Top-Down Archaeology with a Geometric Language

Abstract

In this paper we discuss a fast reconstruction of an archaeological site consisting of many different and connected parts. In particular, we discuss the geometric reconstruction of the Domus Flavia and the Domus Augustana, both built by Emperor Domitian on the Palatine hill in Rome, including the adjacent Hippodromus. The Domus Flavia was the official part of the palace, while the Domus Augustana was the emperor’s luxurious private residence. They are the most impressive ruins remaining today on the Palatine. The aim of this paper is to introduce the reader to the power of generative semantics, and to show how fast and easy is the generation of complex VR models if using a generative language. For this purpose, we capitalize on a novel parallel framework for high- performance solid and geometric modeling, that (a) compiles the generating expressions of the model into a dataflow network of concurrent threads, and (b) splits the model into fragments to be distributed to computational nodes and generated independently. We trust that both the language and its kernel are suitable for Cell-BE (Broadband Engine) implementation, that someone believes the reference architecture for advanced modeling, imaging and simulation of next years.

Keywords:

• VR systems and toolkits
• archaeology applications
• architectural design
• CAD