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University of Alberta Accuracy and Actuality in the Virtual Reconstruction of an Archaeological Site: A Case Study featuring Roccagloriosa by Kristin Elizabeth Soucey A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Humanities Computing Edmonton, Alberta Spring 2009 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-54622-2 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-54622-2 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. ••I Canada Abstract Advances in computer technology coupled with the use of computational methods for dissemination of archaeological data has led to an increase in the number of virtual reconstructions of archaeological sites. There are numerous advantages in the use of these reconstructions; however, accuracy and actuality are often surrendered for the benefit of photorealism and the desire to present a "complete" virtual reconstruction. The current research addresses the need for accuracy and actuality in the virtual reconstructions of archaeological sites through the use of colour and transparency. The archaeological site of Roccagloriosa, located in southeastern Italy, was chosen based on the large extent of excavations and the availability of data. The resulting virtual reconstruction differentiates between what is known from the archaeological record, what is inferred based on the archaeological record and what is purely hypothetical. Acknowledgement The following research would have been impossible without the guidance, patience and support of my supervisor, Dr. Helena Fracchia. Thank you, Helena, for introducing me to Roccagloriosa. A special thank you to Prof. Maurizio Gualtieri and Hugo, the caretaker of Roccagloriosa, for taking the time to show me around the site and answer my questions. To my family, for never questioning my desire to do another degree, and to B. Ball and T. Head, for respecting my need to balance my work and my studies. Table of Contents Page Chapter 1. Introduction 1 Chapter 2. Roccagloriosa 7 Geography and Geology 9 The Ancient Site 12 Fortification Wall 12 Cemeteries-La Scala 35 Surrounding Sites 38 Importance of the Ancient Site 39 Chapter 3. Virtual Reality in Archaeology 41 Creating a Virtual World 42 Exploring Virtual Worlds 43 Application of Virtual Reality in Archaeology 44 Chapter 4. Methodology 56 Data Collection 56 Data Analysis and Interpretation 57 Digitization 58 3D Reconstruction 58 Fortification Walls and Gates 60 The Towers 62 Central Plateau 63 Southeast Plateau 68 The Carpineto Area 69 The DB Area 69 Northwest Plateau 70 The Carmine Balbi Plateau 71 LaScala 72 Extra-Mural Tombs 74 The Landscape 74 Rendering the 3D Virtual Reconstruction 75 Features Which Exist in the Archaeological Record 75 Features Which Are Inferred to Exist Based on the Archaeological Record 76 Hypothetical Structures and Structural Elements 78 Landscape and Lighting 79 Navigating Virtual Roccagloriosa 79 Chapter 5. Results 81 Chapter 6. Conclusions and Recommendations for Further Work 91 Bibliography 95 List of Figures Page Figure 1. Location of Roccagloriosa, Campania, Italy 8 Figure 2. Habitation Nuclei (in grey) and fortification walls of Roccagloriosa 9 Figure 3. Location of Roccagloriosa between the Mingardo and Bussento Rivers 11 Figure 4. Detail of wall width and construction technique, view north 14 Figure 5. Existing portion of the fortification wall, south of the central gate, view southeast 14 Figure 6. Central Gate, view south 16 Figure 7. Postern gate, view southeast 16 Figure 8. Tower south of the central gate, view north 18 Figure 9. Habitation nuclei, central plateau 20 Figure 10. Complex A, Central Plateau, view southeast 22 Figure 11. Carpineto Area 27 Figure 12. Southeast plateau, 4th century B.C. structure 29 Figure 13. Southeast plateau, view south 29 Figure 14. DB Area, 4th century B.C. structure 31 Figure 15. Northwest plateau, 4th century B.C. structures 33 Figure 16. C. Balbi plateau, 4th century B.C. structures 35 Figure 17. Plan of La Scala 37 Figure 18. View towards the Golfo di Policastro from La Scala, view southwest 39 Figure 19. Completed solid model of Complex A designed in AutoCad. Note that no colour differentiation has been applied at this stage 59 Figure 20. Towers flanking either side of the central gate with the central plateau to the east and the northwest plateau and C. Balbi plateau to the west 61 Figure 21. Complexes A-D, central plateau, view from the southwest 65 Figure 22. Northwest plateau as seen in Blender (on the left) and as rendered (on the right) showing known walls and hypothetical walls, view northeast. 71 Figure 23. La Scala as seen in Blender, view from the west 73 Figure 24. Tomb 19, view northeast 73 Figure 25. South gate with different construction shown by the use of colour, view northeast 76 Figure 26. Complex A on the central plateau showing the three levels of colour and transparency 77 Chapter 1. Introduction Roccagloriosa is a Lucanian site located in the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano on the southwestern coast of Italy. The site has been extensively, but not fully, excavated with a large number of wall and floor surfaces preserved. The site consists of a long fortification wall, several habitation nuclei both inside and outside of the wall, and at least one cemetery area. The site is included within the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Parco Nazionale del Cilento e Vallo di Diano which provides a certain amount of protection from modern developments. The site had been adversely impacted in the past, initially by natural landslide activity as it is in an active geological fault zone, as well as by agricultural activities such as ploughing. Roccagloriosa is currently being developed as an "Archaeological Park" with a trail that visitors follow to visit the site and see the excavated portions of the site in addition to the extant fortification walls. Excavations at Roccagloriosa, and all archaeological sites, results in material culture being moved from a primary or secondary context to a lab, where it is analyzed and catalogued. The spatial relationships between the artifacts and features are recorded in the field as a series of photographs and drawings consisting of plans and elevations. 1 Hypothetical reconstructions of archaeological sites have traditionally been drawn by hand and result in a two dimensional rendering of a site, often as the artist sees it, not necessarily how the archaeologist interprets the site. A number of archaeologists have turned to computer applications for the capturing and dissemination of archaeological data. One method that has been embraced by professionals and the public alike is the virtual reconstruction of archaeological sites. A problem that is well documented, in regards to virtual reconstruction of archaeology sites, is how to accurately portray the archaeological record to the user. Virtual reconstructions of archaeological sites often show a completed view of the sites with very little to no differentiation between that which has been excavated and that which is hypothetical. There is also minimal accompanying literature explaining the decision making processes involved in reconstructing the site. Researchers have lamented the appearance of virtual reconstructions for the sake of virtual reconstructions and the preference for photorealism over actuality (Lock 2003; Addison 2002; Forte 2005). Little to no research has been conducted in the methods for creating a virtual reconstruction that incorporates the archaeological record. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to create a virtual reconstruction of an archaeological site, Roccagloriosa, that clearly differentiates the difference between what is known from the archaeological