Byzantines meet virtual reality

Understanding what life was like in the historic past will take a giant step soon with the introduction of by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) to combine 3-D computer technology with the latest historical evidence. The result: a virtual walk-around of historic buildings.

The first project on the list is the Byzantine Angeloktistis Church at Kiti, Cyprus. The program hope to provide visual effects such as smoke, dust, and lighting conditions as they were to people who originally used the building. "The Byzantine period is particularly well-suited as a 'test case' because the use of gold in Byzantine churches, and its interplay with natural light, candlelight and architectural features, created visual effects (e.g. pictures of Christ, the Virgin Maria and saints glowing and apparently illuminated from within) that had a profound impact on worshippers."