Digital Romans - Reconstructing the Roman past of the Netherlands

Overview

In this Digital Romans - Reconstructing the Roman past of the Netherlands course from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, we will give you an introduction to computational tools to reconstruct buildings and landscapes from the past. 

We will look at the case of the Roman presence in the Netherlands, in particular the forts built along the river Rhine and the surrounding natural and cultural landscape. You will get acquainted with the principles of GIS and 3D modelling, the possibilities of collecting data with drones, and get hands-on experience using these tools to make your own reconstructions. 

We will also visit the museum Castellum Hooge Woerd in De Meern to give you a better idea of what the area looked like in the Roman period, as well as see a spectacularly preserved Roman ship.

Learning Objectives

After taking this summer course, students will be able to:

• describe the most common digital and quantitative methods and techniques used in archaeology and cultural heritage studies

• explain the role of digital and quantitative methods and techniques in the wider field of archaeology

• use specific basic digital archaeology methods and techniques: Geographical Information Systems (GIS), 3D recording techniques and 3D modelling for virtual reconstruction

• demonstrate in depth knowledge of the case study Castellum De Hoge Woerd in Utrecht-De Meern, a reconstructed Roman fort, and explain how digital archaeology augments our understanding of this heritage