tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post972804776550683001..comments2023-10-09T08:27:00.711-07:00Comments on Archaeopop: The Past in Popular Culture: Google Street View comes to Pompeii! Can we rebury it now?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-48520908831882380412009-12-15T01:41:58.320-08:002009-12-15T01:41:58.320-08:00Thanks all for the comments.
@ RWillems: I like ...Thanks all for the comments. <br /><br />@ RWillems: I like your idea, and I think that's the way archaeology will go - the only question is whether it'll be done by archaeologists or by entertainment companies (which is why archaeologists need to get involved!)<br /><br />@ Anonymous 1: Of course we should record the site in as much detail as possible. But stop for a minute and think about the time and cost required to record an entire city, wall by wall, with a laser scanner. There is also the fact that a lot of other kinds of studies - of the actual material itself - can also give us information. The material record is the heart of archaeology! We can't archive all of it but we must protect some.<br /><br />@Anonymous 2: I'd love to see more use of roofs and domes over sites myself, though I can hear certain of my colleagues gnashing their teeth already. The challenge is not to detract from the experience of the place with whatever intervention you decide on. And for a site the size of Pompeii (a whole city!), roofing the whole thing would be an astonishingly expensive proposition.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329252557621925902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-59310991488774176422009-12-14T18:07:44.779-08:002009-12-14T18:07:44.779-08:00Why not re-roof it so people can see what it was a...Why not re-roof it so people can see what it was actually like? Or enclose it in a biosphere dome? Have a theater where people can see the 3D site creations, as well. If some parts, like the frescoes, really need to be closed off, then people could at least see them in the natural surroundings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-71736773112452455832009-12-08T16:34:10.727-08:002009-12-08T16:34:10.727-08:00I think you have it backwards. Why not use 3d tech...I think you have it backwards. Why not use 3d technology to compose a detailed record of the site, for archaeology etc;. Record all the data in a 3d record and once you've gleaned all you can off it; forgo the preservation and open it for tourism.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-30037506440689404052009-12-06T10:05:15.620-08:002009-12-06T10:05:15.620-08:00As an archaeologist with a past in game developmen...As an archaeologist with a past in game development, I agree that there can and should be more 3D site recreations. With the easy availability of open-source and/or free-to-use 3D engines and modeling tools, the cost comes down to the actual work of recording, modeling, and distributing the recreation. In many cases this cost would be far less than the cost of physically maintaining and preserving sites in the open air for tourists to walk through. I think this would be a great way for archaeologists to better share sites with the public while keeping the physical impact to a site to a minimum. Also, this would open up the experience of walking through a site to people who couldn't afford to travel there physically. Imagine an 8th grade classroom in Iowa taking a virtual walking tour through ancient Pompeii, or a reconstruction of their own hometown as it appeared every 50 years since it was founded.Russell Alleen-Willemshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10893438617665742175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-35384300730521320202009-12-06T09:20:47.268-08:002009-12-06T09:20:47.268-08:00I totally understand the desire to catalog every p...I totally understand the desire to catalog every possible element of the past, it's very strong in me, but at the same time, spiritually there is a very diseased, materialistic element to this mentality. Hence the modern angle of ruins being a stand-in for god. No wonder people have such a hard time finding direction though you know?SEANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18236717038521645585noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-1353375980549951432009-12-06T02:00:45.114-08:002009-12-06T02:00:45.114-08:00I recently read a book* that suggested that we fet...I recently read a book* that suggested that we fetishize the authenticity of ruins as a replacement for God. (A source of truth, purity, mystic experience, etc.) I agree. Ruins are not God. They should be used for our present day needs, including entertainment. And of course, time passes, so new things become archaeological. <br /><br />But 'thorough documentation' is not so easy as it seems - especially since technology is changing so fast. I think it's better to archive (through reburial) large portions of sites like Pompeii so that we have a source of material to work from the science side in the future. <br /><br />I'd still love to see parts of sites like Pompeii re-roofed and turned into a more experiential environment. For instance, they should serve wine in some of those ancient bars that Steve Ellis has documented! (http://bit.ly/4Q5AsL and http://bit.ly/8WTTXx)<br /><br /><br />*Charles Lindholm, _Culture and Authenticity_, Wiley-Blackwell, 2008.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329252557621925902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4930082701296988435.post-4269228107372792642009-12-05T17:22:06.172-08:002009-12-05T17:22:06.172-08:00I'd argue that reburying goes against about 20...I'd argue that reburying goes against about 200 basic human nature tenants & that conservation of ruins is one of the more absurd ideas i've heard. Recreation & transformation into theme parks, yes, but to have falling apart ruins to visit, while i'm sure it's nice, as long as they have been thoroughly documented, who cares if they fall apart? As we both know, ruins crop up in all sorts of places.SEANhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18236717038521645585noreply@blogger.com