The Virtual Garden
Despite the increasing implementation of virtual reality (VR) in the field of archaeology, there is a continued focus on preservation and 3D reconstruction rather than more in-depth applications afforded by VR.
We propose an extended methodology for presenting archaeological, art historical, and didactic information in VR—focusing on experientiality and presence for use in access, research, education, and outreach. First, we present a simple 3D scene containing a state model of the so-called Garden Room from the Villa of Livia. In this virtual environment, we apply a framework that allows disparate primary and secondary written, visual, and audio sources to be referenced while a user is immersed in the scene.
Second, we utilize the unique power of real-time visualization engines and vegetation modeling software to construct a 3D version of the 2D parietal garden. This approach represents a departure from traditional reconstruction in that it is the creation of an entirely fictional space derived from Roman iconographic tradition—one which could never exist in the real world. We argue that the ability to move between these two scenes (augmented reconstruction and iconographic creation) presents a marked improvement on traditional methods of viewing this architectural space.
Historic Context
An etching depicting the discovery of the paintings in 1863.
The subterranean room at the Villa of Prima Porta (ad Gallinas Albas) with the paintings.
“…there was discovered towards the east, in the proximity of the substructures a room with painted walls in a good condition representing fruit trees, and flowers, with various birds, the vault completely ruined, and the stuccoes which used to surround them found amongst the rubble which filled the room.”
- A report sent to the Pontifical State upon discovery of the paintings
Previous Treatments of the Garden Paintings
Despite depicting a scene of incredible depth and life, and indeed itself being a three-dimensional space, there have been few, if any, analyses of the spatial qualities of the garden paintings. Giulia Caneva (1999) presents a diagrammatic plan that attempts to position the flora spatially (below left), however the majority of treatments of the garden room present tables or inventories of flora and fauna that are drastically disconnected from the vibrant imagery of the space (below right).
Caneva (1999) “Ipotesi sul significato simbolico del giardino dipinto della Villa di Livia”
Caneva (2013) “Botanic analysis of Livia’s villa painted flora”
A New Spatial Reconstruction and Visualization
It is clear that the garden paintings depict an accurate, if imaginary, garden space. The treatment of the trees, flowers, and birds is highly realistic and it is possible to immediately recognize a number of species from the Italic Peninsula. The artists of the garden paintings were clearly striving for realism, despite the fact that the scenes are rendered without perspectival depth - leading to some difficulty in deducing the dimensions of the garden.
Reconstructed plan of the gardens
Transverse perspective
The garden consists of four “planes” of depth: the covered and paved area where the viewer stands, the dirt path and wattle fence, the lawn and low marble balustrade, and finally the unruly tangle of shrubs and cypresses beyond.
The three-dimensional reconstruction model (above left) begins with the dimensions of the barrel-vaulted triclinium room and derives the heights of the balustrade and fence, and the widths of the path and lawn, from relative sizing compared to the entrance doorway, flowering plants, and trees.
The Virtual Reality Reconstruction
