Archaeological and cultural heritage: bringing life to an unearthed Muslim suburb in an immersive environment

This paper describes the 3D digital reconstruction of Sinhaya, a X-XIIth century Muslim suburb in the city of Zaragoza. Accurate models and textures were obtained that capture all the wear and tear of a real suburb populated by real characters. The visualization is based on archaeological evidence from excavations and accurate historical documents. Precise lighting algorithms developed by Grupo de Informatica Grafica Avanzada (GIGA) provide a photorealistic look, while real actors composited into the synthetic scenes give life to the reconstruction. Images and animations can be viewed in a low-cost CAVE-like system (CLS) designed and developed by GIGA. Following a historically accurate script, the audience is taken through the streets of the suburb and into its houses. This digital reconstruction will help to preserve part of the city's archaeological and cultural heritage, giving life to a distant past. Visitors can experience what life was like in the suburb from morning to sunset, and it can provide a new perspective for historians. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier SAS.