Ascolta

The research programme is articulated into five interconnected Work Packages (WPs), designed to integrate humanistic enquiry with scientific methodologies:

1. Archaeological Survey and 3D Modelling Digital acquisition and three-dimensional modelling of ancient spaces. The team generates geometrically accurate ‘Digital Twins’ of archaeological sites, providing the essential foundation for subsequent acoustic simulations.
2. Virtual Acoustics and Simulation The application of advanced acoustic simulation software to analyse sound propagation within the reconstructed 3D models. The research investigates parameters such as reverberation, speech intelligibility (Voicescape), and musical clarity to comprehend the auditory quality of ancient venues.
3. The Ancient Soundscape (Ecoacoustics) Reconstruction of the ancient ecosystem’s Sonic Fabric, encompassing not only anthropogenic sounds (music, voice) but also geophony (wind, sea) and biophony (animal sounds), to understand the interaction between the natural environment and the built environment.
4. Material Culture and Musical Instruments The study and digital reconstruction of ancient musical instruments (e.g., auloi) and sound objects recovered from excavation contexts. These reconstructions serve to populate the simulations with historically accurate sound sources.
5. Auralisation and Immersive Reality (VR/AR) The development of Virtual and Augmented Reality platforms that allow scholars and the general public to ‘step into’ ancient theatres and listen to their original acoustics, offering an immersive and multisensory experience (Soundwalks).