Students dig 3-D antiquity

0 Comments | Insight on the News, Sept 22, 1997 | by Siran Babayan

But even scholars seem to enjoy the ancient world in colorful three-dimensional cyberspace.

Julius Caesar celebrated his 2,097th birthday July 13 by chatting on-line. The famous Roman ruler spoke about his life and times to history enthusiasts, teachers, students and other eager chat-room visitors gathered at AncientSites, a new history-oriented World Wide Web site.

AncientSites literally brings the past to life, allowing Web browsers to tour ancient Rome as it was thousands of years ago. Athens, Babylon and Machu Picchu may have disappeared or lay in ruins, but cyberspace artists can render them anew in 3-D glory. Visitors can take a virtual guided tour of each city's architectural wonders, including the Tower of Babylon, the Roman Forum and the Athenian Acropolis.

Visitors also can chat with ancient Romans, question officials, vote on referenda and even form governments. Those who want to sharpen their command of ancient history can buff up on the creation of King Nebuchadnezzar II's Hanging Gardens and the astrological significance of Egyptian and Babylonian calendars.

Launched this spring after two years of research, AncientSites (http://www.AncientSites.com) is the brainchild of CyberSites, a developer of graphic-oriented, on-line communities founded by Columbia University architecture professors Eden Muir and Rory O'Neill, and New York investor Laurent Ohana. According to Muir, the idea for creating AncientSites grew out of SPQR -- Latin for Senatus Populusque Romanus -- an on-line whodunit game developed by Cybersites in which players learn about the Roman Empire while solving mysteries and preventing a mysterious saboteur named Calamitus from destroying Rome in the year 205 A.D. SPQR's on-line version also offers detailed 3-D graphics, and the CD-ROM includes a soundtrack as well as more than 600 images of ancient Rome.

"The response was very positive and convinced us that there was an educational opportunity," says Muir, "so we said if we can do it for Rome, let's do it for Greece and Babylon." By combining educational content with interactive games, AncientSites seeks to build a community among its more than 5,000 registered users. History scholars and novices can meet, exchange ideas and learn from each other at the site.

"We see all kinds of evidence of a Roman revival with tens of thousands of students interested in AncientSites and SPQR and immersing themselves in a 3-D world as opposed to singleview reconstructions," Muir tells Insight. "The content crosses cultural lines, and the historical concept and compelling 3-D graphics are universal." AncientSites plans to add a Mayan city and ancient Egypt to its list of cyber destinations.

AncientSites even has stimulated learning among its youngest users. According to Muir, more than 60 high-school teachers across the country are modeling their curriculum after AncientSites and SPQR. Muir's team of architects, software developers, researchers and design experts based their reconstructions on the most recent archeological blueprints, making AncientSites as authentic as possible.

But will all this cutting-edge technology replace regular instruction? "I don't think it will ever do that," says Muir, adding that he has no intention of usurping textbooks with the slash and dash of the Internet.

"Ninety percent of students in the American school system are never introduced to history in a lively, fun way," he' explains. "We're hoping that AncientSites will be the mechanism to do that and to introduce to students who might otherwise ignore ancient history."