Virtual archaeology is a term introduced in 1990 by archaeologist and computer scientist
Paul Reilly to describe the use of computer based simulations of
archaeological excavations. Since that time, scientific results related to virtual archaeology were annually discussed, among others, at
Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA). The keyword "visualization" defined the aim of the virtual archaeology in the London Charter Initiative:
Since its introduction, the focus of the term has been extended to explore methods that increase the visibility and accessibility of archaeology. Today it serves as an integration paradigm that allows many modern three-dimensional datasets to be analysed together, taking account preliminary reconstructions of archaeological sites and guiding further investigations, for example through archaeological prospection, historical research or excavation. In this iterative and incremental process, the interpretation and virtual representation of results is only one, albeit important, outcome. Consequently, by using
3D printing
3D printing or additive manufacturing is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer co ...
technologies, results may even be created as physical reality. Such a development was discussed at the first international conference on virtual archaeology, organized by the Department of Eastern Europe and Siberian Archaeology of the
State Hermitage Museum, which took place in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in 2012. A second meeting was held at the State Hermitage Museum in 2015, resulting in a new edited volume, and then in 2018. Next meeting with motto "Revealing the Past, Enriching the Present and Shaping the Future Languages in 2021 was transferred to the Siberian Federal University in Krasnoyarsk.
9
See also
*Computational archaeology
Computational archaeology describes computer-based analytical methods for the study of long-term human behaviour and behavioural evolution. As with other sub-disciplines that have prefixed 'computational' to their name (e.g., computational biol ...
References
{{reflist
Archaeological terminology
Methods in archaeology