Modeling the Past: Digital Technologies and Excavations in Polis, Cyprus
LNCS 7616 (Proc. EuroMed), October 2012

Joanna Smith, Szymon Rusinkiewicz

Abstract

This research and educational project aimed to create virtual 3-D walkthroughs of four principal buildings from the Princeton University excavations at Polis Chrysochous, Cyprus. The structures date from the Cypro-Archaic period beginning in the 7th century BCE to the Late Antique period of the 7th century CE. The project was conceived together with a special exhibition, a long-term exhibition in Cyprus, and a presentation on the web. In a joint Computer Science and Art and Archaeology seminar in the spring of 2012, students created reconstructions and populated them with 3-D scanned objects. The challenge was to find appropriate visual metaphors for conveying uncertainty and change in these 3-D visualizations as well as to create a computer-animated movie focused on the buildings, their spatial relationships, and possible reconstructions consistent with the excavations.

Citation (BibTeX)

Joanna Smith and Szymon Rusinkiewicz. Modeling the Past: Digital Technologies and Excavations in Polis, Cyprus. LNCS 7616 (Proc. EuroMed), pp. 414-422, October 2012.

Paper
  PDF file

Awards
  Best Project Paper award at the International Conference on Cultural Heritage (Euromed 2012)

Links
  Story about the exhibition and modeling course on the Princeton University Homepage
  Description and video at the Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science