Digital Archaeology

Digital Archaeology Workshop with Bernard Frischer

Come to Rome this summer for a two-week intensive course on the new field of Digital Archaeology!

When: July 16-July 31, 2011

With: Professor Bernard Frischer, Director, Virtual World Heritage Laboratory
Assisted by: Matt Brennan, Virtual World Heritage Laboratory

Study digital archaeology amidst the ruins of Rome.

Workshop Description: Digital archaeologists play important roles in all phases of a typical archaeological project including information collection and processing during fieldwork, analysis during the study season, and interpretation and publication in print or online when the research is ready to be communicated to the scholarly or general public.

Schedule Format: Most days, the class will meet three hours from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. There is a mandatory laboratory each day (except when we are on day trips) from 2:00 to 5:00 pm. There will be field trips to Hadrian’s Villa (2 days). The focus of the course will be a project to create 3D digital models of the current state of statues from Hadrian’s Villa and the major architectural complexes of the site.

Professor Bernard Frischer is the Director of the Virtual World Heritage Laboratory. A pioneer in this field, he has received two lifetime achievement awards.

His lab’s projects include:

• Rome Reborn
• The Digital Sculpture Project
• The Digital Hadrian’s Villa Project

The following topics will be highlighted:

→Digital photography (including panoramic photography)for site documentation
→Georeferencing digital photographs for web publication
→On-site survey of elevations using a laser distometer
→CAD for documentation of archaeological remains
→3D modeling for restoration and reconstruction of archaeological remains
→3D data capture ("scanning") for documentation of archaeological data using image-based modeling.


Introductory lessons will be given in the use of the following software:
1.    Adobe Photoshop
2.    Autodesk AutoCad
3.    AutoDesk 3D Studio Max
4.    Flickr
5.    Google Sketchup
6.    Meshlab
7.    3DSOM, Arc3D, AutoDesk Photo Scene Editor

Arrival/Departure Dates: July 16th – July 31st, 2011

Workshop Dates:  Monday through Friday, July 16 – 29, 2011

Cost: $2500.00 (minimum 10 participants)
**This includes tuition, accommodations in shared student apartments, museum/ site ticketing and travel related to course, transfer to and from airport, 2 informal group dinners and the rental of an Italian cellular phone with Italian SIM.


Application deadline: March 15, 2011

Application Materials: One letter of recommendation from a university professor (delivered separately by professor), Statement of Purpose (A 300 word personal statement stating your interest and objectives for participating in the course )

Applications should be submitted via email to: studyabroad@romanculture.org

Space is limited; enroll early.

Course Materials Requirements:

• A Laptop running Windows Vista or Windows 7 (or a Mac with Bootcamp for Windows would be acceptable). This machine should have at least 2 GB of RAM (ideally 4 GB), 100 GB of free space on the internal hard disk, with a decent video card. If the battery lasts under four hours, students should bring a backup battery. The laptop must be loaded with the following software, typically available at a student discount in your college bookstore: AutoDesk AutoCAD, AutoDesk 3D Studio Max; Adobe Photoshop (full version, not Photoshop Elements). AutoDesk AutoCAD, AutoDesk 3D Studio Max; Adobe Photoshop (full version, not Photoshop Elements). Students should also download the following freeware onto their laptops before coming to Italy: Flickr (set up an online account and download the laptop module), Google Sketchup, Meshlab; Arc3D, Photo Scene Editor.
• A digital camera, ideally a SLR with GPS (but this is optional) with a minimum of 10 GB of storage.
• A hand-held GPS device at least as good as a Garmin eTrex H ($99.99).
• At least 2 EU plug adapters for their US-purchased electronic equipment.
• A backpack big enough to carry their laptop, digital camera, and GPS.

** The American Institute for Roman Culture is a non-profit 501(c)3 scientific and educational organization dedicated to cultural heritage and academics in the fields of archaeology, art history, and conservation. The Institute is pleased this offer intensive programming in conjunction with one of the field’s leading professional authorities on digital archaeology. The course is designed primarily for professional and personal enrichment and consists of 65 hours of intensive learning contact hours. The Institute expects continuing education credits to be available for classroom teachers and other professionals. Instructors will issue a final “grade” of complete or incomplete based on the following criteria: class attendance, participation in lecture activities, discussions and labs. Upon successful completion of this course, the participant will receive a certificate from the American Institute for Roman Culture (AIRC). Those seeking academic credit from their home university should speak with their department chair or study abroad department to determine what additional costs or criteria would need to be addressed. For further questions, please contact Shelley Ruelle, the Programming Director at AIRC.