Statue would have been. Text at bottom of screen fades in: '...but what would the cult statue have looked like?'.Text fades out, and screen is refreshed.

• 8.5 secs.| Text fades in at the top of the screen informing the viewer that we can learn about, or rather deduce, how the statue may have looked from a number of sources. Text fades out. Text, same position, appears informing us that the first piece of evidence is an account by the traveller Apollodorus of Priene, and that a scholar, Freid, thinks that the information Apollodorus tells us 'is not entirely truthful'.Text fades out. (Both these perons are fictional, but their descriptions/opinions are truthful to the type of descriptions/opinions/information we find from real-life sources.)

• 13 secs.| An extract from Apollodorus' works fades in, holds for a enough time to be readable, then fades out.

• 13 secs.| Text panel fades in, holds, and the fades out. The gist of this information, provided by Freid, is as follows:

  • Apollodorus' text was written at a time when tensions between Athens and Corinth were becoming heated. Apollodorus was in support of Athens. Apollodorus depicted Athena as vulnerable, without her usual war-like attributes of shield and spear (the cult state was a given to Corinth by Athens as an offering of peace and thus these are absent). His depiction of this vulnerable cult statue, an offering of peace, being destroyed by a band of war-hungry corinthians was intended to rouse the young Athenians into battle. This intention is well-known and is recorded by other sources.

  • Freid informs us that, although there probably was not a spear with the cult statue, it is likely that there would have been a shield. "Athens was not of the mind to depict their patron Goddess as unprotected against hot-headed Corinthians!"

• 6 secs.| Text panel, at the top of the screen,fades in, holds, and fades out. The text informs the viewer that a shield can be added to our blank 'image' of Athena. The viewer has not been told whereabouts this is to be placed, so the shield just remains on the left of the screen.

• 6 secs.| Text panel, at the top of the screen, fades in, holds, and fades out. This introduces evidence provided by the Scholar Hague, a Classical coin. It is followed by a photograph of two sides of this coin, which shows an image of Athena on one side, and an Olive tree on the other. Another text panel appears at the bottom of the screen, which explains:

  • Athena Chalinthis has a number of shrines in Corinth (truth), how do we know this coin is not depicting her?

  • Athena Chalinthis, however, has only been found on coins in profile, and is shown with Pegasus on the reverse. This coin shows an Athena in full (although the bottom half is missing), and an olive on reverse. As such, Hague believes that the coin refers to our Athena with the olive on the reverse representing that the statue was a gift. The frontal depiction of Athena leads us to assume (correctly or not) that this is in fact an image of the cult statue.

• 12 secs.|Text panel, at the top of the screen, fades in, holds, and fades out. It informs the viewer of the what the image on the coin can allow us to add to our image of Athena. It is stressed to the viewer that what they are seeing is purely a scholarly opinion, and not definately how the cult statue would have looked. An enlarged image of Athena on the coin fades in at the centre of the screen. One at a time, elements of the image are highlighted in orange (eg.the olive tree held in her hand - in a similar fashion to the winged victory often held). The image of the coin fades, as do the information panels, and the highlighted elements fade in over the blank outline of Athena in the Cella.

• 6 secs.| We now have an almost complete statue. Hague's coin, however, was not complete, and so far we lack any information about what the bottom half of the Statue would have looked like. A topmost information panel poses a rhetrical question to the viewer: 'Where can we place our shield?' A photograph of a Roman miniature fades in below. A bottom information panel fades in, describing the miniature and in stating it's small inscription: 'Made in the image of the early Minerva (Athena) of Corinth, not Chalinthis.' It is explicitly shown to the viewer, though highlighting elements in orange, that the miniature bears an extremerly close, if not identical image to the Athena on the coin. All elements fade out.

• 6 secs.| An information panel appears at the top of the screen, concluding what has been investigated. The outlined image of Athena appears, and a stylised outline of the lower half of the Roman minature fades into its position. The shield, its position known from the Roman minature also, fades in. Scene ends.

Architecture

This final, and longest section, describes the architectural form of the Temple and looks at each architecural stage in turn, beginning at the base and ending at the roof.

Dissection

From the outset of this visualisation, i was particualrly keen to present to the viewer not just a static model, but rather a dynamic model with moveable sections. When visiting a Classical site, it is fairly common to see a number of blocks and architectural elements strewn around the site, which have simply been left where they have fallen. I think it is important, then, that if a Classical site is to be shown within a visualisation, the built environment should not be presented as being just a single static entity, but made up of all those individual blocks seen lying around.

Column Sequence

Most of the dissection sequences take place within the 3D scene (ie. individual blocks are shown to come out of the model).When presenting the dissection of some architectural elements, i thought it best to isolate them from the Temple model entirely, so to focus the viewers attention on the specific element.

The following is the short sequence for describing an exterior column:

• 4.5 secs.|A single and un-textured column is present on the right of the screen. An information panel fades in on the left - it is textured, to an appropriate scale, with measurement lines, labeled, which show visually the height of the column. The information panel fades out.

• 5 secs.|The column, still present, rotates clockwise along the X-axis by 90 degrees, so that the viewer can only see the top face of the abacus. An information panel fades in on the left, now showing the dimensions of the top face of the abacus. The information panel fades out. In (2) this sequence is extended to show the diameters at the 'top', the echinus, and bottom of the column.

• 4.5 secs.|The column returns to the verticle position. A larger information panel appears on the left of the screen, detailing the division of the column into 6 drums and echinus, and the dimensions each of these. The column is rendered using coloured 'polygon offsetting', which outlines the edges of the column model. In this way the separate drums, echinus, and abacus are easily seen. The information panel fades out.

• 6 secs.|An information panel fades in, with details about the importance of the metal rod which is inside the column. Gradual blending is applied to the column (i.e it becomes translucent) revealing the metal rod inside. The column drums, echinus and abacus separate equally. Sequence end.

Details