Virtual Stonehenge Reconstruction

Visual and spatial technologies are increasingly revolutionising how archaeology and many other disciplines understand the past in relation to the contemporary world. From digital objects to landscapes, through geophysics, geographical imaging systems and the creation of virtual worlds, new technology provides alternative routes to seeing and understanding both past and present [1]. This research paper describes an interdisciplinary art and design approach to rebuilding and visualising phase 3vi of the Stonehenge site for interactive cultural heritage applications in the 21st Century. A 3D digital research team based at the School of Art, Design & Architecture collaborated with music technologists, sculptors and game designers to gather, interpret, re-imagine and digitally re-model historical and contemporary data on Stonehenge to create a virtual 3D reconstruction of Stonehenge phase 3vi. The researchers discuss the range of digital data, tools, methods used in this phase of the Virtual Stonehenge reconstruction project.