Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
What would it be like to take a historically accurate stroll down the streets of an ancient city? Through increasingly sophisticated virtual reality (VR) technologies, motion graphics and the committed work and research of 3D modellers, such an immersive educational experience may soon be possible. The team behind History in 3D is working to bring this concept to life through its ambitious project to ‘create the most extensive, detailed and accurate virtual 3D reconstruction of ancient Rome’. Eventually, the team hopes to allow users to explore a historically accurate rendering of the city, and perhaps beyond, via VR technology.
Today, viewers can watch excerpts from this expansive work-in-progress on the History in 3D YouTube channel. In this extract, titled Virtual Ancient Rome: Walking from the Colosseum to the Forum, we’re led on a gentle digital stroll between these two landmarks, in the 4th century CE, with views of several other notable sites along the way. While it’s but a glimpse into the larger, more ambitious endeavour, the video is a fascinating experience in its own right, and hints at the promise of historical reconstructions to come.
Video by History in 3D
video
Religion
Hear from blasphemes, sceptics and free-thinkers in this ‘tour of medieval unbelief’
52 minutes
video
Ecology and environmental sciences
The ancient Hawaiian myth that sparked a modern ecological breakthrough
10 minutes
video
Art
The irreverent duo who thumbed their noses at the Soviet Union and the US art world
11 minutes
video
Computing and artificial intelligence
A scientist’s poor eyesight helped fuel a revolution in computer ‘vision’
9 minutes
video
Future of technology
Is this the future of space travel? Take a luxury ‘cruise’ across the solar system
6 minutes
video
Fairness and equality
A tragicomic account of how the Los Angeles Police Department blew up a city block
19 minutes
video
Stories and literature
A French Creole folktale nearly lost to time is given new, gorgeously animated life
6 minutes
video
Deep time
When algae met fungi – the hidden story of life’s most successful partnership
4 minutes
video
Personality
Why cleaning up crime scenes requires a rare mix of grit and empathy
9 minutes