Gareth Beale

Virtual relighting of a Roman statue head from Herculaneum: a case study

High-fidelity computer graphics offer the possibility for archaeologists to put excavated cultural heritage artefacts virtually back into their original setting and illumination conditions. This enables hypotheses about the perception of objects and their environments to be investigated in a safe and controlled manner. This paper presents a case study of the pipeline for the acquisition, modelling, rapid prototyping and virtual relighting of a Roman statue head preserved at Herculaneum in Italy. The statue head was excavated in 2006, after having been buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79.

4 Community-Driven Approaches to Open Source Archaeological Imaging

During the previous decade the use of two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) imaging techniques in Archaeology has developed at great speed, from being virtually unknown to being a conventional part of the archaeological toolkit. Imaging techniques are frequently used for the documentation and analysis of archaeological material. This trend has been facilitated by the falling costs of devices and software which allow imaging data to be captured, processed and analysed. However, in spite of these rapid declines in cost, these tools remain inaccessible to large parts of the archaeological research community. Digital imaging techniques often remain costly in comparison to traditional forms of archaeological recording and analysis. The acquisition of hardware and software can represent an unrealistic level of investment for less well funded groups working within research, voluntary or commercial sectors. These nancial barriers are further compounded by limitations on expert knowledge required to capture and e ectively use these data within research methodologies. The advent of free and open source imaging software has the capacity to disrupt this pattern. Techniques such as Re ectance Transformation Imaging (RTI), photogrammetry, and multi-spectral imaging can now be undertaken with little or no investment in additional equipment (Downing et al., 2012; Jordan and Angelopoulou, 2010). However despite the availability of these tools there remain considerable barriers to uptake and consistent use. Methodologies are often written for audiences with a degree of expert knowledge which e ectively precludes use by those with little or no specialist knowledge of imaging. Even where this is not the case, as groups often remain unaware of imaging technologies or the potential impact which theymight have for their work. This paper will argue that the proliferation of open and inexpensive technology represents a unique opportunity to expand and to normalise the use of imaging techniques which have typically been seen as inaccessible and requiring expert knowledge. Furthermore it will argue that the use of open source software within archaeology can, if properly supported, lead to the development of toolswhichmore e ectively

Viking VR : Designing a Virtual Reality Experience for a Museum

Viking VR is a Virtual Reality exhibit through which viewers can experience the sights and sounds of a 9th Century Viking encampment. Created as part of a major museum exhibition, the experience was developed by an interdisciplinary team consisting of artists, archaeologists, curators and researchers. In this paper, approaches to the design of authentic, informative and compelling VR experiences for Cultural Heritage contexts are discussed. We also explore issues surrounding interaction design for the long-term deployment of VR experiences in museums and discuss the challenges of VR authoring workflows for interdisciplinary teams.