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Visualising Portus

At a site as large and complex as Portus, it is often hard to work out the building phases of individual structures, or get a feel for the original landscape. The AHRC portus Project is therefore employing a range of visualisation tools to interpret and present the site as it is now and as we believe it was in the past. Computer graphics make the site easier to understand by presenting archaeological findings in an easily comprehensible, but historically accurate format. Continue reading →

Visit to Ostia

Whilst the students were acclimatizing to the Portus heat we took them on a tour of nearby Ostia. This port was directly connected to Portus, with the two operating under the same administration. See more content on our Flickr website. Continue reading →

Cistern simulation

Our reconstruction work on a cistern located on the northern side of the excavation demonstrates our working process. This building had received several phases of archaeological intervention in the past and was subsequently sampled and surveyed by the Portus Project team. In addition dendrochronological data was gathered. A series of computer graphic models were produced as the recording and interpretation of the building has continued. Continue reading →

Reconstruction Methodology part four – Portscape

B. Colour Scheme Excavations beneath the Basilica Portuense by the Soprintendenza di Beni Archeologici di Ostia (Dottssa Lidia Paroli) revealed a sequence of buildings going back to the mid 1st century AD. The outer faces of these brick-faced buildings were covered with reddish, orangeish and yellowish plaster. On this basis it has been assumed that, apart from the temple complex, most buildings would have been decorated in one colour or another. Continue reading →