Manuscript Cultures
The Virtual Theatre of MiletusAn Immersive Inscribed Space
4 February 2022
Photo: CSMC
Last December, participants of an evening event following the workshop ‘The Greco-Roman Theatre as Inscribed Space’ had the chance to explore a VR reconstruction of the theatre of Miletus. The organisers Jenny Gabel and Ann Lauren Osthof share their experiences as guides of virtual journeys.
This evening event was a premiere: For the first time at CSMC, participants could experience the virtual theatre of Miletus using virtual reality (VR) hardware, including headsets (Oculus Quest 2) and the HoloLens 2, which displays holograms in users’ real environment. Due to the restrictions caused by the pandemic, the event was limited to a small number of participants from the Cluster of Excellence, who were admitted in two groups following 2G rules. In addition, various hygiene measures were taken, such as disinfecting the VR headsets and providing single-use masks for the eye area.
The VR application is being developed collaboriatively by researchers from the humanities and computer science working on the project ‘Immersive City Scripts: Inscriptions and the construction of social space in Miletus (Asia Minor)’. The demo allows users to explore the virtual theatre, visit different points of interest, and view reconstructions of former structures such as the stage and third tier. Moreover, 3D pins placed in the virtual theatre represent the locations of four categories of written artefacts: inscriptions, game-boards, pictorials, and architectural marks. When selected, the pins show information panels with photographs, translation, and descriptions.
Impressions
The live demo was well received by the participants. Although they had little to no experience with VR headsets, they had no major issues using the VR application after a short introduction. Users approved of important features, such as the controllable 3D platform that allows users to move freely in space, offering them new perspectives on the theatre; the adjustable day and night cycle; and of course the 3D pins to locate the various types of inscriptions. At the same time, we gained valuable suggestions for future improvements. The demo showed the need for simple supporting features, for example a short VR tutorial or different reset options. Furthermore, custom complexity levels and specific guidance for the content need to be added to cater to different groups of users such as archaeologist, researchers from other fields, or tourists and visitors of museums.
Receiving the positive feedback was a good confirmation of the work currently done in this project, in particular by Jenny Gabel, who does research on novel interaction patterns and good user experience for immersive applications in the humanities. The insights we gained can be generalised and will be applied to other projects as well, such as ‘The Interior of the Church in Lucklum: A Compendium of Early Modern European Emblematics’. This project serves as an exemplary case in the research on immersive technology for the humanities and could provide important results for future projects in the digital humanities.
The organisers
Jenny Gabel is a research associate working on the projects 'Immersive City Scripts: Inscriptions and the Construction of Social Spaces in Miletus (Asia Minor)' and ‘The Interior of the Church in Lucklum: A Compendium of Early Modern European Emblematics’.
Ann Lauren Osthof is a research associate working on the project ‘Immersive City Scripts: Inscriptions and the Construction of Social Spaces in Miletus (Asia Minor)'.