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Experts from around the world have just unveiled what they called the largest and most complete simulation of Rome, digitally recreating the city as it appeared at the peak of its power. ‘Rome Reborn 1.0’ shows almost the entire city within the 13-mile-long Aurelian Walls as it appeared in 320 A.D.

The Forum, the marketplace and center of ancient Rome, showing the front of the Rostra where politicians addressed the citizens. The tall column in the center of the Forum plaza is the Column of Phocas, standing 75 feet high, and the tallest honorary column in the forum.

When in virtual Rome, visitors can do even more than ancient Romans did — they can tour through the innards of the Colosseum, filled with lion cages and primitive elevators without fear as some Romans had, and gain a detailed look at bas-reliefs and inscriptions placed atop triumphal arches, reports Daily Mail.

The simulation shows Rome at the time of the emperor Constantine, reconstructing approximately 7,000 buildings of a pulsating cosmopolitan city of about 1 million people, said Bernard Frischer of the University of Virginia, who led the project.

Made possible by laser scans of Rome today and advice from archaeologists, experts have rebuilt almost the entire city within its 13-mile-long (21 kilometer) wall using the same computer programs architects use to plan new constructions, said Frischer, who heads Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities.

The back steps of the Rostra with columns capped by statues of famous leaders.

The simulation reconstructs the interior of about 30 buildings — including the Senate, the Colosseum and the basilica built by the emperor Maxentius — complete with frescoes and decorations.

Advice from a panel of archaeologists allowed experts to show statues and monuments as they would appear without the dark smudges left by pollution. They were also able to recreate with a ‘high probability’ of accuracy buildings that are now almost completely in ruins, such as the temple dedicated to the goddesses Venus and Roma and the Meta Sudans, a fountain that stood near the Colosseum, Frischer said.

Many of the city’s 7,000 buildings can be seen in this shot with the Claudian aqueduct in the foreground, bringing water to the imperial palace. In center is the Flavian Amphitheatre or Colosseum. To the right is the Ludus Magnus, a training facility for gladiators, which is linked to the Amphitheatre by a tunnel that still exists today.

The Colosseum as it stands today. Photo Kevin Mathews

The $2 million ‘Rome Reborn’ simulation was created over 10 years by an international team of archaeologists, architects and computer specialists from the University of Virginia and the Los Angeles branch of the University of California, as well research institutes in Italy, Germany and Britain, Frischer stated.

The simulation will be useful for scientists to run experiments such as determining crowd capacity of the ancient buildings, as a new form of scholarly journal that will be updated each time a new discovery is made on one of Rome’s ancient wonders.

“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.” said Frischer.

The Arch of Constantine (right), the monumental fountain Meta Sudans (left) and the Flavian Amphitheatre, known as The Colosseum.

Sections of the simulation are available on the Internet. The Web site only offers images and videos of the simulation, since allowing simultaneous access to potentially thousands of users would require enormous bandwidth, Frischer said. He added that talks have begun with Linden Labs, based in San Francisco, California, to make the entire simulation available on the Internet through the company’s virtual world “Second Life.”

A group of private companies also plans to open a theater near the Colosseum in April 2008 that will feature interactive, 3D animations based on the simulation, Rome officials said.

The original simulation does not include any characters, but the commercial project would be populated by thousands of figures, some of them based on skeletons and other archaeological finds unearthed in Rome and across Italy.

Video clips and still images of “Rome Reborn 1.0″ can be viewed on their simulation website.

Ancient Rome
A montage of photos taken at the Colosseum and Roman Forum in ancient Rome, Italy in late July, 2006.

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