For those who are in Australia this seminar might be of interest: http://www.transformative-technologies.net/event/ttru-seminar1/ Transformative Technologies Research Unit Research *Seminar* *Visualisation and Digitisation – alternative approaches to traditional research in the Arts* *Room 216B, **John Medley Building (West)* *21st June, 1-2.30pm* This is the first in a monthly series of workshops/seminars organised by the Transformative Technologies Research Unit. The sessions will be informal, and presentations will be brief to allow for discussion. All welcome. *3D Visualisation Technologies and immersive experiences in reconstructed archaeological sites – Simon Young* As affordable 3D visualisation technology improves at a breathtaking pace, digital renderings of ancient cityscapes are now commonly employed in archaeological presentations and publications. With the development of a variety of head mounted virtual reality devices, many of which are currently hitting the market, it will not be long before this technology is used for archaeological demonstrations. Yet, as we strive for ever more photorealistic digital simulations of the ancient world, we must pause to assess the real usefulness of employing such technology to communicate archaeological theories and findings, and consider potential pitfalls that we may fall into in our haste to embrace these exciting new developments. *Simon Young* is a PhD student in Classical archaeology working on observer experiences of ancient cityscapes. During his research Simon has become acquainted with 3D visualisation software (and through the use of photogrammetry and 3D printing) and has created archaeologically correct digital reconstructions of ancient cityscapes. He has also incorporated Virtual Reality devices (particularly the Oculus Rift) to experience ancient cities on site. For further information about Simon’s immersive reality projects, go to his Lithodomos site. <http://lithodomos.net/> *Digitalising the Roman Campagna – Lisa Beaven and Katrina Grant* In their presentation Lisa and Kat will discuss the geo-mapping project, Digitalising the Roman Campagna, which is being developed in conjunction with the British School at Rome library. The aim ultimately is to create a digital map of the Roman Campagna that could function as a database and repository of information about both the classical and early modern Campagna. The aim is to take two rare, and rarely seen, maps of the Roman Campagna in the early modern period and transform them into new forms of technology and interdisciplinary resources for generations of scholars. The two maps digitalised so far are Giacomo Filippo Ameti’s Il Lazio con le sue conspicue Strade Antiche e Moderne (1693), and Giovani Battista Cingolani della Pergola’s Topografia Geometrica dell’Agro Romano, of 1704 (second edition). One of the primary aims of the project is to connect to the map some of the 1,200 photographs of the Campagna, also in the British School at Rome. *Lisa Beaven* is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the ‘Change’ Program of the ARC Centre for the History of Emotions led by Professor Charles Zika. Her publications include An Ardent Patron: Cardinal Camillo Massimo and his artistic and antiquarian circle: Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin and Diego Velazquez was (2010). Her research interests are concentrated in the area of patronage and art collecting in seventeenth century Rome, digital mapping, and relics. Lisa is also a research investigator with the Transformative Technologies Research Unit. *Katrina Grant *is the editor of the Melbourne Art Network. Her publications include ‘Hedge Theatres of Lucca’ in Art, Site and Spectacle (ed. David R. Marshall), 2007, ‘Planting ‘Italian Gusto’ in ‘a Gothick Country’: The influence of Filippo Juvarra on William Kent’, in Roma Brittannica: Art Patronage and Cultural Exchange in Eighteenth-century Rome, 2011, and ‘Gardens in Lucca’, in Place: An Interdisciplinary e-journal, vol. 1, 2007.