Battlefield Interpretation: The creation of a Program Design Document utilising 3D Visualisation techniques for use in the investigation and exploration of historic conflict

With the often cited vast increases in computing power seen over the last few decades and, as a result, increasing complexity in the rendering and simulation of virtual environments it could be argued that archaeology has not fully embraced these new powerful digital tools, instead limiting the use of digital visualisation to an extension of presentation and communication. This paper illustrates that archaeology has shared its long and distinguished history with the engaging power of visualisation and how the expression and interpretation of imagery has served archaeology well, igniting the imaginations and interests of the broader public whilst communicating culturally and historically significant findings.In this paper the relationship between archaeological investigation and visualisation is examined and its strengths and weaknesses identified. From this examination it is observed that GIS falls short of meeting the requirements of recent developments and directions in archaeology and that the modern technology found in Video game development can provide viable pathways forward in the creation of virtual environments for archaeological interpretation. A number of these technologies are then assessed within the context of an on-going archaeological investigation into the Battle at Bosworth. It is observed that these technologies hold a great deal of promise with regards to the subjectivity involved with examining the past whilst being able to include the primary features that have made Geographical information Systems (GIS) so useful to archaeology. Extrapolating the findings of this investigation a Program Design Document has been created in order to better define a framework through which current games technology and fields of investigation in archaeology can work together.