CIPA 2005 XX International Symposium, 26 September - 01 October, 2005. Torino, 7ta/y 
808 
REALTIME 3D MULTIMEDIA SYSTEM FOR THE DISTANCE VISITING OF 
CULTURAL HERITAGE. A CASE STUDY ON THE CHAMBER TOMBS IN VIA CRISPI, 
TARANTO 
F. Gabellone, M.T.Giannotta 
CNR - IBAM (Institute for Archaeological and Monumental Heritage - Lecce) 
C/o Villa Tresca - Campus Universitario, via Monteroni 73100 Lecce (Italy) f.gabellone@ibam.cnr.it, mt.giannotta@ibam.cnr.it 
KEY WORDS: 3D, Archaeology, Photogrammetry, Real-time, Virtual Reality 
ABSTRACT 
The case under study constitutes an example of a "distance museum" for an item of historical and artistic interest. A project in which 
the preserved structures of the tombs in Via Crispi, belonging to the Magna Graecia necropolis of Taranto, represent the information 
base for the development of a navigation platform in RealTime3D. This technology makes it possible to experience at a distance an 
item which, in the current state of affairs, is inaccessible to the public. At the heart of the RealTime navigation system, which 
represents the final moment of the entire workflow, is the reconstruction of this hypogeum structure in a fully three-dimensional 
form. All of this 3D work was carried out using digital photo-modelling and digital photogrammetry. The three-dimensional model 
was subsequently integrated into the multimedia authoring system, in which all the media available for the item in question (audio, 
video, VRML, QTVR, VR Object, images, tables, etc.) could be integrated into a single viewing environment. This brought together 
the descriptions of a historical and critical nature (historical background, relationships with the various contexts in the ancient world, 
critical analysis, etc.) and the technical and scientific methodologies used for analysis and diagnosis (analysis of the constituent 
materials, state of conservation, study of the architectural characteristics, etc.). The knowledge base for the item is thus 
complemented by direct access in the 3D environment to copious archaeometric data, for example relating to the pigments, which 
may be viewed by a simple click of a mouse. In an interactive environment it is possible to interact with the internal structures of the 
tomb and search the internal Data Base for architectural drawings, topographical data, orthophotos and historical documents, but also 
to explore in QTVR (QuickTime Virtual Reality) all the objects that were found during the excavation. 
1. THE TOMB OF THE FESTOONS IN TARANTO 
1.1 Problems of documentation and recovery for enjoyment 
by the public 
Unlike mobile items, fixed archaeological monuments cannot in 
most cases be taken to a museum. Thus, their fate is often very 
different to that of mobile items, which, even if they are not put 
on display, are catalogued, cleaned, studied and properly looked 
after. Fixed archaeological monuments are often stripped of 
their most important elements (assuming they have not already 
been looted before excavation), hurriedly restored, and in many 
cases then closed to the public. A similar fate awaits those sites 
which, due to problems of accessibility or the impossibility of 
setting up an adequate system for public viewing, are closed to 
the public, who then remain unaware of their existence. These 
sites, which constitute the pieces of the by now illegible jigsaw 
puzzle of our historical towns, pose serious problems of how 
they can best be publicized and documented, as well as 
problems of how to monitor their state of conservation, which is 
often compromised by their having been neglected for so long. 
The right approach to resolving some of the problems described 
worse, yet another “hyperrealistic” alternative to the real thing, 
here involves bringing to light the true value of these ancient 
becomes the jumping-off point for the creation of an artificial 
structures, making the public aware of what the items actually 
world that enhances and decodes the real world, recreating it, 
represent and “giving back” the knowledge of these fragments 
but above all interprets it. Following this principle, we may of 
history to the community, define this research as an attempt to 
collocate an item - the The case under study here is a concrete 
example of a Tomb of the Festoons in Taranto - in a "distance 
museum", computerised "virtual itinerary", designed to promote 
cultural starting with a digital survey of the structures of which 
it is exchange and assimilation by means of a virtual exhibit, 
composed. The digital model constructed of the tomb thus 
understood as the digital representation of an item of historic, 
provides the informational basis for the development of a 
artistic and cultural interest (F). 
Figure 1. The entrance of a chamber tomb 
In this sense the ‘virtualized’ item, far from being a pedantic 
simulation of reality, or even navigation platform in 
RealTime3D, allowing the public to enjoy at a distance an item 
which, in its current state, is inaccessible and unknown to the 
public. The more information this museographical operation 
succeeds in transmitting to the final user, the more useful and 
effective it will be. The aim is to highlight the item’s intrinsic 
value, with suitable methods and means of communication 
which are also appropriate for many different levels of interest 
and comprehension. 
1.2 History of the discovery 
In Taranto in June 1990, while building work was being carried 
out at via Crispi n. 32, two hypogeum monuments from the 
Magna Grecia necropolis were ‘rediscovered’, their exact