BLOOMINGTON — Indiana University’s first archaeo-informaticist, Bernie Frischer, will bring to life one of the Roman Empire’s best-known and best-preserved imperial villas — Hadrian’s Villa — during a public launch of the Digital Hadrian’s Villa Project on Friday, Nov. 22, in Washington, D.C.
Frischer, a digital archaeologist and one of the first academics to use 3-D computer modeling to reconstruct cultural heritage sites, spent five years leading the development of a 3-D virtual world modeling the Roman emperor Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli, Italy. The virtual simulation interprets the entire 250 acres and the more than 30 buildings of the second-century site.
Using a live 3-D multi-user online learning environment, visitors can interactively explore the entire villa complex. A related website documents the state of the site today and gives the scholarly background needed to understand the virtual simulation.
