Beyond Virtual Replicas: 3D Modeling and Maltese Prehistoric Architecture

In the past decade, computer graphics have become strategic for the development of projects aimed at the interpretation of archaeological evidence and the dissemination of scientific results to the public. Among all the solutions available, the use of 3D models is particularly relevant for the reconstruction of poorly preserved sites and monuments destroyed by natural causes or human actions. These digital replicas are, at the same time, a virtual environment that can be used as a tool for the interpretative hypotheses of archaeologists and as an effective medium for a visual description of the cultural heritage. In this paper, the innovative methodology and aims and outcomes of a virtual reconstruction of the Borg in-Nadur megalithic temple, carried out by Archeomatica Project of the University of Catania, are offered as a case study for a virtual archaeology of prehistoric Malta. 1. Virtual Archaeology: The Future of the Past In the last fifty years, the growing use of computer applications has become a main feature in cultural heritage preservation policies [1, 2]. Since the 1990s when computer science was oriented towards the creation of tools and solutions for the archive and management of quantitative data, to the current development of virtual models and the dissemination of knowledge, computer applications came to embrace a true theoretical approach for the problems of archaeology. Indeed, digital tools are now able to direct interpretative models and affect the language and contents of the study of the past. Nowadays, among all the branches of computer science, computer graphics are the more effective tool for dealing with cultural contents [3]. Their importance lie in the four main steps of the archaeological process: fieldwork, recording, interpreting, and dissemination of results. Although during an excavation the technological applications are mainly restricted to the use of laser scanners and 3D GIS, where archaeologists can be considered as mere “users”, in the moment of decoding ancient data and in the subsequent phase of encoding and simplifying them, research strategies and goals of archaeology and computer science may converge [4]. In this perspective, the digital solution appears today as the most successful strategy for passing on our shared heritage to future generations. Heritage is considered to encompass more than the archaeological retrieval of past material evidence. It also includes tradition, artistic expression, and cultural evidence. UNESCO defines heritage as “our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we