project. Ostia Forum Altar

project description. 

Many details of the rituals and way of life in ancient Rome are still a mystery to us today. However, careful analysis of excavation sites and findings allows archaeology to make assumptions and hypotheses about what life might have been like in ancient times. A special event are ceremonial animal sacrifices as they took place on altars in sanctuaries. The excavations of the Ostia Forum Project (OFP) not only succeeded in uncovering and identifying such an altar dedicated to the god Vulcan, but also in creating a reconstruction of the surrounding area based on excavation data and geo-analyses. Ancient written sources which describe the ceremonial procedure of religious animal sacrifices further serve to unravel the rituals themselves.
The exhibited project Ostia Forum Altar: Sacrificing in Ostia’s First Sanctuary uses the Virtual Reality technology to provide an immersive experience of the excavation site, the reconstructions, and the sacrificial rituals. The application is designed to operate interactively: The viewer is required to interact with various excavation pieces in order to be introduced to the different phases of the story. The content adheres to archaeological facts, the visualizations and processes that are presented, especially those of the sacrificial ritual, are derived from ancient illustrations and descriptions.