A new, interactive 3D reconstruction of ancient Rome gives viewers the opportunity to virtually travel back in time and explore the capital of the Roman Empire during its heyday.

Bernard Frischer, a digital archaeologist at the Luddy School of Information, Computing and Engineering at Indiana University in Bloomington, has been working for decades to create a virtual version of the city. The digital model, called Rome Reborn: Flight over Ancient Rome, was created by education technology company Flyover Zone.

The idea of ​​recreating ancient Rome came to him in 1974, when he was a scholar of the Rome Prize in classics at the American Academy in Rome. During his studies, Frischer visited the Museum of Roman Civilization and saw a physical model of ancient Rome. He decided he could build an improved computer version himself.

Frischer worked with a team of archaeologists and historians for decades to make sure his replica was accurate. He also worked with engineers who scanned the original museum model, scaled from 1 to 25, which forms the basis of the digital city.

The city can be seen from both a bird’s eye view and from the ground. Several historical landmarks can be seen in the images, including the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Lanones of Caracalla and the Roman Forum. Artists have shown what the Western Roman Empire looked like before its collapse began.

In its heyday, Rome had an estimated population of one million, making it one of the most populous cities in Europe. It is thought that there are approximately 7,000 buildings in the city. Source