'Virtual time machine' reconstructs ancient Rome

Last Updated: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 | 11:24 AM ET

CBC Arts

Computer experts unveiled a digital reproduction of ancient Rome on Monday that simulates the ancient city over a span of several centuries.

The simulation allows visitors to crawl through the bowels of the Colosseum, lined with lion cages, and fly up to circle the bas-reliefs and inscriptions on top of its arches at a time when the building was untouched by time.

This simulated view of the Colosseum, untouched by time, is part of the Rome Reborn project, unveiled Monday.
(Rome Reborn project/Associated Press)

It cost more than $2 million US and took 10 years to create the digital model, said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who led the project.

"This is the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and many other great cities around the world," Frischer said in an interview with CBC Radio.

"The idea is to show the whole urban form and evolution of the city from the first settlements in the late Bronze Age until the peak of its development in the fourth and fifth century and then the decline because of some terrible wars and the end of the Roman empire in the sixth century AD," he said.

Computer experts worked with architects and archeologists and laser scans of modern-day Rome to rebuild the entire city within its original 20-kilometre wall, using the same software architects use to design buildings.

Scientists from the U.S., Italy, Germany and Britain collaborated on the project, which was unveiled in Rome on Monday.

The Rome Reborn project shows the interiors of buildings such as the Senate, the Colosseum and a basilica built by the emperor Maxentius.

Even buildings that are now in ruins, such as a temple dedicated to the goddesses Venus and Roma and a fountain that stood near the Colosseum, are shown in perfect detail.

Students and tourists will be able to use the program to learn about ancient Rome, but the simulation will be used primarily for scientific and archeological study.