REALTIME 3D MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM FOR THE ENJOYMENT AT A DISTANCE OF CULTURAL HERITAGE. A CASE STUDY ON THE CHAMBER TOMBS IN VIA CRISPI, TARANTO

F. Gabellone / M. T. Gianotta
(CNR – IBM – Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage, Lecce, Italy)

The case under study constitutes an example of a “distance museum” for an item of historical and artistic interest. A project in which the preserved structures of the tombs in Via Crispi, belonging to the Magna Graecia necropolis of Taranto, represent the information base for the development of a navigation platform in RealTime3D. This technology makes it possible to experience at a distance an item which, in the current state of affairs, is inaccessible to the public.
At the heart of the RealTime navigation system, which represents the final moment of the entire workflow, is the reconstruction of this hypogeum structure in a fully three-dimensional form. All of this 3D work was carried out using digital photo-modelling and digital photogrammetry. The three-dimensional model was subsequently integrated into the multimedia authoring system, in which all the media available for the item in question (audio, video, VRML, QTVR, VR Object, images, tables, etc.) could be integrated into a single viewing environment. This brought together the descriptions of a historical and critical nature (historical background, relationships with the various contexts in the ancient world, critical analysis, etc.) and the technical and scientific methodologies used for analysis and diagnosis (analysis of the constituent materials, state of conservation, study of the architectural characteristics, etc.). The knowledge base for the item is thus complemented by direct access in the 3D environment to copious archaeometric data, for example relating to the pigments, which may be viewed by a simple click of a mouse. In an interactive environment it is possible to interact with the internal structures of the tomb and search the internal Data Base for architectural drawings, topographical data, ortho-photos and historical documents, but also to explore in QTVR (QuickTime Virtual Reality) all the objects that were found during the excavation.