Rebuilt Romans Blog

Watching a Roman Play in a Virtual Rome

2012-01-28T23:27:00.000-08:00

Today inside the online world of Second Life, a group of virtual Romans watched a play about Ceres and Persephone. It was written and performed by members of ROMA, a reconstruction of ancient Rome, which also houses a full scale reconstruction of the fort at Binchester.

Cross-posted at Vinovium.org

Binchester in New Archaeology Magazine

2011-02-12T17:20:00.000-08:00

* cross posted at http://www.vinovium.org/ *

A new archaeology web magazine called ELECTRUM has just hit the virtual stands, and an article on Bichester is one of its featured stories. It was written by Binchester directors Gary Devore and Michael Shanks and gives a brief overview of the history of the site and the latest (2010) season. It can be found at this link:

http://www.electrummagazine.com/2010/12/edges-of-empire-the-new-excavations-at-binchester-roman-town-uk/

Binchester Field School Now Taking Applications

2011-01-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

* cross posted at http://www.vinovium.org/ *

The Binchester Project is currently taking applications for its 2011 season (July 3-30). Please see this page if you would like to apply as a student or volunteer. The deadline for the first round of applicants is 15 March, 2011. A second deadline of 15 April will be held if we still have spaces available.

(Current Stanford students wishing to apply should navigate to this page instead of the one linked above.)

Binchester Kiln Replication in the News

2011-01-20T17:25:00.000-08:00

* cross posted at http://www.vinovium.org/ *

We will post shortly some more details about our initial attempt to replicate a Romano-British pottery kiln from Binchester on Stanford Campus. In the meantime, here is a link to a story the Stanford Report did today: Stanford archaeologist shows how the Romans made pottery in Britain

Virtual Binchester Part of Beta Web Testing

2010-10-18T17:26:00.000-07:00

* cross posted at http://www.vinovium.org/ *

Normally, the virtual world platform Second Life (SL) is accessed by a stand-alone program. Linden Lab, the company that runs SL, is currently beta testing a java plug-in that will allow visitors to access the world with just a web browser. ROMA, the ancient Roman land that houses a full scale reproduction of the Binchester fort, is one of only 30 places chosen for this beta testing.

Over the next few weeks, beta testers will be able to access ROMA and visit all of its attractions, including the virtual Binchester reconstruction, with only a web browser running the latest version of Java. The program is code named “Skylight”. ROMA and the Binchester build are charter locations for this exciting step forward, which if successful, will definitely give people unable or unwilling to download a program still visit the reconstruction.

This evening, I accessed the Binchester reconstruction using just a Firefox browser. It worked seamlessly. I also wandered over to the other buildings and attractions in ROMA. More details as this program develops.

2010-08-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Radio broadcast on "The Perplexing Task of Archiving Virtual Worlds" from Maryland Public Radio.

http://mdmorn.wordpress.com/2010/05/03/53102-the-perplexing-task-of-archiving-virtual-worlds/

"Library archives are full of old newspapers on microfilm, early popular music on 78 r.p.m. discs, and old radio broadcasts on reel to reel tape. But what if someone 50 years from now wants to study the virtual world Second Life? How in the world do you archive a virtual world? Nathan talks to two people who are trying. Kari Kraus, assistant professor at the University of Maryland’s College of Information Studies, and Rachel Donahue, one of Kari’s doctoral students, are part of the Preserving Virtual Worlds project."

Virtual Binchester Day

2010-07-25T17:30:00.000-07:00

* cross posted at http://www.vinovium.org/ *

On July25 2010, six Binchester excavation students sat in a room in Durham University and logged into Second Life® (SL), the virtual world. In virtual form they attended a “Binchester Day” inside a virtual reconstruction of the very fort they were currently excavating.

The reconstruction is part of major initiative between the Binchester Project and ROMA, a community of Roman enthusiasts inside Second Life. ROMA is an ancient Roman themed land within the online world of SL where thousands of people from around the world log in to visit a virtual reconstruction of an ancient Roman city and its landscape. They do many things there, including socialize, shop, play games, attend events, and learn about the ancient world.

The Binchester students in virtual form met with ROMA Citizens for a question and answer session about the season that lasted over an hour. The Citizens asked questions about what it was like excavating on an archaeological project, and the students explained what had been found so far on the site. The talk was held in the reconstructed Principia (Headquarters) building in the fort. Afterward, students and Citizens attended a social event.

The virtual reconstruction of the fort gives the Binchester Project an online outreach program that will assist in publicizing the project and disseminating its findings and research to an international audience. The computer recreation of the fort and civilian settlement (vicus) gives visitors an idea of the look and character of the site from anywhere in the world. It is now possible to walk an avatar around a reconstructed Roman fort, and interactive displays, activities, and attractions bring the story of Binchester and the details of what the excavators are finding to visitors.

More mixed-media events are planned in this space for the coming months.

To learn how to access Second Life, look here: http://romacitizens.com/howtoaccessroma.html

To visit the Binchester reconstruction once inside Second Life, look here: http://slurl.com/secondlife/ROMA%20Vinovium////

Binchester in Virtual Worlds

2010-04-22T19:50:00.001-07:00

Over the last year, I've been working with avatar Torin Golding inside the online virtual world of Second Life. Torin owns and manages a large recreation community based on the ancient Roman world. We've joined with him in adding two sims (virtual islands) to his large estate where Torin will build the project a full-scale reproduction of the Binchester fort and vicus. It will contain a wide range of interactive displays and exhibits helping visitors to learn about the site and the history of Roman Britain.

We've been putting this virtual reconstruction program together for many months and are happy it is finally starting! Stay tuned for more updates on the program and check out Torin's community web blog at http://romacitizens.blogspot.com/

The Binchester Virtual Worlds Project

2010-03-03T23:35:00.000-08:00

Otherwise known as what I will be working on this summer

Earth Has Been Broken!

2009-06-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Students from the University of Durham have begun to excavate in the fort of Binchester. Some enigmatic archaeology has already emerged, including the remains of a possible barracks block and Late Roman tower. The finds may be suggesting that we have some tantalizing evidence for refining our Late Roman - Medieval chronologies in the area. Check out Dave's blog for the details and the latest info.

Join me in Second Life!

2009-05-21T23:11:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

You can find me now in Second Life. Known as SonOf Jupiter (I love that I could get this classical name), you can join me in investigating the reconstruction of the commandant's bath house that I found.

Learn about Second Life and download the free client here.

Durham Binchester Blog

2009-05-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

David Petts from Durham University has been posting some great images and information at http://binchester.blogspot.com/. It is a great source of information on the state of the project. And the images sure make me homesick again for the north of England!

Be sure to click the 'Follow' button to keep up on David's news.

Ancient Rome on Google Earth

2009-05-19T23:49:00.000-07:00

Google earth now supports a special layer that allows you to view a 3D reconstruction of ancient Rome. It is not as detailed as the Plastico model in the Museo della Civilta Romana, but it is great to be able to see a real-time version of the urban environment. The layer was developed along with the Rome Reborn project from the University of Virginia.

You can learn more about the layer and download it HERE.

Binchester Virtual Reconstruction

2009-05-19T23:42:00.000-07:00

This is a short video that illustrates what is possible within the virtual world platform of Second Life. It is a reconstruction of the baths building at Binchester.

Welcome!

2009-05-19T23:34:00.000-07:00

Greetings everyone! This space will be a place where I'll be blogging about several of my current academic interests:

Binchester
Hadrian's Wall
Roman civilian settlements in the Frontier Zone (vici)
Virtual reconstructions of antiquity

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