Jacobsen, J. K., Murro, G., Presicce, C. P., Raja, R., Saxkjær, S. G. & Vitti, M. (2021). "High-Definition Urban Narratives from Central Rome: Virtual Reconstructions of the Past and the New Caesar's Forum Excavations", Journal of Urban Archaeology 3, 65-86. DOI: doi.org/10.1484/J.JUA.5.123676.

Abstract

Since 2017, excavations have taken place on Caesar’s Forum in Rome. The area holds archaeological evidence covering three thousand years of Rome’s prehistory and historical periods. The excavations offer wide-ranging research possibilities connected to the urban development of one of the classical world’s pivotal city centres. However, the location’s centrality also offers challenges when transforming the vast bulk and complex nature of the archaeological data into scientific publications, while also making the results accessible to the public. This article presents results from the first excavation phases within a best-practice Open Data strategy embedded into the project from its outset. The applied methods and techniques ensure that traditional, analogue scientific publications are supplemented with online access to the excavation’s raw data, high-resolution illustrations, and 3-D reconstructions obtained through laser scans and photogrammetry.