Fly through Ancient Rome

by Derry Nairn

Google have implemented an exciting version of their Google Earth software that allows users to explore a virtual version of Ancient Rome in three dimensions. Other 'virtual maps' exist but this is the most thorough and usable version we at History Today have come across.

The following video offers a brief glimpse of what is possible using the application. A quick tour of three sites - the Colusseum, the Basillica Julia and the Temple of Vesta - demonstrate that users can not only see the physical, external landscape of the city, but details such as stucco and marbling of interiors as well.



The project was co-ordinated with the team behind the Rome Reborn 3d model, created at the University of Virginia in the United States. They backed up Google technology with archaeological and contextual data, which is accessible from within the map application.

For more information on using Google Earth, please click here.