News - Presenting the Past in the Present

Reconstruction of the Phase 3 shipsheds by Brian Klejn-Christensen (3D modelling), Mette Schaldemose (Data: roof structure) and Bjoern Loven (Data: slipways, walls and column shafts).

Author: Bjoern Loven

Our aim is to create a more personalised, interactive learning environment. The focus on 3D and Virtual Reality recording of the geophysical characteristics of the landscape in and around the Piraeus and architectural structures of the ancient harbours is borne of the need for archaeologically valid models that do not mix facts and fiction. Such visualisation and interpretive tools can be applied both in the archaeological research community, and in such learning environments as schools, museums and other public spaces.

To the right you see our first reconstruction of the Phase 3 shipsheds (375-350 BC). It is our aim to program a online 3D engine that will allow you to explore reconstructions like this, and make the environment so real that you can hear the surfs drone against the ramps and hear the seagulls.

We also intend to present our survey data as 3D models in an online program, where you can access the data in 3D, like in programs such as MicroStation, AutoCAD and Rhino, instead of consulting traditional flat sections and plans presented in paper publication. Adding the third dimension to archaeological publications will be a major scientific step forward in our field, as it will allow the user to test our data and our conclusions – the very core principle of any hard science.